14. TRUTH
TRUTH
The adrenaline was still coursing through me when I climbed into Raven’s car.
My hands were shaking—not violently, but enough that I had to press them against my thighs to steady them. My heart was pounding in my chest, a rapid drumbeat that hadn’t slowed since I’d made the call, since I’d dropped the location pin, since Raven said I’m on my way.
I’d done it.
I’d left.
And now, sitting in the passenger seat of my sister’s Honda Accord with the door closed and the engine running, the reality of that decision was settling over me like a weight.
Raven didn’t say anything at first. She just looked at me—really looked at me—her dark eyes scanning my face, my body language, the way I was holding myself together by sheer force of will.
Then she reached over and squeezed my hand.
“You good?” she asked, her voice low and careful.
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure if it was true. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“You sure? Because you look like you just ran a marathon.”
I let out a shaky laugh. “I feel like I did.”
Raven didn’t smile. She put the car in drive and pulled away from the lakehouse, her hands steady on the wheel, her jaw set in that way that meant she was holding back a thousand questions.
I watched the cabin disappear in the side mirror, the trees swallowing it up until it was just a memory. My chest tightened.
I’d left Amai there. Alone. Without explanation.
He’d come back from the store and find me gone.
And then what?
Would he panic? Would he be angry? Would he come looking for me?
I didn’t know. And that uncertainty gnawed at me.
But I’d made the choice. I’d called Raven. I’d asked to be picked up.
Because my mama was right.
I needed to lock in. I needed to stop being passive. I needed to figure out what the hell was really going on before I got in any deeper.
Raven waited until we were back on the main road before she spoke again.
“So,” she said, her tone deceptively casual. “You gonna tell me what the hell you were doing out in the boondocks with that man?”
I exhaled slowly, trying to organize my thoughts. There was so much to explain. So much I didn’t even understand myself.
“It’s complicated,” I said.
“Complicated how?”
“Complicated like—” I paused, searching for the right words. “Like I found out some things that changed everything.”
Raven glanced at me, her expression sharp. “What kind of things?”
I swallowed hard. My throat felt tight. “You know Kaisen? The guy I’ve been seeing?”
Raven’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Yeah. The one who gave you that money. The one who’s been taking you to appointments and checking on you. What about him?”
“He’s Amai’s brother.”
The car swerved slightly before Raven corrected. She didn’t say anything for a long moment, just stared at the road ahead, her jaw working.
“His brother,” she repeated finally.
“Yeah.”
“Amai’s brother. The same Amai who’s the father of your baby.”
“Yeah.”
“And Kaisen knew this the whole time?”
I closed my eyes, feeling the tears building behind my lids. “I don’t know. I think so. I mean—he had to, right? He had to know who Amai was. He had to know about the baby.”
“Jesus Christ, Truth.” Raven’s voice was tight with fury. “That man has been in your face for weeks. He kissed you. And the whole time, he knew?”
“I don’t know what he knew,” I said, my voice breaking. “That’s the problem. I don’t know if he was being real with me or if he was—if he was playing me the whole time.”
Raven shook her head slowly, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. “I’m gonna kill him. I swear to God, Truth, I’m gonna—”
“Raven, please.”
“Please what? Please don’t be mad that some man manipulated my sister? Please don’t be pissed that he wormed his way into your life, knowing damn well he was connected to all this mess?”
“I don’t know if he manipulated me!” The words came out louder than I intended. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Because when I was with him, it felt real. It felt—” I stopped, my chest tightening. “It felt safe.”
Raven glanced at me, her expression softening slightly but still hard around the edges. “What do you mean?”
“I mean—” I rubbed my face, trying to find the words. “Amai is intense. He’s overwhelming. When I’m with him, everything is heightened and chaotic and I can’t think straight. But Kaisen was different. He was calm. Steady. Consistent.”
“Consistently lying to you.”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” My voice cracked. “But what if he wasn’t? What if he genuinely cared about me and just—just didn’t know how to tell me the truth?”
“Truth.” Raven’s voice was gentle now, but firm. “Listen to yourself. You’re making excuses for a man who knew exactly what he was doing. He knew you were carrying his brother’s baby. He knew you were vulnerable. And he used that.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Then what do I know? Tell me. Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you got played by two brothers who both want something from you.”
The words hit me like a slap.
Because she was right.
I didn’t know what Kaisen wanted. I didn’t know if his affection was real or if it was strategic. I didn’t know if he’d pursued me because he genuinely cared or because I was a pawn in some family power struggle.
And that uncertainty was eating me alive.
“At the clinic,” I said quietly, “when Dr. Beaumont told me about the sperm—about how they used two specimens—Kaisen was there. He drove me. And when I found out, when I realized one of them might be his—”
“He didn’t look surprised,” Raven finished.
I nodded, blinking back tears. “He didn’t look surprised. He looked—I don’t know. Guilty, maybe. Or scared. But not surprised.”
“Because he already knew.”
“Yeah. I think so.”
Raven was quiet for a moment, her eyes fixed on the road. When she spoke again, her voice was softer but no less intense.
“So what happened after that? At the clinic?”
I swallowed hard. “Amai showed up. And when he saw Kaisen with me, when he realized Kaisen had been—” I stopped, the memory flooding back. “He lost it. He stabbed him. Right there in front of everyone.”
“He what?”
“He stabbed Kaisen. In the side. There was blood everywhere. The nurses were screaming. It was—” I closed my eyes. “It was terrifying.”
“Jesus Christ, Truth.” Raven’s voice was tight with anger and fear. “And you went with Amai after that? You let him take you to some cabin in the middle of nowhere after he stabbed somebody?”
“He wasn’t trying to hurt me,” I said, even though I knew how it sounded. “He was—he was protecting me. From Kaisen. From whatever’s going on with their family.”
“Or he was isolating you so you couldn’t figure out what’s really going on.”
I didn’t have an answer for that.
Because maybe she was right. Maybe Amai had taken me to the lakehouse not to protect me but to control me. To keep me away from Kaisen. To make sure I didn’t have time to think clearly about what was happening.
But when I was with him—when he held me, when he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered—it didn’t feel like control.
It felt like devotion.
“I don’t know what’s real anymore,” I whispered. “I don’t know if Kaisen was using me. I don’t know if Amai is controlling me. I don’t know if this baby is part of some plan or if it’s just—just a mistake that everyone’s trying to capitalize on.”
Raven reached over and squeezed my hand again. “Then we’re gonna figure it out. Together. You hear me?”
I nodded, blinking back tears. “Yeah. I hear you.”
“But Truth, I need you to be real with me right now. Do you have feelings for Kaisen?”
The question hung in the air between us.
Did I?
I’d been drawn to him. I’d felt safe with him. I’d kissed him in Raven’s salon and felt something shift inside me—something warm and real.
But was that love? Or was it just relief?
Relief that someone was paying attention to me. Relief that someone was consistent and present and didn’t make me feel like I was drowning.
“I don’t know,” I said finally. “I thought I did. When he was around, I felt—I felt like I could breathe. Like I wasn’t alone. But now I don’t know if that was real or if he was just good at making me feel that way.”
“And Amai?”
I looked out the window, watching the trees blur past. We were getting closer to the city now. I could see the outlines of buildings in the distance, the glow of the sun making NOLA shine in a way that only it could.
“Amai is—” I stopped, searching for the right words.
“He’s everything. When I’m with him, I feel like I’m on fire.
Like I’m alive in a way I’ve never been before.
But it’s also terrifying. Because I don’t know if I can trust him.
I don’t know if he’s telling me the truth or if he’s just—just saying what I need to hear. ”
Raven sighed. “So, you’re caught between two men who might both be lying to you.”
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
“And you’re carrying a baby that might belong to either one of them.”
“Yeah.”
“And you have no idea who to trust or what to do next.”
“Yeah.”
Raven was quiet for a long moment. Then she said, “Okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna stay at Mama’s for a few days. You’re gonna get some space from both of them. And you’re gonna figure out what you want. Not what Amai wants. Not what Kaisen wants. Not what Mama wants. Just you.”
Her words settled over me like a blanket.
Do what’s best for me.
When was the last time I’d done that?
When was the last time I’d made a decision based on what I wanted instead of what everyone else needed from me?
I couldn’t remember.
But maybe it was time to start.
“And you’re not going back to that cabin until we know what’s really going on,” Raven continued. “And you’re not making any decisions about this baby or Amai or Kaisen or any of it until you have all the facts.”
“I know.”
“Good.” Raven’s voice was firm now, protective. “Because I’m not letting anybody—not Amai, not Kaisen, not anybody—mess with my sister. You understand?”
I smiled despite myself. “I understand.”