Chapter 22
Londyn shifts beside me, the sheets rustling. I hold her tighter, needing to feel her warmth against me as I wrestle with the confession weighing on my tongue.
”Jermaine?” Her voice is a sleepy murmur against my chest. ”What”s wrong, baby?”
I swallow hard, the bitter truth burning like acid in my throat. ”He killed himself.”
Londyn stills, then slowly pushes onto her elbow to meet my gaze head-on. Confusion and a flicker of dread swirl in those expressive brown depths.
”Who did?” she whispers, as if dreading the answer.
My jaw clenches as harrowing memories claw their way to the surface—the anguished wails echoing through that empty brewery, the finality of the day I stood over Daddy”s grave.
”My father.” The words rasp out like shards of broken glass. ”He...after Winston took everything, after Knights Brewery was destroyed...he just couldn”t cope anymore.”
Londyn inhales sharply, those full lips parting in silent dismay. I press on before she can speak, pouring the poison of this sick truth between us.
”Mama always spun this tale of the big bad Winston Westbrook betraying our family, stabbing us in the back for his own greed. But the reality is...” I trail off, my throat constricting as the tears burn hot behind my eyelids. ”My own father was too weak to handle the fallout. He took the coward”s way out and left us to fend for ourselves.”
Shame coils in my gut, curdling and festering like an open wound. I”ve carried this toxic secret for over a decade, letting it fuel my obsessive pursuit of vengeance and success at any cost.
Somehow, voicing it out loud strips away that last flimsy veil, leaving me utterly exposed before the woman I love.
”Oh, Jermaine...”
Londyn”s slender fingers cradle my jaw, her touch feather-light yet anchoring me in place. I lean into the caress, drawing strength from the warmth of her skin against mine.
I hold Londyn close as she whispers soothing words, her fingers carding through my hair. ”I”m here, baby. Just let it out.”
Drawing a shuddering breath, I lean into her embrace, letting the pain and shame bleed out. ”I”ve carried this burden for so long. Thinking my father was too weak to handle everything...”
”Oh, Jermaine.” She cups my cheek, tilting my face until our eyes meet. Hers shine with unshed tears, reflecting my own anguish. ”You can”t keep torturing yourself over what happened.”
”But I failed him,” I rasp, knuckles whitening as I grip the sheets. ”Failed you, too, with my obsession for vengeance against the Westbrooks.”
To my surprise, she shakes her head firmly. ”You didn”t fail anybody. What you”ve been through...damn, I can”t even imagine that kinda pain.”
I search her gaze, bracing for rejection or pity. But all I find is empathy and fierce adoration.
”Thank you.” The words seem inadequate, yet hold such profound meaning. ”For understanding, for...everything.”
She ghosts her thumb along my cheekbone, erasing the dampness there. ”You don”t have to thank me. Just promise me one thing?”
”Anything.”
”No more running yourself ragged trying to settle old scores,” she says, her tone gentle but unwavering. ”Let”s build instead of tearing down.”
My body tenses at the notion, instinct urging me to resist. But one look into the molten depths of her eyes, and I know she”s right.
Enough is enough. I”m done waging this one-man war against ghosts.
Exhaling slowly, I feel a massive weight lift from my shoulders. Like the crushing pressure that”s haunted me for over a decade is finally, mercifully fading.
”You”re right,” I murmur, tasting freedom on the words. ”No more chasing ghosts. My focus is right here, with you.”
Her full lips curve in a tremulous smile as she loops her arms around my neck. ”I love you, Jermaine Knights. Always have, always will.”
Those five words unlock something deep inside me—a wellspring of tenderness and vulnerability I”ve suppressed for far too long.
”I love you too, Londyn.” My fingers glide along the elegant column of her throat as I drink in her features. ”More than you”ll ever know.”
Her breath hitches, and I feel the rapid staccato of her pulse beneath my fingertips. For a heartbeat, our gazes lock in shared adoration and longing.
Then my mouth is on hers, lips molding in a scorching kiss as her body arches into mine. I swallow her soft whimper, cradling the back of her head to deepen our embrace.
This kiss...it”s a promise, a covenant sealed between us. No more hiding, no more deceits weighing us down.
_Just this, us_—as partners, as lovers, as unbreakable allies.
She whispers, ”Say it again.” Eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
”I love you,” I murmur without hesitation. The words feel sacred, potent in their simplicity. ”Nothing is ever going to change that.”
She nods fervently, as if searing this moment into her memory. Then her palm presses over my heart, feeling the steady cadence beneath.
”No regrets?”
A faint smile tugs at my lips as my hand covers hers. ”Not a single one.”
Because this woman...this incredible, resilient woman is worth any sacrifice. She”s restored my faith in love, in redemption, in a future free of past demons.
All I need to do now is surrender to that truth fully. To take the leap of trust into Londyn”s waiting arms and never look back.
The realization hits me with breathtaking clarity—I”m home.
Not this town, or this apartment but her.
Peace washes over me—the kind I haven”t known since those carefree childhood days before my world fractured. I tighten my embrace as if to absorb Londyn into my very being.
She lets out a contented sigh, melting against my chest like she was molded to fit there. My heart swells until it”s almost too much, this all-consuming emotion threatening to burst forth.
But I don”t resist it, don”t try to rein it in. For once, I”m letting myself rest in this love without restraint.
”Don”t ever leave me,” I plead in a hushed rasp, stroking her tousled locs. ”I can”t go back to that cold, empty existence without you. Not anymore.”
Her long lashes sweep downward as our gazes meet, obstructing nothing of the profound devotion kindling in those rich brown depths. ”I”m never leaving you, Jermaine. We”re in this together from now on, you hear me?”
I catch her full bottom lip in a tender kiss, sealing our covenant. ”I hear you, baby. You and me, always.”
Love to hate the Feuding Hearts…
Feuding with a Silver Fox by Blaire Wildeis up next.