Page 69 of The Love of Priest 2

Priest let out a light sigh as his dark orbs peered down at her. "C'mon. That's not how we say goodbye to each other," he reminded her as he opened his arms for an embrace.

Britain shuffled over to him, falling right into his arms without any hesitation. "I love you," he told her while kissing the top of her head. "And I'm sorry."

"I love you too," Britain replied. She wasn't ready to accept his apology yet. Clearly, he wasn't as sorry as he was expressing to her since he had yet to call up Suzette and Matteo to tell them he wasn't the right fit for the job.

Pulling away from the hug, he attempted to crane down to apply a light kiss onto her plump lips but was coldly met with her cheek. As sharp and painful as the blow of her avoiding his kiss was, he took it without any grief. With that, she watched him exit the bedroom to head to his appointment.

As he exited the home, he let out a deep sigh of defeat.

He wasn't fond of him and Britain not seeing eye to eye.

Things were different now. They didn't have anyone or anywhere else to run to besides each other.

If they were back in New York, it would have been second nature for Britain to resort to her apartment and Priest to flee to his penthouse just so they could think separately.

Now they were in the same space with constant reminders of each other.

Priest was ready for the anger to subside on both parts so they could just move past it.

Priest hated how quickly he managed to fuck up Britain's trust. She had really devoted her all to him and this move, just for money and business to cloud his vision from the promises he made to her.

He wished he would have just declined the offer.

The afterthought of leaving Kaymen and J'Ru a mess to clean up on their own just wouldn't allow him to.

He honestly thought he could handle the business and appease Britain.

He had done it before. What he didn't realize was that there was a lot more at stake in his relationship. They were engaged now.

For the most part, he kept his drive to his appointment silent. He spent the time trying his best to figure out how he could show Britain instead of telling her that he was all in for her. This was the first time in the history of their relationship that he came up short.

Eventually, he arrived at his destination.

He parked his vehicle before stepping out.

Following the location his therapist Havani sent to him late last night, he was surprised to see that he had arrived at a gym.

Glancing down at his attire, Priest shook his head, knowing that he wasn't dressed for whatever Havani had in store for him.

Havani wasn’t a typical therapist. She wasn't much of a fan of remaining in a stuffy office and letting her clients vent aimlessly, but she was willing to accommodate everyone based on their preferences.

She realized that a lot of men stayed away from counseling simply because they didn't like the feeling of being emasculated, so to heighten her chances of reaching and guiding more men who were struggling with their mental health, Havani offered sessions through workouts sometimes.

Priest honestly thought Havani was some energy drinking crazy person he got referred to when she insisted they talk about his feelings while lifting heavy weights or doing cardio, but the shit actually helped.

His first session with Havani was like a typical session with any other therapist in an office setting.

He was under the impression that Havani was going to carry out the same tradition, which was why he wasn't dressed for any workout activities.

Little did he know, Havani wanted to jump right back into the swing of things.

He released a heavy breath as he headed into the gym.

His brows furrowed when he realized the gym was completely empty with the exception of Havani standing right in the center of the boxing ring.

"I cleared it out for you since you're celebrity status now," Havani teased with her European accent as she reached down to grab a set of boxing gloves.

Priest shook his head in amusement. "Really?"

Havani nodded her head as she tossed him the boxing gloves. "Really," she confirmed. "I'm not going to take you through that long process from beginning to end again. Your progress is still there. It's just been a little clouded due to what's been going on.”

"You didn't think to send me a memo that we’re gonna be in a gym?" Priest raised a brow as he motioned down to his attire.

Havani chuckled as she shrugged her shoulders. "Would you really have come without your fancy jewelry and fresh shoes even if I had?" she teased him.

Priest laughed. "I did not miss the smart-ass comments." He shook his head.

"I put some clothes to the side for you. Get changed and come on so you can start your hour," Havani rushed him jokingly.

Obliging, he went in the direction of the clothes Havani had sat to the side for him to change into.

He opted out of complaining since she was great at what she did.

Her approach was a little questionable, but he saw results, nonetheless.

After getting changed, he slid the boxing glove onto his left hand before she aided him with putting on the other.

She went without any gloves. Instead, she held both sides of the hanging punching bag so it wouldn't rock back and forth.

"You're like a buck fifty soaking wet. Should I really take this seriously?"

Havani chuckled as she pushed the punching bag toward Priest so he could throw his first punch. "I've gotten you to a point of realization where you cried for two minutes straight. I think you should take this seriously," she encouraged him, causing Priest to throw his head back in laughter.

Figuring that his hour would fly by quickly, he put his fist up, striking the punching bag with his first blow.

"Someone's angry," she said, pointing out how powerful the strike was.

He scoffed, giving her the notion that she was right with her assumption.

"How have things been?" she asked, still holding the punching bag so he could crash his fist onto it.

"I'm getting married," he enlightened her.

Havani nodded, causing her loose bun to shake. "How soon?"

"Haven't really set a date yet. We're trying to get adjusted."

"She's American? From New York, right?" she asked about Britain.

Priest nodded his head. "Yeah. Moved out here for me, and I managed to fuck it up."

"How'd you do that?" Havani raised her brow.

Priest sent a blow to the punching bag hard enough to make Havani shake it off. "I promised her I was on this journey of being a better me. I ended up doing the opposite."

"Why'd you make her move if you knew you were going to disappoint her?" Havani questioned.

Priest struck the punching bag with another blow before responding to Havani. "I didn't know anything. I'm taking it day by day just like she is.”

Havani shook her head, disagreeing with his response. "You aren't taking it day by day, Priest," she stated, hoping he would come to a realization.

Priest smacked his lips. "I am. It's one step at a time right now."

"You just told me that you promised her a journey of becoming a better you, and now you're saying you're taking it day by day. Sounds like you have or at least had a plan," she noted and shrugged her shoulders.

Priest put his fists down, resulting in his shoulders slouching. He took a moment to think over what Havani just told him before nodding his head. "I have a plan," he confirmed. "Something just got in the way."

"You think that's fair to her?" Havani raised a brow.

Priest quickly shook his head. "It's not, and I'm remorseful."

"Why? You already got what you wanted, so why are you sorry?"

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.