Seth didn’t say anything. He just stayed there, holding me, breathing me in like he was trying to remember the exact shapeof me. His face stayed tucked into my neck like he wasn’t ready to let go just yet.
Then came the question he was really holding.
“Why was he here” He didn’t sugarcoat it. He didn’t dress it up.
“He wanted me to tell you to let him handle Dre. Said Dre’s his nephew. His sister’s only son.”
Seth didn’t move. He didn’t tense up. Didn’t flinch. Just kept his arms around me like the words hadn’t even touched him. But I knew better. I felt the shift in his breathing. The long, quiet inhale. The calm before the storm.
And then, finally, his voice deep, low, and full of everything he wasn’t saying. “I want you to come home.”
It wasn’t a request; it was a decision. That protective, take no chances, do whatever it takes side of him coming to the surface.
“I’ll hire a live in nurse. Keep the doctor on call. I’ll just feel better knowing you and Shiloh are somewhere safe. Somewhere no one knows.”
The mention of our son hit me hard. He wasn’t just protecting me. He was thinking about our child. Our family. Everything he built with his bare hands and blood.
I turned to face him. His eyes were already on me, steady and fierce, but soft in that way only I ever got to see.
“I’m ready to come home,” I whispered, and meant every word of it.
Not just to the house. But to him. To the version of myself that felt safest in his arms. The one who wasn’t afraid of what came next because she knew she’d never face it alone.
I could see it in his eyes. The pain and guilt. The way he looked down at his hands like they were stained with something he couldn’t wash off. Like every mistake, every misstep, every scar in this life fell on him. And maybe it did. But he didn’t deserve to carry it alone.
“Seth, this is not on you,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I reached out and touched his face, the roughness of his beard scratching softly against my palm. He leaned into my hand like he was trying to ground himself. Maybe I was the only thing keeping him from completely falling apart.
His eyes stayed locked on mine.
“It is,” he said, jaw tight. “I knew something was off with Dre. I felt it, Stormi. I felt it, and I ignored it. Gave that nigga the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe I was just being paranoid. Knowing damn well in this life, enemies don’t always show up loud sometimes they come quiet, wearing smiles and fake loyalty.”
He paused, breathing hard.
“I didn’t protect you or our son. And I know what this life costs. I’ve paid the price too many times to pretend like I didn’t see it coming.”
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight in his words.
But I wasn’t letting him sit in that darkness by himself.
“All that matters is that we’re here,” I said, sliding into his arms like it was second nature. Like that’s exactly where I was meant to be. I held him the same way I’d held our newborn just hours before; close, tight, like letting go wasn’t an option.
Seth carried this family. He was the calm and the storm. Solving every problem, fighting every battle. The ones people saw and the ones he kept buried in silence.
I knew that weight. Knew what it felt like to be the strong one until the strength turned to silence and the silence turned to pressure.
So, when my man hit that place, the one where the hero felt human, I had to be his peace.
“You didn’t fail us,” I said quietly. “You love us. You protect us. That’s all you’ve ever done.”
He didn’t answer with words. Just looked at me like I was his whole world and his last lifeline all at once.
Then I grabbed his face and kissed him not soft, no gentle peck. Deep. Tongue, lips, breath… every ounce of emotion I had poured into that kiss. I wanted him to feel me. Not just physically, but in his soul. I wanted him to know I was here, present, real, his. And baby he felt it.
When we pulled apart, his eyes dropped to my lips, then to my body and that smirk came out. The one that told me he was about to say something slick.
“Oh, you must be ready for another one.”
I blinked.“Another what?”
