Morgan nodded and lifted her head, pulling in a deep breath. She had to find her way out of this mess because she couldn’t live without Ahmeek. She needed to tell the truth and ask Ethic for help, but fear stopped her. Fear that he would hate her for exposing his secrets in the first place, fear that he would think she’d done it to be vindictive against his marriage. Fear of being shunned by him altogether. She had pillow talked to Bash in a moment of insecurity, and she was terrified it would be considered betrayal. Morgan watched as Ethic spoke to Ahmeek. She had no idea what was said, and the anxiety from that made her chest tight. She hoped Ethic spoke love and not hate. She prayed Ahmeek could feel her heart and see through her actions because everything she did was screaming fuck him. She watched him walk out and then felt Bash’s lips on her cheek. Everyone resumed the dinner. They just went about their meal as if her heart weren’t breaking, as if her life weren’t ruined. She was in a roomful of people, and no one heard her screams. It was as if she were deaf all over again. Nobody heard her. She was saying no, but no one understood her language.

Morgan was grateful when Ethic switched seats with Nyair for the rest of the dinner. Just having him next to her made her feel a little bit better. Ethic made everything better, which was why she couldn’t lose him. He went into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box and set it on the table.

“For you to open later,” he said. She looked at him in surprise. “When you’re alone,” he concluded.

She nodded and then placed the small gold box in her handbag. She was able to survive the five courses despite the tension coming from Bash. She kept checking her phone to see if Meek would at least text her, but he didn’t, and she knew he wouldn’t. His showing up at all surprised her after what she had done to him. The same way Messiah had sold her a dream only to repossess it, Morgan had done the same to Ahmeek. Messiah’s words had shredded her apart, and she had used the same weapon to disconnect from Meek. She had never felt so low. Never had she loved someone so cruelly. He was an unknowing victim. Her hurt had blindsided him, and it was killing her that he thought it was true. The dinner concluded, and Morgan hugged her family goodbye before rising from the table. When she got outside, she stopped walking. Her car was surrounded with floral bouquets.

The way Bash’s hand tightened around hers crushed her fingers.

“That’s some gift. Well played, Sebastian,” one of Christiana’s friends said.