Chapter Eleven Eason Storm
I wasn’t a man who gave a fuck about appearances. I didn’t need validation. Didn’t crave approval. Didn’t give a fuck about people’s opinions.
But tonight was different. Because tonight wasn’t about business, wasn’t about labels or status. Tonight was about claiming what was mine.
And right now, as I stood in the center of my gym’s anniversary event, surrounded by niggas I barely tolerated and industry people who only gave a fuck when there was money involved, all I could see was her. My woman. My peace. My fucking everything.
Dressed in a white embellished gown that clung to every perfect dip and curve of Xalori’s body, she was the only thing in the room that mattered.
My eyes stayed locked on her like she was the only thing worth looking at.
She wasn’t used to the attention, admiration, and being treated like the goddess she was.
She’d spent too long being underestimated, discarded, and taken for granted. That shit ended tonight.
As the crowd murmured, sipping champagne and waiting for me to make my bullshit corporate speech, I stepped forward, grabbing the mic from the stand.
“I know tonight’s about this gym, this company, and all the success that’s come with it,” I started, voice steady. Controlled. “But I’m ‘bout to be real with y’all. None of this shit means anything without my family.”
I looked directly at her. Xalori’s eyes locked with mine, uncertainty flickering across her face. She felt the shift. And then, in front of every nigga in this room, I made it clear.
“I ain’t the type of nigga to put my business out there,” I continued, my grip tightening around the mic, “but I’m making an exception tonight. Because the woman standing right there watching me like she don’t know what’s coming, that’s my woman.”
A hush fell over the room. Niggas were listening now.
“Not just mine,” I added, my voice dropping, “but my kids. Our kids.”
I let the words hang heavy in the air. I let every motherfucker in that room know without question—this was mine, they were mine.
Xalori’s lips parted, her eyes rounding slightly as she inhaled sharply. She wasn’t expecting this, but I didn’t give a fuck. She needed to hear it.
“I’m not just standing on business with this company,” I continued, my gaze still locked on hers. “I’m standing on business when it comes to my woman and my son. So y’all can take this however the fuck y’all want to.”
I leaned into the mic, making sure every fake, lurking motherfucker heard me loud and clear.
“But as of tonight, this is my family. And if anybody got a problem with that,” I smirked darkly, “they can see me about it.”
I dropped the mic and walked offstage like I hadn’t just shut the whole room up. Like I hadn’t just poured my damn soul into that moment. I didn’t care who clapped or whispered or sucked their teeth. I didn’t give a fuck what anybody else thought.
This was for her.
I reached her, hands cupping her face, thumb brushing her cheek. “You okay, Muffin?”
Her lips parted like she was about to speak, but then a slow clap cut through the room like a blade. I turned my head slightly to see who the fuck it was.
Harmony’s smirk widened as she stepped into view, her long curly hair cascading over one shoulder, her body draped in some designer shit she had no business affording. She looked different. But the evil glint in her eyes was still the same.
“Well, well, isn’t that cute?” she drawled, her voice laced with amusement. “Eason Storm, a family man. Who would’ve thought?”
Xalori stiffened against me. I felt it. The way her body tensed. That was the first sign that this was about to go to hell.
Harmony tilted her head, flashing a slow, wicked smile. “But tell me, Eas, how is she the lady in your life when we’re married, hubby?”
You could hear a pin drop in that bitch. Xalori’s breathing hitched, her fingers digging into my forearm like she was physically trying to ground herself.
And I knew in that moment, I had fucked up. Not because Harmony’s words were true. Not because they mattered.
But because the only woman who ever mattered now had a reason to doubt me. And that shit could cost me everything.
“Harmony—” I started.
I dropped my arm from Xalori, already stepping forward, ready to put an end to this shit before it started. But then Harmony said the one thing that made it all worse.
“And wouldn’t that make her…” She dragged out the pause, her eyes flickering to Xalori with pure malice, “…the side chick? The homewrecker?”
Gasps and whispers filled the room. But I didn’t give a fuck. All I cared about was the way Xalori fucking flinched.
She stood still. Frozen. Her face unreadable, but I saw the way her breathing changed. The way her fingers curled into her palms like she was trying to hold herself together.
And when I reached for her, she stepped back. Not much, but enough. Enough for me to feel that shit like a fucking gut punch.
“Tell me she’s lying, Eason,” she whispered, her voice barely above a breath.
I clenched my jaw. Because I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell her Harmony was lying. Because technically, she wasn’t.
Xalori swallowed hard, her beautiful brown eyes searching mine. Pleading, begging for anything—any excuse, any half-truth, or any lie that would make this moment hurt less.
I opened my mouth, about to say something to fix this shit. But before I could get a single fucking word out, she exhaled sharply, turned on her heel, and walked the fuck away. And that’s when I fucking lost it.
Harmony’s laugh rang out behind me.
“I didn’t even have to try that hard,” she mocked. “That bitch folded faster than I thought.”
At the sound of her voice, I immediately saw red. Without thinking, I spun around, closing the space between me and Harmony so fast she barely had time to react before my hand wrapped around her throat.
“You think this shit funny?” I growled, my voice low, lethal. “You think you ‘bout to fuck up my life and just walk away?”
Harmony gasped, clawing at my wrist Her eyes widened. She wasn’t laughing now.
“You got two seconds to vanish before I forget you a woman,” I snapped, “and send you to hell myself.”
“Eason, let her go.” Kavell’s voice was firm, steady. “Not here.”
My jaw clenched, rage rolling through my body like a fucking hurricane. But he was right. This wasn’t over. Not by a long fucking shot. But first, I had to get my woman back.
I let Harmony go, watching as she stumbled back, clutching her throat, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and satisfaction. She was fucking smug, even in her panic, because she knew what she’d done. She wanted to blow up my world, and she’d done that shit with one sentence.
I didn’t spare her another look. Didn’t give a fuck about the murmurs spreading through the crowd like wildfire. Didn’t give a fuck about Sayani’s smug-ass smirk or Prime’s lurking ass watching the destruction from the sidelines. All I cared about was Xalori.
And she was gone. Gone because I failed her.
But that mistake wasn’t happening twice. Not while there was still breath left in my body.