14. TRUTH #2
We drove in silence for a few minutes, the city growing closer with every mile. I watched the familiar streets appear—the corner store where we used to buy candy as kids, the church where Mama dragged us every Sunday, the park where we’d spent countless summer afternoons.
This was home.
This was real.
The lakehouse had felt like a dream. A beautiful, dangerous dream where nothing made sense and everything was magnified.
And Kaisen—Kaisen had felt like an anchor. Something steady and real in the chaos.
But maybe that anchor had been tied to a lie.
Maybe the man who made me feel safe was the one I should have been running from all along.
“We’re almost there,” Raven said, breaking the silence. “You ready for Mama?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “No. But I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for Mama.”
“Fair point.”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself. Mama was going to have questions. Lots of questions. And she wasn’t going to accept vague answers or half-truths.
She was going to push. She was going to demand details. She was going to tell me exactly what she thought I should do.
And honestly? I didn’t need that right now.
“You gonna tell her everything?” Raven asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe. Probably not.” I rubbed my face. “I’ll tell her what I can. What I understand. The rest—I’ll figure out later.”
“Just don’t let her bully you into doing something you’re not ready for.”
“I won’t.”
“And don’t let her guilt you into staying away from Amai if that’s not what you want. Or Kaisen, for that matter.”
I looked at Raven, surprised. “You think I should give Kaisen another chance?”
“I think you should do what’s best for you,” Raven said.
Raven turned onto Mama’s street, and I saw the familiar shotgun house come into view.
Home.
I took another deep breath and reached for the door handle.
“You ready?” Raven asked.
“No,” I said honestly. “But let’s do it anyway.”
She smiled. “That’s my girl.”
We got out of the car and walked toward the house together, and with every step, I felt the weight of the decision I’d made settling more firmly on my shoulders.
I’d left Amai.
I’d left the confusion about Kaisen behind too—at least for now.
I’d chosen my family.
I’d chosen space and clarity over intensity and confusion.
And now I had to live with that choice.
Even if part of me was already wondering if I’d made a mistake.
Even if part of me was still thinking about Kaisen’s steady hands, his calm voice, the way he’d made me feel like he was genuinely trying to get to know me.
Even if I didn’t know whether any of it had been real.
Just when we were about to get out of the car the black Mercedes pulled up in front of Raven’s car, blocking us in.
My stomach dropped.
I knew that car. I knew the man behind the wheel.
Raven locked in, her hand instinctively reaching for her purse. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Amai stepped out of the driver’s seat, dressed in all black—black jeans, black shirt, black boots. He looked like he’d walked straight out of a nightmare. Or a fantasy. I couldn’t tell which anymore with his fine ass.
His eyes locked on me immediately, ignoring Raven completely.
“Truth,” he said, his voice calm and steady. “Get in the car.”
It wasn’t a request.
Raven stepped in front of me, her body a shield between us. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”
Amai’s gaze finally shifted to her, and he smiled—slow, amused, dangerous. “Raven, right? Truth’s sister. The one who works at the salon.”
“Yeah. And you’re the man who’s been keeping my sister locked up in the woods like some kind of hostage.”
“I wasn’t keeping her hostage,” Amai said, his tone still maddeningly calm. “She was free to leave anytime she wanted.”
“Then why are you here?” Raven shot back. “If she was free to leave, why the fuck are you blocking my car in?”
Amai didn’t answer. He just looked at me, his dark eyes unreadable. “Truth. Get in the car.”
“No,” I said, my voice shaking but firm. “I need space, Amai. I need time to think.”
“You’re not thinking,” he said, taking a step forward. “You’re running.”
“Maybe I need to run!” The words burst out of me, raw and desperate. “Maybe I need to get away from all of this—from you, from Kaisen, from your entire family—and figure out what the hell is real!”
Amai stopped walking, his jaw tightening. For a moment, I thought he might actually listen. That he might actually let me go.
But then he spoke, and his words shattered everything.
“Kaisen was at the fertility clinic before you two got together.”
The world tilted.
“What?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“The fertility clinic,” Amai repeated, his tone cold and precise. “New Beginnings. Kaisen was there. He knew about the baby. He knew it could be mine. He knew about me. And then he pursued you anyway.”
I felt like I’d been punched in the chest.
“You’re lying,” I said, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew he wasn’t.
“Am I?” Amai’s eyes were dark, unrelenting. “Think about it, Truth. How did Kaisen find you? How did he know where you’d be? How did he know exactly what to say, exactly how to make you feel safe?”
“Stop,” I whispered, but he didn’t.
“He knew everything,” Amai continued, his voice cutting through me like a blade. “He knew you were carrying a baby that might be his. He knew you were vulnerable. He knew you were confused. And he used that.”
“No.” I shook my head, tears burning behind my eyes. “No, he—he cared about me. He was consistent. He was there when you weren’t.”
“He was strategic,” Amai corrected, his voice hard. “He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that if he could get close to you, if he could make you trust him, he’d have leverage. Over me. Over the baby. Over everything.”
Raven’s hand was still in her purse, and I knew she was gripping her gun. “You need to back the fuck up,” she said, her voice low and dangerous.
Amai glanced at her, and that infuriating smile returned. “That’s cute. Really. But you’re not going to shoot me, Raven. Because if you do, you’ll have bigger problems than me showing up at your mama’s house.”
“Try me,” Raven said, pulling the gun out and holding it steady at her side.
Amai didn’t flinch. He didn’t even look concerned. He just looked at me.
“Truth,” he said, his voice softer now but no less intense. “I know you’re scared. I know you don’t know who to trust. But I need you to hear me right now. Kaisen didn’t pursue you because he cared about you. He pursued you because he knew it would hurt me.”
“That’s not true,” I said, but my voice cracked.
“It is,” Amai insisted, taking another step closer. Raven raised the gun slightly, but he ignored her. “And here’s what’s going to happen next. You’re going to stay here with your family. You’re going to try to process everything. And Kaisen is going to find you.”
My breath caught.
“He’s going to show up,” Amai continued, his voice steady and certain.
“And he’s going to be everything I’m not.
He’s going to be calm. Patient. Understanding.
He’s going to tell you that I’m dangerous, that I’m controlling, that I’m the reason you’re in this mess.
And then he’s going to offer to help you.
To protect you. To put you back together. ”
“Stop,” I whispered, but he didn’t.
“And you’re going to believe him,” Amai said, his eyes locked on mine. “Because that’s what he does. He finds broken things and convinces them he’s the only one who can fix them. That’s his strategy. That’s how he wins.”
“You don’t know that,” I said, but even as I spoke, doubt was creeping in.
Because Kaisen had found me when I was broken. He had been there when I needed someone. He had made me feel safe.
But had it been real? Or had it been calculated?
“I know my brother,” Amai said, his voice dropping lower. “I know how he thinks. I know how he operates. And I know that he’s been playing this game longer than you realize.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded, my voice breaking. “Why didn’t you warn me before I—before I—”
“Before you what?” Amai’s eyes darkened. “Before you kissed him? Before you let him in?”
I flinched, and he saw it.
“I didn’t tell you,” Amai said, his voice tight with barely controlled rage, “because I didn’t know how deep he’d gotten.
I didn’t know he’d already wormed his way into your life.
I didn’t know you’d already started trusting him.
Fuck, I didn’t even know you were on his radar, Truth.
This started as a contract. There was no need to tell you about my family. ”
“So, what now?” I asked, my voice shaking. “What do you want from me, Amai? And now is a real good time to tell me about your family!”
“I want you to stay,” he said simply. “Not because I’m forcing you. Not because I’m controlling you. But because you know—deep down, you know—that I’m the only one telling you the truth.”
“The truth?” I let out a bitter laugh. “You’ve been lying to me since the beginning. You didn’t tell me about Kaisen. You didn’t tell me about the sperm swap. You didn’t tell me about your family or your business or any of it.”
“I didn’t lie,” Amai said, his jaw tight. “I withheld information to protect you. And I didn’t know about the sperm swap. You can’t believe I would ever do some shit like that to you, Truth.”
“That’s the same thing!”
“No, it’s not.” His voice was hard now, unyielding. “Lying is telling you something false. Withholding is keeping you safe from things you’re not ready to handle.”
“And who decides what I’m ready to handle?” I shot back. “You? You think you get to make that call?”
“Yes,” Amai said, and the certainty in his voice was chilling. “Because I’m the one who knows what’s at stake. I’m the one who knows what my family is capable of. I’m the one who knows what Kaisen will do to get what he wants.”
“And what does he want?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“You,” Amai said simply. “He wants you. Not because he loves you. Not because he cares about you. But because you’re mine. And he’s spent his entire life trying to take what’s mine.”