19. TruthDare?
TRUTH OR DARE?
SAUL
Punching the chief of police while technically on the run for murder?
Not my best move.
But then again, I hadn’t known who the prick was, and honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered.
He touched Tessa.
Disrespected her.
Put his filthy hands where they didn’t belong.
He’s lucky he’s still breathing.
My fists had already decided before my brain could catch up, and even now, standing here with adrenaline still burning through my veins, I wouldn’t take it back.
The problem was, now, we needed to get the hell out of here.
“Not here,” I said when she opened her mouth to protest, her wide eyes flashing with anger, confusion, and something deeper—something she probably didn’t even realize was there yet. My voice was calm, but my body was shifting toward the door. This place wasn’t safe for me anymore.
Then again, nowhere really was. I’d learned that as a boy.
We stepped toward the exit, but before we could push through the crowd, a woman appeared out of nowhere, blocking our way like a storm cloud ready to break open.
I had seen her before. She was a local spiritualist who often worked at events for Cecil. Celine Varennes. Usually, she told fortunes and spat gibberish. But right now, she looked like a problem.
And I wasn’t in the mood for any more problems.
She moved quickly—quicker than I anticipated. One moment, she stared at us with those eerie, insightful eyes. The next moment, she had snatched Tessa’s pearls from her neck.
Tessa gasped, stumbling back into my chest as if the loss had physically knocked the air from her lungs.
Before I could react and wrap my hands around the old woman’s wrist and take back what belonged to Tessa, something made me stop.
She was small, barely reaching my chest, her frame wrapped in layers of fabric that seemed to move even when standing still. But there was power in her presence, which made the hairs on my neck stand up.
She wasn’t just some woman playing mystic for a paycheck. She was something else entirely.
Tessa stiffened beside me, her body coiled with tension, and I instinctively tightened my grip on her waist. I could feel the way her pulse hammered against her skin, her breath shallow and uneven.
But I didn’t take my eyes off the woman.
She wasn’t looking at Tessa anymore—just me.
And then, she spoke.
Not in English. Not even in Twi. But in G?.
"You cannot keep her with lies, Saul Mensah."
The words lashed across my chest like a whip. My entire body tensed, my jaw locking so tight it ached. The sound of my name in my grandmother’s language, the weight of the words—it was too much, too sudden.
I heard Tessa inhale sharply, but I couldn’t look at her.
"If you love her, tell her the whole truth. No more secrets."
A slow pulse of anger unfurled in my gut. Who the fuck was this woman? How did she know my name? How did she know my past?
I shook my head, my voice rough as I forced the words out. "I can’t."
The woman tilted her head, studying me with an expression that made my stomach turn. It wasn’t pity. It was disappointment. Like she already knew I had made the wrong choice.
She lifted Tessa’s pearls between us, letting the dim light catch on their smooth surface. The sight of them in her hands made something primal twist inside me. Those pearls didn’t belong to her. They belonged to Tessa.
"You killed for love once," she murmured. "Would you lie for it now?"
The words slammed into me, sharp and unrelenting, knocking the breath from my lungs.
Patrick .
His name, his face—his death—came rushing back full force.
I saw it like it was happening all over again. The rage. The clarity. The way his body went still beneath my hands. The way I knew, in that moment, that I would never be free of him.
I did it for justice.
I did it for revenge.
I did it because he would’ve destroyed everything if I hadn’t.
And I would do it again.
But Patrick’s brothers were still out there. Maybe watching and maybe waiting.
If I told Tessa everything, I didn’t just risk losing her—I risked making her a target.
"It’s dangerous," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. "For her. For me."
The woman sighed, shaking her head as if I was a foolish child. "You could lose the love you are desperate to keep."
The truth landed in my chest like a stone, heavy and unmoving.
And then, she turned to Tessa.
Her expression shifted and softened. Without another word, she pressed the pearls back into Tessa’s trembling hands.
"Find the truth," she told her.
And then—she was gone.
No footsteps. No fading presence. Just... gone.
* * *
Finally, outside the club with my girl’s hand in mine, I exhale sharply, dragging a hand down my face.
My body still thrums with adrenaline, my mind spinning like a wheel that won’t stop turning. Although the interaction lasted no more than a minute, it felt like a lifetime.
The weight of Celine’s words won’t leave me.
Beside me, Tessa stares, clutching her pearls like they’re the only thing keeping her tethered to reality. Her wide eyes demand something from me—something I can’t name, something I’m not ready to give.
I should tell her right now. I should lay it all out and let her decide if she still wants me after she learns what I’ve done.
But I don’t.
I can’t.
I won’t risk putting that weight on her shoulders.
I won’t risk losing her.
So, I do what I’ve always done: I choose what’s safe and what I can control.
I choose what keeps her protected, even if it means keeping her in the dark.
But the guilt? It burns.
It crawls up my throat, thick and suffocating, wrapping itself around my ribs like a vice.
She deserves the truth.
But how much of it?
I swallow hard, my mind warring with itself.
What if I tell her that I left because of Patrick? That the situation was dangerous, and I needed to protect my family. I can tell her they’re safe now and leave what happened to Patrick out of it.
That would be partially true.
It wouldn’t be a lie—but it wouldn’t be everything.
If she knew I killed him with my bare hands… if she knew what I was truly capable of—would she still look at me the same way? Would she still love me?
Or would she run?
Because if I lose her again, I don’t know if I’ll survive it.