“Shit ain’t that difficult, Mo. You say you with it. You running down when you even think I’m with somebody else, but you bullshitting where it counts. First it was the nigga Bash, now it’s Messiah. You got every excuse in the world not to commit,” he said.

“You don’t understand,” she replied. She wanted to tell him everything—about the threats, the risk she took if she left for good, but she couldn’t. It would only expose Ethic’s sins to one more person.

“You be easy, Mo,” he said. Every step he took away from her obliterated her.

“Ahmeek!” Morgan called out as he unlocked his car. He climbed inside without acknowledging her. Morgan’s vision blurred. Her hands shook as she cleared the emotion from her face. This was it. Their epic love affair was shattering before her very eyes. She couldn’t help that she loved him. She couldn’t help that she loved Messiah too. There was no one occupant of her heart. She loved them both, and nobody seemed to understand.

He put the car in reverse and drove right by her without even looking her way. It seemed like everyone was giving up on her, but Morgan knew she couldn’t fold. She had already been through too much to give up. She’d just have to figure out how to love herself a little extra now that neither Meek nor Messiah seemed to love her at all.

18

Only Morgan Atkins could unnerve Ahmeek Harris. It was something about her that burrowed beneath every guard he had in place and made him weak. The night’s revelations were heavy on his mind as he drove through the city streets. He had always had his reservations about loving Morgan. He had known if he got too close to her the result would be all encompassing. He had admired her from afar. He hadn’t missed a single detail. The curve of her smile made his chest ache long before he’d ever had the privilege to experience her love. The slant in her eyes when she laughed had always caused goose bumps to form on his arms. The fucking scent of her. Her skin. Even just when she used to greet him with a friendly hug had made his stomach hollow. Before Messiah ever mentioned one word about the pampered Morgan Atkins, Ahmeek had thought she was lovely. Whenever she would come around the way, Ahmeek’s day would take a turn for the better. She was a symbol of light, of warmth. No matter how dismal and small his world seemed, whenever he laid eyes on her, he was reassured that beautiful things did exist despite the ugliness around him.