Chapter 2 #4
Jada took a shaky breath, planting her foot, lining up her shot. She kicked—hard. The ball soared into the net, a perfect strike. But the force of it sent her stumbling forward, her hands bracing against her knees, her breath coming in sharp, uneven pulls.
Tears burned her eyes, but she didn’t wipe them away. Didn’t hide them.
“I wanted to run to them…” she whispered, voice breaking. “But my body wouldn’t move. I could hear screaming, but it felt like I wasn’t even there.”
Sevyn moved toward Jada carefully, lowering herself to her level. She reached out, threading her fingers gently through Jada’s curls, grounding her, guiding her through the storm of emotions threatening to pull her under.
“Your brain did what it thought it had to do to survive,” Sevyn murmured, her voice steady, soothing. “It froze because it thought moving was dangerous. But that doesn’t mean you weren’t strong.”
Jada shook her head quickly, her breathing growing rapid, uneven— teetering on the edge of panic.
“I don’t feel strong,” she admitted, her voice breaking, her chest rising and falling too fast.
Sevyn didn’t argue. She didn’t try to force words of reassurance down Jada’s throat.
Instead, she picked up the soccer ball, rolling it toward her. “Then let’s prove it wrong,” she said simply. “Let’s go again.” Jada hesitated, eyes flickering between Sevyn and the ball.
Then, slowly, she nodded. “Yeah… okay.”
Her voice was distant, unsure—but there was a flicker of something else this time. Something determined.
They reset, running through the drill again. This time, the ball moved with power. With purpose.
Each kick, each pass, carried a piece of the weight Jada had been holding onto. It wasn’t just a drill anymore—it was release. The tension in her shoulders slowly faded, her breath steadied, and for the first time in weeks, she felt in control.
Sevyn watched with a small, proud smile.
“You’re still here,” she said softly. “You’re still moving. And that’s strength.”
Jada looked up at her, chest rising and falling from exhaustion, sweat glistening on her skin—but her eyes…
They weren’t as heavy as before. She felt lighter. Because of this.
Because of Sevyn.
Jada exhaled, a small, genuine smile forming on her lips. “Yeah… I guess it is.”
Sevyn’s body ached from the session, but her mind was even more exhausted.
Jada had made progress today, and for that, she was grateful. But the weight of emotions she had tackled—the pain, the trauma—still clung to her like a second skin.
She was relieved that Jada had been her only client for the day. Now, all she wanted was a hot shower to wash away the sweat and lingering emotions before heading to Dorian’s shop for a much-needed nail appointment.
As she stepped into the house, the familiar silence wrapped around her. Braxton had said he’d be working late again. Lying ass. Because the moment she walked into their bedroom, everything in her froze.
Then boiled. Then exploded.
Braxton was in their bed. Naked. Giving hard backshots to the woman beneath him, his hands gripping her hips like she was his. But what sent Sevyn over the edge? Who he was fucking.
Ariel.
"What the fuck?!" Sevyn’s scream ripped through the room, making them both jump, scrambling to cover their naked bodies.
Her best friend. Her boyfriend. The two people she trusted the most.
Sevyn’s world blurred with rage as the betrayal hit her chest like a freight train. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think—only feel.
The worst kind of pain.
Braxton scrambled to speak. "Sev—" But he didn’t get the chance.
Sevyn charged straight for Ariel, landing a hard punch right to her nose. The impact sent her head snapping back, blood spilling instantly. Sevyn didn’t stop, didn’t hesitate—another punch, then another.
Ariel shrieked, trying to cover herself as Braxton rushed forward, grabbing Sevyn and yanking her away.
"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" Sevyn screamed, snatching away, her breathing ragged as Ariel whimpered, clutching her bleeding nose.
Sevyn’s eyes snapped back to Braxton, her fury burning hotter. "This is what you call working late, Braxton?" she spat, her voice venomous.
His dumb ass had the nerve to sigh, running a hand down his face. "I didn’t know you were coming home early."
Sevyn’s vision went black.
Without thinking, she charged him next, her fists flying. Her knuckles connected with his jaw, once, twice—he tried to hold her back, but her anger made her stronger. She thrashed, throwing punches, landing hit after hit.
Then— BANG.
The sound of a gunshot ripped through the room. Silence. Everyone’s breath hitched. All eyes snapped to the bedroom door.
Dorian stood there. Her grip firm on the gun. Her face twisted in pure, cold-blooded rage. "I would leave if I was you, hoe." Her voice was like ice.
She cocked her head at Ariel, her lips curling in disgust.
"Or the next one goes in that pussy of yours that you love giving to niggas who are already spoken for."
Ariel screamed and bolted, grabbing her clothes and dashing out of the room so fast she nearly tripped.
Braxton lifted his hands cautiously, knowing damn well who he was dealing with. "Dorian—"
"Nigga, shut the fuck up." Dorian’s voice was lethal, her glare slicing straight through him. "I ain’t gonna shoot your cheating ass."
She stepped forward, handing the gun to Sevyn. But her next words?
Set the whole room on fire.
"I’ll let her have the honors of shooting that contaminated dick off."
Her smile was wicked as Sevyn’s trembling hands wrapped around the gun, tears streaking her face.
Not just from rage.
From hurt. Because no matter how much she wanted to be numb, it cut too deep. She had loved Braxton. Been in love with him. She had trusted Ariel.
And now, standing there, gun in hand, looking at the man who had betrayed her in the worst way—
Sevyn had never felt more broken.
Sevyn held the gun steady, her hands trembling, but her aim locked.
Braxton shifted uncomfortably, still naked, his body tense, his breaths uneven.
“Baby… don’t do this,” he pleaded, his voice shaking. "Do it, cousin."
Dorian’s voice was firm, unwavering, urging her forward. Sevyn blinked through her tears, her grip tightening.
"I loved you, Braxton."
The words felt like acid on her tongue.
Braxton swallowed hard, watching the pain in her eyes—the heartbreak, the anger, the betrayal cutting through her like a blade.
Dorian stepped closer, her expression unreadable. "Now make that nigga hurt the same way he hurt you."
Tears slipped down Sevyn’s face, but she didn’t lower the gun.
Braxton’s heart pounded in his chest. "I’m sorry, baby." His voice cracked as guilt weighed on him. He hadn’t meant for it to go this far. Despite his infidelity, he regretted it. He loved Sevyn.
He had wanted her to be his wife.
But stress had been eating at him, the pressures of his career mounting.
When he ran into Ariel during his lunch break, they had a few drinks, one thing led to another, and suddenly, he was bringing her into their home—their bed—for a quick escape.
A distraction. That’s all Ariel had been.
A moment of weakness. He never planned for Sevyn to come home early. Never planned for her to catch him.
And now, as she stood before him, gun pointed right at his dick, he regretted everything.
"Do it, Sev."
Dorian’s voice dripped with anticipation, her dark eyes practically daring her cousin to pull the trigger.
But Sevyn didn’t.
Instead, her grip loosened, her face twisting in pain.
"Get the fuck out of my house, Braxton." Her voice wavered, but the authority in it was undeniable. "I don’t want to see or talk to your ass again. And you better hope I don’t tell my father what you did."
Braxton didn’t wait for her to change her mind. He bolted, scrambling to grab his clothes as he rushed out of the room, his naked body disappearing down the hallway.
The same way Ariel had.
Once he was gone, the house fell silent. And then—
Sevyn collapsed.
Her knees hit the floor, a broken sob tearing from her throat as the weight of the moment crashed down on her.
Her boyfriend. Her best friend. Gone in the same day. The betrayal clawed at her chest, raw and unbearable, leaving her gasping for air.
Dorian didn’t say a word.
She just sat with her, her presence solid, unwavering, even as her blood boiled with the need for revenge.
When Sevyn had accidentally called her mid-fight, all she heard through the phone was muffled screaming and chaos. Without a second thought, she had flown over, her instincts already prepared to kill on sight.
And if it had been up to her? Braxton and Ariel wouldn’t have left that house breathing. But she knew her cousin. Knew that Sevyn had a heart too big, too soft, too good for this world. And they didn’t need to be sitting in jail for murder.
Instead, Dorian did the only thing she could. She stayed. Held space for the woman who had spent her entire life healing everyone else.
Because now?
It was Sevyn who needed healing. From the kind of pain that cut the deepest.
A broken heart.