“Move,” the guard said.
I spread my arms, hugging Aziel tight. “Whip me! I’m the one you hate, right? I’m the one who failed you. Then punish me.”
Hakeem didn’t speak. The whip cracked through the air.
The first lash hit my back like a blade. I screamed, but I didn’t let go of Aziel. He was crying, trembling in my arms, and I held him tighter.
The second lash tore skin. Blood bloomed.
By the fifth, my knees buckled. The world blurred.
By the seventh, I collapsed over Aziel, shielding him with my body, whispering, “It’s okay… it’s okay… don’t be scared…”
They kept going.
Until I stopped moving.
Until all I heard was Aziel sobbing into my hair.
Until everything faded into black.
When I woke up, I was in another hospital bed. Sterile lights above me, the smell of antiseptic clinging to my skin, my body heavy like someone had poured concrete into my veins.
And there he was.
Hakeem.
Sitting beside me with that permanent scowl, but this time his jaw was tight, eyes shadowed like something was actually bothering him.
“You really gotta stop testing me like this,” he said, voice low and rough. “You know I didn’t want it to go that far, Harmony. You push me and I snap. I told you not to keep pissing me off.”
I turned my head, stared at the white wall beside me.
“I know,” I said. My voice was soft. Too soft. “It won’t happen again.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. That calm, detached tone of mine? He didn’t like it. Hakeem could handle my screaming, my crying. But silence? Silence made him feel like he was losing control.
He leaned in, cupped the back of my head like he still owned me. “Don’t act like this. Don’t make me feel like you’re scared of me. You know I hate that shit. Look, I got something planned for you. Something big.”
I didn’t move. Just listened.
“It’s our wedding anniversary next week. Three years,” he said. “I booked the yacht. Docked under Masterson Bridge. Midnight.”
Of course he did.
A floating palace under the stars. Moonlight, candles, champagne. No escape.
“I dropped seven figures on the setup,” he added, like that was supposed to impress me. “So put on something decent and show up.”
I stayed quiet.
After a beat, I asked, “Where’s Aziel?”