31. Derek’s Destiny

DEREK

I stormed through the hospital halls like I had a beef against the place, each step heavy like I was stomping out a piece of my soul. That "Visiting Hours Ended" sign? Fuck that. My brother was here, and there wasn’t a damn thing that was gonna stop me from getting to him. The security guard didn’t stand a chance. One look at the fury burning in my eyes, and he backed off like he saw death walk in. He wasn’t wrong.

Tears blurred my vision, but I kept it together. Barely. Since I left the suite, leaving Destiny knocked out cold after she dropped her truth on me, it felt like the walls were closing in. I couldn’t sleep. Every word she said clawed at my chest, pulling me down into a place darker than hell. A place I’d sworn I’d never return to.

I hit the door to Little Derek’s room and didn’t even bother knocking. I barged in, like I had every right to. Inside, Ant and Angel were passed out on that pull-out couch, her body tucked tight against his like they found the only peace left in this fucked-up world. For a second, I hated to break it, but I had no choice.

"Ant," I rasped, my voice barely more than a growl. The room was still, too still, but I didn’t care. I needed him. Now. "Ant!" I called again, my voice cracking, shaking.

He jerked awake, eyes wild, scanning the room like he was ready to throw hands until his gaze landed on me. One look—just one—and he knew something was up. Knew I wasn’t here to bullshit.

"Anthony?" Angel mumbled, her voice soft, but her body didn’t move.

"It’s okay, go back to sleep," he whispered, brushing his hand through her hair, his touch so gentle I’d tease him about it any other day.

He slid out from under her like a man on a mission, and I stepped back into the hallway, the weight of what I had to say pressing down like a thousand pounds of concrete on my chest.

He met me in the hall carefully closing the door behind him, his face still groggy, but the focus was all on me. His eyes locked in, sharp, ready.

“What the hell happened?” His voice was low.

I swiped a hand over my face, trying to force the words out, but they tasted like poison on my tongue. “That night…years ago. You said you needed Dorian’s number.”

Dorian—the man who cleaned up messes no one wanted to talk about. The man who did the dirty work, the work that made people disappear like shadows when the sun comes up. If it got that bad, Dorian made sure it didn’t leave a trace. He kept me clean when I was too far gone, drowning in my own vices. And Ant? He knew that.

Back then when Ant called, I didn’t ask questions. Didn’t want to know the answers. I trusted Ant to handle whatever he needed to call Dorian about thinking it was some shit I probably did that I didn’t even remember. I was too high, too drunk, too fucked up to care. But now...now I knew that shit wasn’t about me. It was about her. About Destiny.

Ant’s face went hard, the realization clicking in his eyes like a light flickering on in a dark room. He leaned back against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, bracing himself for the wreckage that was about to come crashing down.

“She told you.” His voice was flat, but the weight behind it was crushing. He’d been waiting for this moment just as long as I had.

I stood there, fists balled up so tight I could feel my nails cutting into my palms, the pain barely registering with all the shit swirling around in my head. The hallway felt suffocating, walls too close, too tight. Ant just stood across from me, arms crossed, eyes steady like he always does when things get messy. But that calm? That cool? It was pissing me off.

"Why the fuck didn’t you tell me, Ant?" I spat, my voice rough like gravel in my throat. Every word felt like it was burning a hole in my chest. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Not with my own brother.

Ant didn’t say nothing at first, just sighed, long and deep, rubbing his head like the weight of it was pressing him down. I could see it in his eyes—he wasn’t trying to argue. "I had to protect her, D. Protect you too."

The hell kind of answer was that? My own brother, keeping something this heavy from me, acting like he was doing me a favor. "Protect me from what? The real shit going on with Destiny when I always checked in on her? You think that’s what I needed? To be blind while my girl was out here fighting for her life?"

I could see it now. All the shit I missed while I was too busy chasing whatever it was I thought I needed. And Ant, calm as ever, like he made the right call. Like he was the only one holding things together.

"She wasn’t your girl, D." He said it like it was just a fact. Like he wasn’t talking about the biggest betrayal I’d ever felt. "And back then, you were spiraling. Poppin’ pills, smoking and drinking everything you could get your hands on. You weren’t in no shape to handle no real shit like this."

I barked out a laugh, but it was empty, cold.

"Fuck that, Ant!" My voice cracked, raw and broken. "It was Destiny, man! You think I wouldn’t have dropped everything for her? You think I wouldn’t have come back to fix it?"

He didn’t even flinch. Just stood there, his arms still crossed, eyes locked on mine like he was waiting for me to burn out. "What would you have done, D? Tell me. You were halfway across the world, high, drunk, barely staying out of jail if it wasn’t for Marcy and Dorian. What would you have done if you knew?"

His words hit like a sucker punch, but I wasn’t ready to admit he was right. I paced, trying to burn off the heat, running a hand over my face, but nothing was cooling me down.

"You should’ve told me," I growled, my voice low, dangerous. "I had a right to know."

He exhaled slow, like he’d been carrying this for a minute. "No, you didn’t. I know it fucking stings. But I didn’t keep it from you to hurt you. I kept it from you ‘cause I had to make sure Destiny was straight. If I told you, man…you would’ve crashed out, and that wouldn’t have helped anybody—not you, not her. The less people who knew, the better."

I felt my chest tighten, the anger curling up into my throat. The guilt hit me like a tidal wave, drowning me. All those nights I wasn’t there. All those nights she was fighting her demons alone. I wasn’t there.

Ant took a step closer, his voice steady but now laced with something softer, something almost fatherly. "I did what I had to do. For her. And I don’t regret how I handled it. Destiny went through that traumatic shit, she had to make a call. Not you." His eyes stayed on mine, unwavering. "If the guilt is tearing you up ‘cause you weren’t there? Then deal with that on your own time. I love you, bro, but this ain’t about you.”

His words hit like a punch to the chest, twisting something deep inside me. The sting of betrayal mixed with guilt, my mind wrestling with the truth. Ant was too calm, too rational for the storm raging in me, and that just made it worse. It felt like he was standing on solid ground while I was sinking in quicksand.

“I could’ve protected her,” I whispered, like saying it out loud would somehow make it real, would somehow erase everything that had happened.

Ant’s face tightened. "No, you couldn’t have. Besides, it was already done. I had to step in. I had to handle it."

That truth, that ugly, undeniable truth, hit me harder than I expected. He wasn’t wrong. Back then, I was so deep in my own mess I couldn’t see straight. But still… the thought of Destiny going through that without me, of Ant having to clean it all up... it was eating me alive.

I stood there, chest heaving, the truth twisting like a knife in my gut. I knew Ant was right. But that didn’t make it any easier to swallow.

"We cleaned it up, D. Everything. The cameras, her dorm, him—all of it. Gone like it never even happened." His words were hard, like he had buried that whole situation so deep it couldn’t touch him anymore. "Dorian hacked into some shit, planted evidence, made the story add up real smooth. No loose ends. Destiny did what she had to do, kept her mouth shut, and we made damn sure the law never came knocking at her door."

I swiped at my face, trying to hide the tears that were sliding down my cheeks, hot and fast. I didn’t even realize they were falling, but Ant did. He always saw me. Always knew when I was coming apart, even when I was trying to hold it together. But this time? It was like I couldn’t stop it. The weight of everything was crashing down on me, and the guilt, the anger, the helplessness—it was eating me alive.

Ant glanced at me, his face still calm, like he wasn’t phased.

"Look," he said, his voice steady as ever. "I know this is all fucked up, but you gotta get out your feelings on this. What’s done is done. We handled it. It’s in the past now." His tone stayed even, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes. Concern, maybe. He stepped closer, his voice dropping just a little. "Why the hell are you bringing this up now anyway? And why here, in the middle of the damn night?"

I couldn’t look at him. The truth was suffocating me, wrapping around my chest like chains, pulling me deeper into the shitstorm I was already drowning in.

"She told somebody, Ant." My voice was low, but every word felt like it weighed a ton. "And now they’re threatening to expose her. Threatening to blow the whole damn thing up. Her secret. They wanna ruin her."

The hallway felt too small all of a sudden, the walls closing in on me, the air thick with everything I was trying to keep from spilling out. I could hear my own breathing, fast and shallow, like I couldn’t get enough oxygen. Ant’s eyes stayed locked on me, his calm slipping just a little as the weight of what I said hit him.

Ant’s eyes narrowed, his voice still steady but tighter now. "Who?"

"Some dude named Arnold. She met him at school after that shit with Jake. Whatever went down between them must’ve been bad, ‘cause she went celibate after that. Then she got with Johnathon’s bitch ass. Now they working together—Arnold and Johnathon—like this some kind of kindergarten blackmail scheme. They got Eden involved too, trying to protect Destiny. Arnold’s even got naked pictures of Des, threatening to put ‘em out there if she don’t fall in line, pay up some money." The words came out hard, thick with frustration and rage, but I needed Ant to understand just how deep this shit went. Needed him to feel what I was feeling.

Ant shook his head, disbelief creasing his face. "This is crazy as fuck, D." He let out a breath, his voice dropping low, calm as ever, like he was already planning the next move. "How we handling this?"

I didn’t hesitate. "I’m calling Dorian. But Arnold? I’m handling him myself."

Ant’s face changed. He stepped in closer, his body cutting into mine like a wall. "No, you ain’t."

I could feel the fire building in my chest, like a furnace that was about to explode. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, and I growled, my voice thick with rage. “The fuck I’m not. I don’t give a damn about no little $100,000 their broke asses was asking for. This ain’t about the money. It’s principle.”

My blood felt like it was boiling beneath my skin, the anger bubbling up until it was about to spill over. I couldn’t let this slide. Not after everything Destiny had been through, not after the way they tried to come for her. “They’re not gonna extort or blackmail my fiancée, or her friend. I’m personally putting them in the ground.”

I could see Ant watching me, his eyes sharp, reading every word, every movement. He was too calm, too quiet, and it only fed the rage brewing inside me. I didn’t care about the consequences. All I cared about was making sure they knew—knew—who they were messing with.

Ant stepped forward, his face tight, like he was bracing for the storm. “D, listen—”

“Nah!” I cut him off, my voice rising. “They’re playing with her life, with her soul, and they think I’m gonna sit back and let that shit slide? I’ll bury them myself if I have to.”

Ant shook his head, his jaw tight. "You can’t do that, D."

"Watch me," I shot back, my eyes blazing.

Ant’s jaw clenched, and I saw that flicker of concern in his eyes. "You forgot who you are, D?" His voice was like a shot in the dark, hard and direct. "You wanna throw it all away? You D-Truth, man. One of the most recognizable faces in the world. You wanna catch a case now? You wanna risk everything for this?"

"For her? Hell yeah," I said, the words low, my voice thick with fury I could barely keep in check. I didn’t give a damn about anything else—fame, money, nothing. All that mattered was her.

Ant let out this bitter laugh, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, shaking his head slowly. "You’re emotional, bro. You talking out your ass ‘cause you mad. She just got you back, and now you tryna risk it all again? You really tryna disappear on her? Maybe this time for good? After all that shit I did to make sure she wouldn’t have to be sitting up somewhere doing time?"

His words hit me like a gut punch, but the fire inside wasn’t about to be snuffed out. I stepped up, getting in his face now. "You think I’m just gonna let him walk away from this? Let him keep playing with her? You think I’m gonna stand by and do nothing?"

Ant stared me down, his eyes calm but hard. "I’m not saying do nothing. But you out here thinking with your fists and your heart, and that shit’s gonna get you locked up—or worse. You wanna protect her? Then be smart about it."

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms, my breath coming out in ragged bursts. Ant was right. I knew he was. But that didn’t stop the rage boiling over inside me. I wanted to make Arnold pay. I wanted to tear him apart for what he did to Destiny, for what he was still doing. Johnathon too.

Ant stepped back, his voice softening but still carrying weight. "Look, man. You call Dorian. Let him handle it. That’s what he does."

"This Arnold, man..." My throat tightened, the words fighting to get past the lump forming there. I could barely keep the tears from falling, burning hot down my face as the image of that bastard Jake clawed its way back into my head. The way Destiny’s voice had trembled when she talked about it, the fear in her eyes like she was still trapped in that moment. I swallowed hard, the bile rising up. "And that Jake... If I could dig him up—"

"Ain’t nothing to dig up," Ant cut in, his voice colder than I expected, hard as steel. Colder than the grave I thought Jake was in.

I froze. The weight of those words hit me like a freight train, making my stomach flip. They really handled it. The full weight of what that meant sank in deep, hitting me in a way I wasn’t ready for. Ant didn’t flinch, didn’t blink—just stood there, jaw clenched tight, like he’d locked that part of him away. But now that shit was creeping out, and I knew he had gone to a place I couldn’t even imagine.

"What did you see when you went over there?" I asked. I needed to hear it, the full story. I needed to know what he saw so I could finally piece together the nightmare Destiny had been living in silence.

Ant closed his eyes like he was yanking himself back through the dirt of that night, his face tightening as if he could still feel it on his skin. He was dragging his mind through the mud of memories he’d tried to bury deep, the kind you don’t want to revisit, but sometimes, they pull you under whether you’re ready or not. When he spoke, his voice dropped low, like he wasn’t just talking to me—he was talking to himself too. Trying to make sense of it all again.

"He was on the ground," he said, his words coming slow, heavy. "Glass everywhere. Blood everywhere. I could tell they got into a real physical altercation."

His voice wavered for a second, but he kept going, pulling the memory up from wherever it had been locked away. "Her pants... they was pulled down to her ankles. Pajama pants, I think. Her underwear... that bastard tore them up."

I didn’t say a word. I needed to hear this, even if it was killing me.

"But I covered her," Ant continued, his voice almost breaking, but still strong enough to cut through the air between us. "I made sure she was covered."

The weight of his words hit me like a sledgehammer, knocking the air out of my chest. The image of Destiny—vulnerable, broken, violated—burned into my mind. I felt the rage simmering in my blood, boiling just beneath the surface, ready to explode.

My whole body shook, every breath felt like it was getting pulled through a furnace. The tears came harder, faster now, cold and unforgiving. I wanted to tear through the hospital, rip everything apart just to give myself something to do, something to fight. But there was nothing. Just Ant’s steady voice and the truth cutting through me like a knife.

"I didn’t ask for specifics…" Ant’s voice wavered, something haunted in his eyes. He shook his head, like he was trying to shake the memory loose. "Did he...?" He couldn’t even finish the question.

"He didn’t get to," I spat, my voice coming out rough, forced through gritted teeth. "She got to him before he could—"

"Good," Ant said, nodding once, like that was all he needed to hear. But the way his jaw clenched told me it didn’t soothe the fire burning inside him any more than it did me.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand, but the tears kept coming, kept burning. "But he almost did, Ant." My voice dropped lower, thick with rage that wouldn’t quit. "And now this Arnold motherfucker? He’s tryna use her trauma like it’s some kind of goddamn bargaining chip. Like she didn’t have every reason to do what she did. He’s out here playing with her pain like it’s a game." My chest tightened, my heart hammering in my ears. "And these pictures? She don’t even remember taking them. That sick fuck had her twisted up so bad, she don’t even know what went down. This dude’s sick, Ant. And he needs to be put down."

Ant stayed silent, his eyes locked on mine, and I could see in his face he understood. He didn’t need me to say it. He already knew.

"Arnold… he hurt her too. I know it," I choked, my fists clenched so tight I could feel the sting in my palms. "Something happened, man. That’s why she can’t remember shit."

Ant didn’t move, his face hard as stone, but I could see the gears turning behind his eyes. He was putting it all together, piece by piece, just like I was. And I could see the weight of it crushing both of us.

"She said he used to make drinks for her when she came over," I said, my voice low, barely holding the fury in check. "Said they tasted sweet. Every time, just for her."

"You think he drugged her?" Ant’s voice was cold, like he didn’t even want to speak it into existence, like saying it out loud would make it real. But I already knew.

"I know he did. Destiny don’t just forget things. That’s not her. She’s sharp, Ant. She’s always sharp. She’s been trying to fill in the gaps, but she don’t know how this bastard knows so much about her. I didn’t even have the heart to tell her, but I know what went down." My voice shook with the force of the words.

"Predatory-ass motherfucker," Ant muttered, his voice dripping with disgust. He nodded, the pieces clicking into place. "Fuck."

"I’m telling you, Ant, something’s off," I growled, my fists trembling with the need to break something, anything. "The way she gets quiet when she talks about him, the way her eyes go blank like she’s trying to remember but can’t. Like it’s locked up deep inside her."

Ant didn’t say anything at first, just nodded again, that quiet storm brewing behind his eyes. He knew what I was saying. He felt it too. That weight. And that cold, creeping rage.

Ant muttered, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe the weight of what we were dealing with. “He’s a straight-up snake.”

My voice dropped low, sharp with a dangerous edge that even I barely recognized. “He ain’t getting away with this,” I growled, my chest tight, fists already itching to lay into somebody. “I don’t care what it takes—I’m gonna find out everything. He’s done hurting her. Done.”

Ant nodded, his jaw clenched tight, his eyes holding the same fury that was burning me up inside. "And Johnathon teaming up with him? That’s wild as hell. I should’ve let you run his Tony from My Wife and Kids lookin’ ass over when we had the chance."

“I should’ve been here, Ant,” I muttered, my voice shaking with the rage I could barely keep in check. “It’s like I left her out here with a damn target on her back. I would trade everything—every dollar, every bit of fame—if it meant she never had to go through that. She didn’t deserve that shit.”

The guilt hit me like a sledgehammer, making my chest heave with every breath. My hands clenched so tight I thought I might draw blood. It was clawing at me, ripping me up from the inside, making me wish I could go back and fix it all.

Ant took a step closer, his arms wrapping around me like he was trying to hold me together, trying to stop me from falling apart. I hadn’t felt like this since I was a kid—like that scared little boy who used to look up at him, waiting for him to say everything was gonna be okay.

“You’re here now, D,” Ant said, his voice steady, grounding me in a way I didn’t even want to admit I needed. “You got her now. That’s what matters. Nothing else will ever happen to Destiny.”

But it didn’t feel like enough. Not when every time I closed my eyes, I saw her—saw the pain etched on her face, felt the weight of everything she’d been through. And I wasn’t there. I wasn’t the one to stop it. That was on me. And no amount of comfort was gonna fix it.

I shoved my hands deep in my pockets, staring down at the cold, sterile hospital floor like it had all the answers I couldn’t find. But the floor didn’t have shit to give me. The weight of Destiny’s pain, my failure, pressed on my chest so heavy I could barely breathe. I was supposed to protect her, be the one to keep the wolves at bay. Instead, I was out here living my life like everything was good, while those monsters were closing in on her, and I had no idea how deep the damage really ran.

If it wasn’t for Ant… if he hadn’t stepped in, who knows where my baby would be right now.

I swallowed hard, forcing the words through the tightness in my throat. “Ant…”

“Yeah, man,” he replied, his voice low, calm. He was always the steady one, ready for whatever storm was coming.

“Thanks,” I muttered, my voice cracking under the weight of it all. The gratitude tasted bitter, heavy with all the things I didn’t know how to say.

Ant didn’t need a speech. He already knew. He always did.

“You never have to thank me, bro,” he said, his tone even, but there was fire underneath it, a kind of quiet storm that was always brewing with him. Ant didn’t talk much, but when he did, it always landed.

“I do, though.” My voice hitched, and I shook my head, trying to push down the flood of emotions that was threatening to break loose. “I can’t even imagine how scared she was, Ant. If you hadn’t shown up for her…” My words trailed off, the weight of what could’ve happened crashing over me, making my blood run cold.

Ant just shrugged, but his eyes stayed locked on mine, serious as hell. “Far as I’m concerned, she’s family. Always has been. And I take care of family. If I’d known that Jake bastard was a problem sooner? I would’ve handled his ass before it got that far.”

I let out a low chuckle, but there wasn’t much humor in it. People always thought Ant was the quiet, calm one. The good one. What they didn’t know was that when it came down to it, Ant could be way more ruthless than me. He didn’t say much, but he handled shit in silence, quick and clean, while I wore my anger on my sleeve.

Ant finally let me go, his face going hard, unreadable. “But I ain’t apologizing for not telling you what went down. You weren’t ready to hear it, D…barely even ready now.”

I nodded, even though the truth stung more than I expected. Ant had this way of seeing through me, cutting right to the heart of things, knowing me better than I knew myself. And back then? He wasn’t wrong. If I had known everything, I would’ve lost my mind. I wasn’t ready to deal with the full weight of what went down. I’d have crashed out, no doubt. I wouldn’t have been any help to Destiny.

Hakeem telling me about the pictures and the extortion plot was one thing, but this new info about Jake? How it all tied together with the secret Arnold was threatening to expose? That took shit to a whole other level. I felt like I’d been gut-punched. I never thought this was the secret. I thought it was something small, something we could clean up and be done with. But now? Now I was staring down the barrel of some dark-ass truth that had been hiding in the shadows for years.

“You know…” I tried to smile, but it was weak at best. “Deep down, I think I knew some shit was off, man. Something about her.” I chuckled, throwing my hands up in a shrug. “Always got her nose buried in them crime thriller books, watching Snapped like it’s a guidebook, and don’t even get me started on them true crime podcasts.”

Ant raised an eyebrow, that knowing look in his eyes, cutting through the noise like he always did. “Maybe that’s how she copes. It’s her way of dealing with the past, man.”

“Maybe,” I muttered, shaking my head, the weight of it all pressing on my chest. “But I’ma take care of her mental, though. I gotta make sure she’s good for real. Not just smiling through the pain or pushing it down ‘cause she feels like she has to be strong.”

Ant didn’t say anything, but I could see he was feeling me. He knew what it was like to carry that kind of weight.

“I know it wasn’t easy for her to stay quiet. But you know how it is—sometimes silence is the only way to survive. That’s what I needed from her back then, to keep her safe.”

“She’s trying to brush it off, act like it’s all behind her ‘cause it happened a few years back. But I see it, man. That shit’s still with her. It don’t just go away.”

Ant let out a deep breath, like he was letting some of the tension slip out. “I know you’ll take care of her.”

“Hell yeah,” I said, my voice harder now. “Plus, I ain’t ending up like Jake.”

Ant let out a rare chuckle, shaking his head. “Man, if she ain’t killed you yet, I think you’re safe. For now.” He flashed a grin, the kind that reminded me he wasn’t always so damn serious.

I laughed, but the weight was still there, heavy as ever. Even with the jokes, the truth between us wasn’t something we could laugh off. Destiny carried more than most people could imagine, and no amount of books or podcasts was gonna erase the scars she wore. And no matter what, I was the one who had to make sure she didn’t crumble under it.

“I’m coming hard behind her, Ant,” I said, my voice low and steady. The humor was gone, replaced with the fire that had been simmering in my chest since this all began.

Ant let out a deep breath, like the weight of my decision was pressing on him too. He rubbed his hand over his head, gripping it like he was trying to keep it from spinning off his body. He knew me too well. Knew what I was saying wasn’t just talk. It was a promise. And trying to convince me otherwise was a waste of time.

“I know,” Ant muttered, his voice carrying that heavy weight like he’d been through this too many times. “But listen, D... just call Dorian. Don’t be out here on some wild-ass rogue shit like you ain’t D-Truth, like you some regular dude who can get his hands dirty without the whole world watching.”

He stepped closer, locking eyes with me, his tone dropping low, more intense. “Don’t cause her more pain ‘cause you’re movin’ off emotion. If you really wanna help her heal, you gotta be smart. Think about her, really think about her, before you do anything stupid.”

His words hit hard, but the truth in ‘em was undeniable. Ant wasn’t just trying to keep me from crashing out—he was reminding me that this wasn’t just about my rage. It was about Destiny and the scars she already carried. I couldn’t add more to that weight.

“What you do next? That shit could change everything,” he said, his voice low but carrying that weight like a warning shot.

He paused, letting it sink in before taking another step. “Your next move, D, it ain’t just about you. If you ain’t careful, if you don’t think this through, you could blow up everything. The whole empire, everything you built? Everything you want for you and Destiny. It could come crashing down, man. One wrong move, and it’s all gone.”

He wasn’t wrong, but the rage inside me didn’t give a damn about cameras or headlines. It didn’t care about being D-Truth. All it cared about was revenge, about making sure nobody—nobody—ever hurt Destiny again. I nodded, keeping my eyes locked on him, knowing he was right even though my heart wasn’t trying to hear it.

“Alright,” I muttered, the frustration clear in my voice. “I’ll call Dorian. But let me be real with you, Ant—if this shit ain’t handled the way it needs to be? I’m stepping in. I don’t care what it costs.”

Ant nodded, the tension between us easing just a little. “Fair enough. Just keep your head straight, D. Destiny needs you.”

I nodded again, but my mind was already racing, spinning with plans and possibilities. Ant might be right, but the fire inside me wasn’t going anywhere. And deep down, I knew that if push came to shove, if the situation got real… I wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever needed to be done.

For her.

Always for her.