Page 153 of The Echo of Forever

Eliel ignored her question, his cold eyes sizing me up as I leaned against the wall, arms crossed. He took an intentional step toward me, testing my reaction.

“What do you think you can offer the James family?” he asked, briefly glancing back at Forever. “My daughter decided to back me into a corner with her fabricated story. Millicent is dead…” He tipped his head. “And I have a feeling that’s your doing.”

I waited for him to get to the point. This confrontation wasn’t about me or even about Forever; it was about power and control, the things that mattered most to him.

“The only part of my story that was fabricated is you forcing those doctors to keep me in the dark about my head,” Forever said, meeting his gaze. “Other than that, I told the whole truth.”

She moved closer to me, not touching but close enough that I could reach out for her if need be.

“You may see me as nothing but a pawn in your thirst for power, but I ain’t going for it no more,” she continued, flicking her wrist as if it made her point truer. “If you want an alliance with my husband, I won’t stop it, but don’t use me as your way in…”

Her eyes met mine, and in them I saw everything I’d been missing. Being loved by this woman was all I’d ever need.

“Don’t give him a chance on my behalf,” she told me. “Be exactly who you are and I’ll accept your every decision. No matter what it is.”

The more she opened up, the more I wanted to put another baby in her.

Forever wasn’t asking me to be diplomatic or respectful for her sake. She wanted me to be me, to make her father earn every ounce of respect or cooperation. She wanted me to be true to myself, even if that meant rejecting him completely.

Even if it meant killing him, because I would without question.

I took a moment before responding, that protective instinct in me wanting to dead this nigga right here and move on to whatever came next. But the strategic part knew he could be useful.

“In that case…” I said, looking directly at Eliel. “Since my grandmother expects me to respect my elders, I’ll make an appointment with your assistant, and we can talk.”

It was a calculated move, showing deference not to him but to my grandmother, establishing where my loyalty truly lay.

I was offering him a chance, but not without something in return.

Either way, he seemed satisfied. His lips twitched in what might have been a smile on anyone else, but on him looked more like a grimace.

Society old heads were always too uptight. Nigga ain’t never been nowhere in his life and thought Everwood was the end all to be all.

What a shame.

“The board’s vote will more than likely come down to a tie after Millicent’sallegedsuicide,” he said, moving toward the door. “Your fate is left up to the high priest now…” He paused at the doorway, glancing back at me with his brow raised. “Only come see me if he actually agrees to this farce of a marriage.”

The door closed behind him, leaving us standing in the wreckage of Forever’s apartment.

I chuckled, understanding now something I hadn’t before. Quinn was holding on to her past, and Eliel wanted to keep his status intact by any means necessary. Right now I was the means.

All in all, they were fucked up people like the rest of us, but not the true villains of our story.

Forever turned to me, stepping into my space and wrapping her arms around my waist. She pressed her face against my chest, and I felt the tension she had hidden well leave her body.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

I stroked her back, eyes taking in the mess her father made.

“For what, baby?”

She shook her head and murmured, “I hope you feel how much I love you,” instead of responding to my question.

But I knew the answer, just like I knew she loved me again before she opened her mouth and said it.

CHAPTER 39

FOREVER