Page 62

Story: The Love of Priest 2

Britain wanted to cling to her father a bit longer, but she knew if she had, she would never get on the jet. Parting from the embrace, she wiped her tears before she moved to Jazzy. Despite not knowing each other for long, they had grown very fond of each other. Even though she was fairly young, Jazzy didn't need much guidance, but she always felt like Britain gave her the best advice. Britain had grown to become the sister she never had.

"Thank you for loving him the right way," Jazzy expressed her gratitude to Britain while wrapping her arms around her. "He needs that."

"I appreciate that, Jazzy. You've been nothing but great to me." Britain smiled once they parted from their embrace.

As she made her way around to say goodbye to everyone, Priest made his way over to Remy. "I'm gonna take care of her. You got my word," he assured Jeremy as he placed his right hand over his heart.

Jeremy waved Priest off. "I'm not worried about it, Priest. We had our misunderstanding, but I can't discredit how great you've been to my daughter." He stuck his hand out for Priest to shake. "You still have my blessing."

Priest chuckled lightly before he slapped hands with Remy, rejoicing with grand smiles. "‘Preciate it, Rem," Priest expressedhis gratitude. "I still stand by what I said about not being half the man I am today without you."

Remy smirked before pulling Priest into a hug. "You've always been family, son. No need to butter me up now.”

Priest pulled away from Jeremy before making his way over to where Jazzy stood. Throughout all of this, Jazzy kept mostly to herself. She felt no need to complain or whine about something that needed to be done. Of course, she would have much rather had her brother close, but the move to Italy was just in the cards they were dealt.

Priest let out a heavy sigh. Jazzy had always been strong, and this moment was no different. She kept it together, despite feeling like the best part of her was leaving her behind. "Don't try to act all soft with me now. We aren't cut like that," Jazzy scoffed jokingly as she opened her arms up to her brother.

Priest laughed as he agreed with her. "You're right."

"I'm proud of you, PJ," she praised him. "Come back a better version of yourself."

"No doubt." He smiled as he pulled her into a hug. They held each other in the embrace for a while. Parting ways from each other was always difficult since it had always been the two of them against the world. "I leave you in charge. Handle The Groves, La Lealtá, and Bueno!. Let Kay and Ru take care of the income. They'll give you the rundown of the finances and day-to-day responsibilities," he instructed Jazzy.

Jazzlyn was stunned to hear the amount of responsibilities Priest left behind for her. She wasn't about to shy away from it, but Priest usually treated her like she was still his defenseless baby sister. He had witnessed her growth and maturity and felt like she was more than capable of running things. She was a better version of him, so leaving her in charge for the time being was a no-brainer. "I love you, PJ," she gushed as she held onto her brother tighter. "I promise to make you proud."

"I love you too, Jazzy-Fae." He smiled as he rocked side to side with her.

After saying his goodbyes to Jazzy, he transitioned to J'Ru and Kaymen. Their friendships had blossomed into strong brotherhoods over the years. "We'll hold the city down, nigga. You can roll out on your little private jet now," Kaymen teased Priest, causing the three of them to laugh.

Priest and Kaymen slapped hands before they shared a hug. "I rock with you heavy, Kay. We solid," Priest praised Kaymen. He never once complained or lacked any effort. Everything Kaymen did, he did it at one hundred percent, nothing less. Priest would forever be grateful for that.

Once more, he and Kaymen dapped each other up. "You ain't too bad yourself," Kaymen joked with his usual sly and low-key demeanor.

Priest couldn't help but laugh at Kaymen. He was never going to change. Averting his attention to J'Ru, Priest held his hand out to him. They dapped each other up like they always had since they were kids. Saying goodbye to J'Ru was much tougher than saying goodbye to Kaymen. J'Ru had truly been around since he had absolutely nothing to his name. J'Ru was the first person Priest felt like he could fully depend on without ever being disappointed.

"Don't trip about anything. Me, Kay and Jazzy gonna have it all figured out. Just enjoy life with your shorty," J'Ru assured Priest as they shared a hug.

"‘Preciate it, Ru," Priest expressed his gratitude. "You're my brother for life.”

"I'm only a phone call away," he told Priest.

Despite being able to say a final goodbye to Remy and everyone else, Britain still couldn't muster up the courage to be okay without saying goodbye to her mother. "Is it time to go?"Britain asked Priest once she noticed Cyro was moving their bags to the jet.

Priest glanced down at the watch on his wrist, checking the time. "Almost," he told her. "I'm just waiting on one more person."

Britain furrowed her brows together in confusion, oblivious to who else Priest could’ve been waiting for. Like clockwork, she averted her attention from Priest to see a black Range Rover park alongside the SUVs. She was familiar with the vehicle. It belonged to her stepfather, Henderson.

A fulfilled smile stretched across her face as a sense of relief washed over her. She slid her hand from Priest’s and began making her way toward the vehicle. She watched as Henderson stepped out of the car alongside her little brother, Brixton, instead of her mother, who she had anticipated.

Britain's smile dispersed from her face once she realized Seven actually didn't come to say goodbye to her. She had gotten her hopes up for no reason.She walked right into Henderson's arms, resting her head on his chest. "She's not coming, is she?" she mumbled in grave disappointment.

Henderson sighed as he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Princess," he apologized to Britain on Seven's behalf. "Don't let her not being here to say goodbye deter you," he encouraged her before sitting a nurturing kiss on top of her head.

Neither Jeremy nor Henderson could really get through to Seven. She wasn't necessarily upset with Britain. She just couldn't wrap her head around Britain's decision. Packing up to follow behind a man she had met just a year prior didn't sit right with Seven. She didn't think she could give her daughter well wishes of a prosperous life in Italy when she felt like she was making one of the worst decisions of her life. Seven simply couldn't stand for it, and that was clear.

Britain nodded her head as she wiped her eyes before tears could stain her face. "Just let her know I'm not angry with her and I love her," she said softly, hoping her stepfather could relay the message.

"Of course, Princess," Henderson assured her with a light smile. Henderson had his fair share of not liking the idea of Britain moving to Italy, but he had realized that whether he liked it or not, Britain could do whatever she pleased. Britain was 28 years old and more than capable of taking care of herself. Henderson believed Seven should have put her judgment and ego aside just to give Britain that sense of security she needed before leaving for a whole new life. Seven just couldn't step up to the plate in this instance, so Henderson did what needed to be done for his daughter.