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I sighed.This fool. Fuck it. Maybe if I laid it all out, he’d finally back off.
“Alright, Real,” I said, my voice resigned. “You wanna know about my past? Fine. Here it is.”
His eyes darkened with a mix of anticipation and concern, and I took a deep breath, letting my mind drift back to a different time.
“For a while, I worked in Georgia. While there, I met someone and we ended up in an… arrangement. He was a Saudi oil heir.”
Closing my eyes, I told Real about the experience that had prompted me to change my identity.
At first, I enjoyed our arrangement. He was generous, showering me with gifts, and meeting my needs. I had a grand vision that needed money to see it to fruition. Raouf Muhammad agreed to my rules and seemed to value my time and attention. But then he started wanting more when I didn’t.
Although I didn’t date others while dealing with him, I couldn’t have him taking my choice away. He gave me an ultimatum, offered marriage. That was when things got complicated. I cut him off, thinking that would be the end of it. But it wasn’t.
He kept sending gifts, paying for things, showing up unannounced. It was suffocating, like being trapped in a gilded cage. He refused to leave me alone. Raouf wasn’t acting unhinged, exactly, but more like a whiny brat that couldn’t have his way.
One night, I came home, feeling that prickling sensation on the back of my neck—a feeling like I wasn’t alone. I’d just worked a double, so my mind was a mess. I shrugged my suspicions off, blaming exhaustion, and headed to the shower. The need to get the germs from the past day off my skin was all I could focus on.After my shower, I moisturized my body, then wrapped myself in a bath sheet. As I stepped into my bedroom, I froze. Raouf stood in the middle of my room.
When our eyes deadlocked, he gave me a smile that chilled me to my bones. His normally expressive eyes were lifeless—making the smile seem threatening instead of inviting. He gestured toward the bed, and my eyes widened in shock. It was covered in rose petals, scattered gifts scattered, and thousands of dollars in cash spread out like some obscene display. My heart pounded in my chest like a trapped bird.
“I love you, Everly,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “The day you left me was the worst of my life. Only the thought of getting you back kept me going.”
Speechless, I stared at him as he kept on, proclaiming his love and undying devotion. He wanted me permanently. “Everly, girl,” I heard the voice in my head, “you in danger.” I had to get him to leave.
I forced a polite smile, fear coiling in my stomach. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice steady despite the fear. “I can’t do that. You understood the rules when we first started this arrangement. Either of us has a right to walk away—and that’s what I decided to do. You need to leave.”
I had to promise to meet him the next day to get him out. Once he was gone, panic surged through me, and I did the only thing I could think of—I called my cousin Ajani. He arrived within hours. Working with his partners Prime and Braeden Christopher, he helped me disappear into the night.
After recounting the story, I looked at Real, expecting judgment or disbelief. Instead, he just nodded, his expression unreadable.
“Damn, Everly,” he said softly.
“Yeah,” I replied, letting it all settle over me. “Now you know.”
“That’s crazy, Love. Thank God Prime is good at what he does.”
“Prime, Ajani, and Braeden. You have no idea. They tapped me into a world I never knew existed. After that night, I got a crash course in how to adapt like a chameleon. They made me a ghost to the world. It changed the game for me and how I conduct… business.”
He looked at me for a long minute. “You know I’m not that nigga? I ain’t tryna force nothing,” he said.
I nodded. “I know.”
Real blew out a long breath, “He was crazy, but I understand why he went off the deep end. That pussy has liquid gold, birthday cake, and a grandma muumuu with pockets tucked inside of it. I’m half gone over the pussy, too.”
I kissed my teeth. “Ugh! Shut your ass up! You get on my damn nerves.”
Montréal laughed, pulling a reluctant smile from me before sobering up and staring into my eyes with a dark intensity.
“Thanks for telling me,” he said finally.
“It doesn’t matter,” I replied.
“You just don’t know how much it does,” he countered.
I sighedas I woke up, shivering despite the fact that it was summertime in Louisiana. I had lowered the thermostat for my zone yesterday after coming in from the hell outside. I regretted that move now that I was cold and too lazy to get up. Burrowing deeper into my pillows, I tried to pull my covers more tightly around me. I frowned when they didn’t budge and pulled again.
“You need me to move?”
What the hell?I shrieked and tried to fly from the bed as a deep voice rasped from behind me. The weight I hadn’t noticed around my waist held me in place as I came fully awake. My memory started to return in bits and pieces. Targen and I… watching movies… moving from the floor to sit on my bed…me, getting so sleepy and resting against him. We must have fallen asleep. I didn’t even remember getting under the covers that he currently lay on top of.