DIANA
I sighed, staring up at my ceiling. I’d been working all day, nonstop—more than I usually did on a Monday—but I needed the distraction badly.
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DUANE
It was after hours at The Sneaker Vault, and I’d just returned to my office after letting my final employee, Xav, out through the door before locking it.
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DIANA
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DUANE
I pulled open the bistro’s door and stepped inside, my attention already on Kelli as she helped a customer at the register.
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⚠️ Trigger Warning: Emotional Abuse & Manipulation
This episode contains discussions of past emotional abuse, manipulation, and distressing relationship dynamics as Diana recounts her experiences. Reader discretion is advised. If you find this content triggering, please take care of yourself and proceed with caution.
DIANA
I blinked my eyes awake, opening them to my dim bedroom. The weight in my bladder was what woke me, but the warmth of Duane’s arm resting on me kept me right in place.
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DUANE
“What do you know about Diana’s ex?”
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DIANA
I blinked my eyes open when a flash of sunlight, escaping through a gap in my window blinds, shone against my eyelids. A deep inhale later, along with a slight shift of my body on my bed, reminded me instantly of the night before.
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DUANE
“We have come to the part of the ceremony where Serenity and Trey will express their vows to one another,” the officiant, Reverend Elias Ward, said at the front of the altar.
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DIANA
“Do you think I should tell him?”
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DUANE
“Y’all looking good,” Trey said, as tailors swarmed around our group of guys.
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DIANA
I sat outside the villa, closing my eyes and letting the rhythmic sounds of the waves reaching the shoreline and retreating from the white sand wash over me.
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DUANE
“Yo, Duane.” Ryder patted my chest and gestured ahead. “It’s our light.”
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DIANA
The second I pulled open the bar’s door, my eyes lit up at the atmosphere.
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DUANE
I stepped behind the register, passing Tasha, who was scrolling through her phone. Some bosses acted like hard-asses, making sure employees were working every second of their shift, but that wasn’t my style.
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DIANA
I saw my friends huddled in a corner the moment I got in front of Bellyful’s picture windows.
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DIANA
My eyes drifted out the window, the view of Rose Hill inspiring a smile to pull at the corners of my lips.