Lyric was still talking—something about how she couldn’t believe Camille would do this, how she always knew something was off, how we were better off without her. I wasn’t really listening.
I was thinking about Prime. About how he’d found someone worth trusting in Zainab. Someone who loved him for real,who’d been through hell with him and never wavered. Someone he could build a life with.
Maybe that kind of love existed for some people.
Just not for me.
I drained my glass and poured another.
It was gonna be a long night.
25
MEHAR
I couldn’t stop thinking about that night. It had been a week since the attack, but my body still remembered. The way that man grabbed me outside the bakery. The fear that shot through my veins like ice water. The helplessness of being smaller, weaker, unable to fight back.
Some men were monsters. I knew that better than most. My father was my first monster. And then Ahmad taught me that lesson every day for four years. And just when I thought I’d escaped that world—just when I thought I was safe—some random stranger reminded me that danger was everywhere. That being a woman meant being prey.
But then there was Thad.
He’d appeared out of nowhere, like he sensed I was in trouble. Pulled that man off me. Protected me. Held me while I shook and cried and fell apart in his arms.
I still got chills thinking about it. Not from fear—from gratitude. From relief. From the way he’d looked at me after, like hurting me was the worst thing anyone could ever do. Like he’d burn the world down before he let it happen again.
Maybe that’s why I was falling so fast. Because I finally knew what it felt like to be protected instead of preyed upon.
“You’re glowing.”
I looked up from my phone to find Serenity curled up on the other end of the couch, watching me with a knowing smirk. She had on a silk robe, her dark hair swept into a messy bun, a glass of wine dangling from her fingers even though it was barely seven o’clock.
“I’m not glowing.”
“Girl, you’re lit up like a Christmas tree.” She tucked her feet underneath her, settling in like she was about to interrogate me. “You’ve been staring at your phone and smiling for the last twenty minutes. Who you texting?”
“Nobody.”
“Mmhmm.” She took a sip of her wine, still watching me. “It’s Thad, isn’t it?”
I felt my face get hot. “Maybe.”
“Maybe my ass.” She laughed, shaking her head. “You’re in love with him.”
“I am not in love with him. We’ve only been talking for a few weeks.”
“Mehar.” She set her wine glass down on the coffee table and turned to face me fully. “I’ve known you for almost a year now. I’ve seen you at your lowest—fresh out of that marriage, scared of your own shadow, flinching every time somebody raised their voice. And I’ve watched you come back to life. I was there when you got your first tattoo, bought your first pair of red bottoms, learned how to twerk.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re a terrible teacher.”
“I’m an excellent teacher. You just ain’t got no rhythm. All that ass and you can’t make it bounce. But if I—a boarding school kid— can twerk, so can you.” She grinned, but then her expression softened. “My point is, I know you. And I haven’t seen you look like this since… honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look like this. My cousin has you wide open.”
I wanted to deny it. Wanted to play it cool, keep my guard up, protect myself from the vulnerability that came with admitting out loud what I already knew in my heart.
But this was Serenity. My girl. My sister in everything but blood.
“I think I’m falling for him,” I admitted quietly. “And it scares the hell out of me.”
“Why?”
