Page 56 of Cuffed By Your Love

“I wouldn’t dare, baby.”

He grinned, gave my hip one last squeeze, and then was gone, boots heavy against the hardwood, the door clicking shut behind him.

I stood there in the quiet, my lips still tingling, my chest still warm, and for once, I didn’t feel alone. I felt… chosen.

But peace didn’t last long.

When I finally settled in at my vanity, candle flickering, oils lining the counter, my phone buzzed.

Moonlight

Kam.

Against my better judgment, I looked. The texts were unraveling.

Moonlight :

You think you better than me now?

Whole family in your ear got you acting brand new.

I see you smiling, but you was supposed to smile with me.

Don’t forget who held you first.

You mine.

My stomach soured. Then the voicemails from an unknown number started, his voice jagged and desperate.

“You blocking me like I’m some stranger? Don’t forget who loved you first, Jonay. Don’t forget whose arms you used to run to. He don’t know you like I do. You mine.”

Another, more bitter.

“I saw you earlier. You not safe without me. Remember that.”

And then darker.

“Keep playing with me, Jonay. You can’t just throw me away like you done with me.”

I dropped the phone on the counter, heart thudding. Flabbergasted didn’t even cover it. I had never heard him likethis. He didn’t sound like himself. Or maybe this was his real self finally spilling through.

But no matter how twisted his words got, one truth burned steadily: he had already crossed a line that could never be uncrossed. He’d cheated. WithTaleah.My cousin. Myfavoritecousin. The girl I once called sister. That betrayal wasn’t something you came back from, not something easily forgiven.

I stared at my reflection, hand pressed to my chest. “You don’t get forgiveness for that,” I whispered.

My thumb hovered over delete, but I stopped. Not this time.

I saved the voicemails, setting the phone on my nightstand. Proof. Something Elias needed to hear.

For now, I finished braiding my locs, smoothed oil down the length, and blew out my candle. Kam could unravel all he wanted. I wasn’t answering.

Not now or ever again.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand, the screen lighting up with a name that already steadied me. Detective Fine Shyt.

I snatched it up quickly, heart stuttering, trying to steady my breath. “Hey, baby.”

His voice wrapped around me, low and calm. “Just got home, gorgeous. Wanted to let you know we made it in safe.”