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Britain nodded before thanking her father. "I'll be back as soon as possible. I just need to clean up?—"

Seven interjected her daughter. "And get some rest," she added.

Britain opted out of arguing with her mother. She made sure to grab her and Priest's things to take back to her apartment. She said goodbye to her father before getting into Seven's Jaguar.

"I know you're disappointed," Britain muttered to her mother, ending the silence in the vehicle.

Seven sighed. "I don't know, Britain. I for sure know I don't want to be in another situation like that, and I don't want you in another one either."

"Ma, he always makes sure I'm safe," Britain insisted.

"Britain, you sound like a teenager," Seven scoffed lightly with a shake of her head.

Britain let out a deep sigh. She could never really gage her mother much when it came to situations where she had to save her. Britain knew that even though her mother helped immensely, she would have preferred not to. It was nothing against Priest. She just hated that her daughter was mixed up in chaos.

"I'm being honest," Britain responded. "No one expected that to happen. Not me, not him, not J'Ru or Kaymen. It just happened. I'm not going to crucify him for something that was out of his control."

"Britain, he's a great man. He treats you right and loves you wholeheartedly," Seven sighed. "However, he's not safe." She shook her head in disapproval.

Completely offended on Priest's behalf, Britain scoffed. "Don't parent me now," Britain spewed with a shake of her head. "You don't get to parent me now. It was one incident. You don't get to judge our relationship from one incident."

"Britain, he almost lost his life and practically cost you yours!" Seven raised her voice, hoping to get through to her daughter.

"I'm sorry, Ma. He isn't perfect like Henderson! He has his flaws, and his circumstances will always be different, but that doesn't take away from every great thing he's done for me or how great he's been to me! Priest isn't my Jeremy! Quit trying to make him out like he is!" Britain jeered at her mother in frustration. The situation at hand was definitely more than just bad; however, it seemed as though Seven was crucifying Priest for it, and Britain wasn’t going to stand for that.

Seven glanced at Britain briefly before setting her eyes back onto the road. The adrenaline was still high from all they had just endured. Tension swirled the car and was beginning tofeel suffocating. Seven decided to back down and opt out of responding to Britain. She couldn't fault her daughter. When she was going through her situation with Jeremy, she was just as headstrong. She knew she couldn’t change the mind of someone who was in love.

The rest of the ride was silent. Britain was still brewing with anger and frustration at her mother as she kept her eyes out the window. Once Seven pulled up to Britain's apartment, she put the car in park with a deep sigh. "No one wants him to be perfect like you claim Henderson to be," Seven clarified. "I just don't want you in the proximity of a gun firing. I don't think that's too much to ask for," Seven clarified as she shrugged her shoulders.

Britain inhaled a deep breath as she pulled the handle of the door to step out. "Thank you for everything you did today. Priest and I appreciate it more than you could ever know," Britain expressed before shutting the door behind her and making her way toward her apartment. She was over trying to constantly explain and defend her relationship with Priest. No one would ever see him like she saw him, and she was starting to come to terms with that.

Entering her apartment, Britain felt a heavy weight lift from her shoulders. Dropping Priest's belongings on the couch, she hastily began shedding the blood-soiled clothes. Truth be told, she would have really loved her mother's comfort at the moment, but Seven seemed to turn every situation into a teaching moment. Britain didn't want or need any of that.

Once out of her clothes, she started her shower, jumping into it without even waiting for the water to heat up. She desperately wanted the feeling of the blood that stuck to her skin off her. It was such an odd feeling that she couldn't even describe. Britain scrubbed her body for an hour. After every rinse, she went in with the soap and washcloth even harder.

Cries slipped out of her as she watched the soap and water spiral down the drain. Britain was having a repeat of the episode she had in her father's kitchen. No matter how much she scrubbed and cleaned herself, she still felt filthy and soaked in blood.

Calming herself from her heavy cries, Britain managed to control her breathing. She thought back to the advice J'Ru gave her. This would eventually become her past.

She was able to drag herself out of the shower. She was a bit dazed as she got dressed. That same indescribable feeling still lingered on her skin; however, she fought her best to ignore it. She returned to the living room where she had dropped Priest's blood-soaked clothes along with her own. She picked them up, hoping she could salvage the clothing with a good wash. She had never been through something like this so she was stepping out on a limb when it came to whether or not the blood would wash out of the clothes.

Piece by piece, she tossed the clothing into the washer. Once she got to Priest's suit jacket, she searched the pockets to ensure nothing would get ruined from the wash. Britain's brows furrowed in confusion at the feeling of a small velvet box at the bottom of Priest's pocket. She pulled out the box, feeling a tightness arise in her chest. In her palm sat a royal blue velvet box that she was far too afraid to open.

Absentmindedly, she dropped the rest of the clothing into the washer without bothering to search through their pockets. With the velvet box still in hand, she trekked away from the laundry room in her apartment, pulling out a seat at the dining table. She sat the velvet box on the table, eyeing it.

Her mouth was growing drier and drier with each second she stared at the unopened box. She was filled with deep anticipation to open it, but she didn't want to ruin it for herself. Britain even had a silly thought that maybe the box wasn't meantfor her. Maybe it was a gift for his sister, Jazzy. Or maybe Priest was holding it for J'Ru or Kaymen. She knew she sounded silly, but she just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Priest really saw the rest of his life with her. He truly wasn't just saying things to make her happy. He meant everything he said, especially what he said about her becoming his wife.

She reached for the box, on the verge of opening it. Suddenly, she pulled her hand back with a shake of her head. Priest hadn’t given it to her yet for a reason, and she didn’t want to ruin it all because she was dying of curiosity.

Britain inhaled a deep breath before returning her hand to the box. "Lord," she shakily breathed out before popping the box open hastily. She figured if she did it quickly, she would have less time to guilt herself.

With the box now opened, Britain marveled at the ring propped on the small podium within the box. Small lights streamed the interior of the box, bringing the presentation together to amaze her. Her mouth hung agape at the sight of the massive diamond and its clarity. She gawked at the diamond encrusted single halo around the massive princess cut diamond. The band had a diamond side setting which complimented the 11-carat focal diamond perfectly.

Carefully, she lifted the ring from the box, examining it closer. She felt tears scorch the rims of her eyes as she noticed the tiny message engraved in the inner portion of the band where her finger would rest.

It readForever my Gioia.

This discarded every silly thought she had in her mind when she was trying to come to terms with the fact that Priest really bought her a ring. It was indeed meant for her as an engagement ring.