Page 96

He put his fists back up before sending another blow to the punching bag. "It's not like that," he denied with a shake of his head.

Havani dropped her shoulders. "That's what it looks like to me, and I'm just on the outside looking in. I'm not here to point fingers, but we have to be fair and take some accountability so you can understand the underlying issue," she coached him as he struck the punching bag with a jab.

"She's leaving tomorrow," Priest enlightened Havani in hopes of her dropping some wisdom strong enough to help him convince Britain to reconsider.

"How do you feel about that?"

Priest connected his fist with the punching bag forcefully before responding. "I'm pissed."

"Why should you be? I'm assuming you didn't uphold your part of the bargain, so she's free to not uphold hers," Havani added.

Priest huffed out a breath in slight frustration. "‘Cause I thought she would understand. She knows I would never mislead her or do anything that isn't in her best interest, but she’s not even giving me a chance," he argued.

"That's not how things work, Priest. You know that," Havani reminded him. "Nobody just knows. You have to reassure her. I'm not saying you doing so would resolve the issue, but it would help.”

"She's not giving me the chance to do that either," Priest sighed.

"Because you've pushed her into something she wouldn't have agreed to if it were for anyone else. You made a promise, and that should have been honored.”

"Could we compromise?" Priest asked.

Havani retracted the punching bag away from him so he could have clear view of her face. "I know she isn't here with us right now, but if I can and only if you're comfortable, I would like to say this—" She raised her brow.

Priest nodded his head, indicating that Havani could proceed.

"You've turned this relationship into the ones you have tried to part ways with for so many years. And this is not necessarily your fault. You've been conditioned into thinking this way. She sounds like the first person to ever give you her all without asking for anything in exchange. You're usually the person who does all the giving, so naturally, when the roles are reversed, you tend to mimic what everyone else has done to you. I have no idea whether she will be willing to compromise with you, but what I do know is that a compromise isn't always the resolution. If she gives in to this compromise, it could be for many reasons, and some of those reasons could just be hurting her and only benefitting you in the end," Havani preached to him.

Priest had always been the giving one, but with Britain, it was like she devoted so much to him that he almost forgot how it felt to be in her position. With Havani putting things into perspective for him, he felt extremely selfish.

Havani could see that Priest had reached the point of realization yet another time, and it caused an accomplished smile to plaster her face. "It's okay. We learn as we go. You just have to do better," she encouraged him.

After an hour of sorting through his issues with Havani, Priest changed back into his clothes and headed to his car to get home to Britain. He knew there was no way in hell he was going to be able to convince her to stick it out with him, but he was for damn sure going to try.Arriving at the estate, he parked the vehicle in the driveway before exiting to make his way into the home. His key allowed him access to step in.

Priest's eyes scanned the front room in search of her."Yo,Gioia!"

"In the office!" she shouted back to him, causing a sense of relief to wash over him.

He made his way toward her office area, being sure to knock before entering. Once she granted him permission to come in, his eyes landed on her sitting behind the desk with her hair tied up in a relaxed bun and wearing one of his shirts.

"I'm sorry," was the first thing that spilled out of his mouth.

Britain furrowed her brows as she glanced away from the computer screen. "Priest, could you stop apologizing? We went over this already."

He stepped further into the office while nodding his head. "We did, Brit, but at the time, I ain't really understand what exactly I should have been apologizing for. Now I know," he explained.

"What are you sorry for, P?" she asked.

He grabbed a seat across from her, his dark orbs peering into her soft ones. "I apologize for taking more than I gave," he expressed with deep regret.Britain pursed her lips as she tilted her head to the side, waiting for him to proceed. "I realized that you moving out here is giving more than I have ever given you in the span of our whole relationship. The shit I pulled was selfish and mad inconsiderate." He shook his head, shaming himself.

"You know how I am when it comes to you, P. I'll back you through anything, but I really feel like you’re moving for you and solely you. How do you expect me to take vows and marry you if you have selfish moments like that? Before we came to Italy, we were here." She motioned her fingers between his eyes and hers, alluding that they used to always be on the same accord, always see eye to eye. "Partly because I wasn't in tune with everything and because we actually talked more. We've built this entirerelationship on communication, and you couldn't even pull me to the side to discuss a decision that impacts both of our lives?"

"You're right," he assured her. "I violated what we had, and it ain't never gonna happen again. At the end of the day, when shit go bad, you're the first person I run to, so I should always let you have a say in major decisions like that. This is a learning experience for me, and I'm still trying to make sense of it all," he explained to her. Priest never made the same mistake twice, and he didn't plan on pulling the same shit on her again.

Britain eyed him with her lips pursed as she nodded her head. He could tell that despite him realizing the principle of the situation and why he really needed to be apologizing, Britain was still unsatisfied. "Is that all?" she asked as she glanced away, returning her attention to her computer.

He cleared his throat sheepishly. He didn't expect her to just fall back into his arms after his entire spill, but he was definitely expecting more than this. "Yeah," he nodded defeatedly. "My fault for interrupting.”

"You're fine. Can you make sure to shut the door on your way out?" she requested.