Chapter 20 Aviana Scott
AVIANA SCOTT
AS SOON AS we landed back in Chicago, Mythic headed straight to the grocery store.
Having that private chef in Belize had been amazing, no doubt.
The food was delicious, but after a week of it, we were both ready to get back to some real food—Black American food.
I was craving it like crazy, and apparently, so was he.
We were walking through the produce section, picking up stuff for the meal we had in mind—fried chicken, collard greens, and sweet potatoes.
As I reached for some bell peppers, I smirked at him flirtatiously. “You know,” I started, “I never imagined you’d be this soft.”
He looked at me with one eyebrow cocked and that grin of his showing just how cocky he could be. “Ain’t nothing soft about me,” he shot back, his deep voice dripping with that usual swag.
I giggled, tilting my head to the side. Then my eyes slowly grazed his tall frame from the top of his head to where I knew his impressive manhood hung. “You’re right about that shit, baby.”
Biting on his bottom lip with a devilish smirk, he pinched my stomach. “Don’t start no shit in this store. I’ll have you bent over the lettuce.”
I giggled and put space between us as I pushed the cart farther down the aisle.
“I didn’t mean soft like that. I meant, I never imagined a street dude like you would be so…
attentive. You know, loving, affectionate.
You’ve been spoiling me all week, and now you’re out here grocery shopping with me. It’s cute, but I’m shocked.”
He stepped closer, sliding his arm around my waist with his lips just brushing my ear. “I can be a gangsta and still be the man you need. I ain’t gotta choose between loving you and the streets.”
I smiled up into his eyes with a gaze filled with appreciation for his presence in my life. He wasn’t just saying these words. He meant them. He could be tough when the world demanded it, but here, with me, he was something else—something I hadn’t expected but couldn’t resist.
Given everything I had just been through, I should have been more guarded, more skeptical about putting so much faith in him.
My parents would’ve called me a fool. They would’ve warned me that trusting too easily only leads to more hurt.
But deep down, I knew there wasn’t any reason to build walls with Mythic.
With him, it felt different. My heart told me he was the one place I didn’t need to keep my guard up, and despite everything I’d learned the hard way, I believed it. Completely.
I smiled, leaning into him. “Yeah. Let’s stop before you have me bent over the lettuce.”
“Yeah. ’Cause you got my dick harder than life right now,” he teased with that cocky grin still playing on his lips.
Before I could even respond, his hand slid from my waist, gently cradling the back of my head.
He pulled me in, and when his lips met mine, soft yet commanding, a moan escaped my throat.
I got lost in the way his lips moved against mine, like he knew exactly how to make me melt.
All I could do was savor the way he kissed me, as if he owned me.
My lips were still pressed against Mythic’s when I heard my father’s disapproving tone cut through the air like a whip.
“Aviana.” The way he said my name sent an ice-cold chill down my spine, just like when I was a little girl caught doing something I had no business doing, knowing I was about to get in trouble.
I froze. My whole body stiffened against Mythic’s.
His hand was still on the back of my head, but I was snatched out of the moment.
I reluctantly turned as my stomach knotted up.
My father stood a few feet behind us with a cart with disappointment written all over his face like he’d just seen something he couldn’t unsee.
My voice was small and nervous as I greeted him. “Daddy.” I couldn’t even look him in the eye. My eyes kept bouncing between his and the floor.
“Come here,” he said with a flat tone.
I stepped away from Mythic, the heat of his kiss still lingering on my lips, and moved toward my father.
Mythic didn’t back down. He nodded at my dad, saying, “How you doin’, Mr. Bennett?”
But my father didn’t even look at Mythic, didn’t acknowledge him—nothing. He just ignored him, eyes locked on me like Mythic wasn’t even standing there. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“What the hell are you doing, Aviana?” he gritted, full of judgment. “So, you’re dating him?”
Despite the utter disappointment in my father’s eyes, Mythic had been too good to me for me to ever deny him. “Yes.”
My father scoffed, frowning. “Are you serious? After all you’ve been through, you make a decision like this? He’s who you want to be with? Do you remember how he treated you? How he broke your heart?”
“Daddy, that was a long time ago. We were kids back then. Things are different now.”
He shook his head, his face hard, like he wasn’t hearing a word I was saying. “A man like him doesn’t change. He hurt you before, and he’ll hurt you again. I don’t care how much time’s passed.”
I swallowed hard. “Daddy, I’m grown now. I know what I’m doing. I wouldn’t be with him if I didn’t trust him.”
He sighed, looking at me like he wanted to say more but was biting his tongue. “You can think you know all you want. But I’m telling you, a man like that, he doesn’t care about you the way you deserve.”
I felt the sting of his words, but I stood my ground. “I hear you, Daddy, I do, but you don’t know him like I do now.”
My father’s eyes looked toward Mythic for the briefest second, then back to me. “You’re right, Aviana; you’re grown. All I can do is pray for you.”
With that, he turned and pushed his cart past us, leaving me standing there, feeling like I was ten years old again, caught between the man who raised me and the one who had my heart held hostage.
As my father walked away, I felt Mythic’s presence come closer. His eyes were filled with sympathy and concern. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he wanted to. I wasn’t sure how much of my father’s conversation he had heard.
Just as he reached for my hand, my phone rang. I glanced down at it, and my heart sank when I saw the name Detective Randall flash on the screen.
I stood there frozen for a second, not wanting to deal with more stress after that confrontation with my dad. I knew Detective Randall could only be calling about Damar’s case. The thought of it twisted my insides. That case had been like a constant storm over my life I couldn’t escape.
Without saying a word, I answered and fixed the volume so Mythic could hear too.
I sighed heavily, answering, “Hello, Detective Randall.”
“Hi, Aviana. I hope that I’m not disturbing you. I only need a moment of your time.”
Mythic stepped closer and leaned down so that he could still hear.
“I’m doing some grocery shopping, but you can go ahead.”
“I just wanted to inform you that Damar confessed to Mia’s murder.”
My fingers gripped the edge of the cart. Mythic’s brow furrowed, his eyes flicking between me and the phone. It was obvious that he’d killed her, but hearing her say the words made it real.
“He told us everything,” Detective Randall continued.
“He confessed to killing Mia. He killed her the night that she bonded out. He admitted to posing as her when you received those threatening messages to make it look like she was still alive. He was behind the explosion of your car and the fire at your home.”
I waited for my world to tilt, but I felt nothing. No shock. No anger. No sadness. I was numb. After everything Mia and Damar had done, it was like nothing could hurt me anymore. My heart didn’t even flinch.
“He has a court appearance this afternoon where he will be pleading guilty to both murders. He should be sentenced right away.”
Mythic’s eyes searched my face, waiting for some kind of reaction, but I had none to give. “Thank you for letting me know,” I finally managed, my voice flat. I ended the call and slipped the phone back into my purse.
Mythic stepped closer. He rested his hand on the small of my back.
“You good?” he asked gently.
I nodded, staring down at the cart like it held all the answers. But deep down, I knew there was nothing left to feel. Damar and Mia had taken enough from me already. I wasn’t going to give them anything more.
After that mess at the grocery store with my dad and the call from Detective Randall, Mythic wasn’t about to let me out of his sight.
He could feel something was off, and honestly, I wasn’t about to fight him on it because I didn’t want to be alone.
So, after I cooked us dinner, I went with him to Enchant.
Everyone around me was vibing, dancing, laughing, living it up like they didn’t have a care in the world, but I just couldn’t get there.
I sat at the bar, nursing yet another glass of Rosé.
My mind was spinning, stuck on everything Detective Randall said.
Damar’s confession didn’t shock me, but hearing how deep his lies ran was mind boggling.
His level of deceit was disgusting, and no matter how much I tried to shake it off, it clung to me.
I swirled the wine in my glass, watching the bubbles rise.
My father’s voice echoed in my head. His words stabbed at my sense of judgment.
How did I miss all the signs? How did I let myself get played like that?
It made me doubt my judgment, my common sense, my ability to see people for who they really were.
Was I just too gullible? Too trusting?
I sat there, questioning myself, wondering if I’d let my heart blind me from the truth for too long. Maybe my dad was right. Maybe I was a fool.