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The surgery room doors swung open, and all thoughts stopped. Silence filled the air, thick with worry. Zendi's heart pounded as a female doctor stepped forward, pulling off her gloves. For a moment, no one moved.

"How is she, doctor?" Zendi quickly stood up.

The female doctor offered a small nod. "We've stabilized her for now, but she was in critical condition when she arrived. The stab wound punctured her lung, causing a hemothorax...that's when blood fills the space between the lung and the chest wall, making it difficult to breathe. We had to perform surgery to repair the damage and drain the excess blood."

She exhaled, her expression serious.

"She also lost a significant amount of blood due to the stabbing and the delayed treatment. We've given her IV fluids and started a blood transfusion to replace what she lost. Her hemoglobin levels were dangerously low when she came in."

The doctor paused, glancing between them before continuing.
Amari felt as if she was going to fall, so she grabbed Zendi's shoulders.

"On top of that, she sustained a head injury from the accident. A CT scan showed no skull fractures or brain bleeding, but she does have a mild concussion. We'll monitor her closely for any neurological symptoms: dizziness, confusion, and nausea. If she shows any of those, we'll need to reassess."

She softened her tone slightly.
She glanced at Zendi's head and winced at the mess, fresh blood continued to come from the wound.

"She's sedated to help with the pain and to allow her body to recover. We're keeping her on IV fluids and a feeding tube for now, but if she wakes up and can swallow without difficulty, we can start her on clear liquids like broth. However, her body is still weak, and she needs rest."

The doctor gave a small nod before adding with a bit of admiration, "But yuh friend a strong gyal—mentally strong. Mi sure she'll come around in a few minutes."

Her gaze locked onto Zendi. "No heavy lifting, no sudden movements. Her lungs and body need time to heal. And Zendi, that needs to be fixed." She points at Zendi's head.

"No, it's fine," Zendi said.

"Just go already. She will blame herself if she wakes up and sees you like this." Amari knew for sure. Brie has always been a little too selfless. She works as an event planner, and even when she should be resting, she always wants to make sure everyone is settled and happy first.

She watched them move off down the corridor, and a stretcher passed with Brie on it.
She looks so peaceful lying there, but the world might know she's not in peace. At least she won't be for too long.

Following them; she passes Paris in a playroom, and waves before continuing, trodding along.

They'd been talking to Brie for the past couple of minutes, hoping she would Recognize their voices from whatever wonderland she was in and come back; even Paris started crying because Zendi had collected her from the playroom.

The nurse came in and told them that the baby shouldn't stay in there due to her being loud. After taking her number and writing down her name, Amari agrees to let Paris stay with her until she's ready to go.

Brie stays stuck in her unconscious state.

"Why won't you call Cals and let him come for her? By the way, why did you even bring her with you?" Zendi asked, massaging Brie's feet at the end of the bed.

A disturbed feeling came over Amari, but she dismissed it and offered a slight smile.

"He had patients to deal with, he had to leave again."

"Aww, I'm sorry to hear that. By the way, I'm sorry I ain't tell you earlier, but I had to. Ain't nobody— and I mean nobody- gon' hurt my baby and get away with it."

This version of Zendi is another version. Her eyes emphasize the care; she's like a protective animal, protecting its child.

"What did you have to do?" A weak voice asked. Amari sprung around; since she was closer to her, the chair was basically joined to the bed.

"Brie? Is that you? You are back."

Zendi quickly grabbed her hands away from her feet and stood up.

"Girl, is you crazy? I ain't go die leave you, not anytime soon," She said weakly, squinting her eyes. Her focus remained on Zendi as she gave Amari's hand a slight squeeze.

"Zen? Aren't you going to say something to me?" Brie called her by the name she normally does.

"Ain't nothin' to say, but to say, you one damn fool for not talkin'. I almost lost you. I was this close to losin' you," Zendi shows her how close with a pinch of her fingers.
She sounded so weak to Amari's ears, and maybe she was too paranoid, but she couldn't help but notice that Zendi was maybe a little too worked up.

"I'm so pissed at you, Brianna. Had to call Nico, and I ain't even wanna do that shit, but I ain't have no choice. That motherfucker watchin' you or us."

At the mention of Nico's name, Brie's eyes widen at Amari.

"You did what?" Brie tries to get up Zendi rushes over to her, pushing her slowly back into the bed.

It's as if Amari became invisible, and she gets up and backs away.

Nico is a hacker, Zendi's protective brother, the one who stays in Montego Bay. He's surrounded by a dark past. It's not only that he has a dark past, he was intimate with Amari. They had a short sexual fling together years ago before Amari got pregnant. They have yet to see each other but each time his name is brought up, Amari is reminded that she was attracted to such a man.

She was the one who ended things; she was too innocent to continue with a man knowing he killed his stepfather. Though some would say he had every right to do so, it was too tragic for her to continue despite how sexually attracted to him she was.

She respected him for not being obsessed when she went back to Atlanta, met Cals, and started truly living her life-but if she stopped lying to herself, then she would say that man still holds pieces of her in his pockets. He was her first in everything, but she continued to tell herself that she was young, and it was built in a fantasy.

"Excuse — excuse me," She rushes from the room.

She unlocks her phone and does the one thing she has been refusing to do for the past years; she follows him on Instagram by checking Zendi's following list.

He has glowed up. He was even more handsome and had the muscles to lift a man. She traced her fingers over his arms and remembered how sexy it felt to be in his arms. Then she shook her head and unfollowed him.
'It is wrong,' She thought.

She quickly called Cals; who answered in the third ring.

"Hello?"

"What is it, Amari? Is Paris okay?"

"Hum, It was just that. I miss you." She felt stupid when it escaped her mouth.

"Mhm, well, go to sleep; I'll see you tomorrow. I am In the middle of something."

She stood there with the phone to her ear, even after hearing the beep, and her heart shattered in her chest.

She swallowed and stood rooted in her spot, then she quickly texted Zendi.

'Let Paris stay with you for the night.'

Everything was falling apart around her, being too emotional when she feels; she felt the need to drunk herself. She felt the need to run, but didn't have the strength.

Powering off her phone, she started an unknown journey, and with each step it took, her heart broke.

She has wasted her life. She had wasted her love. Wasted in knowing a family.

She got in the car and drove to the hotel where she worked. Knowing they double security at night. She felt safe knowing that if she drunks herself until she blocks herself, people will be there to see.

As she pulls up in the parking lot, she realizes that the place is packed more than usual. Two black vans and three black cars were parked in a spot; men stood there as if guarding gold. She watched them lead off the parking spot leaving only one of the vans and one of the cars.

Silencing the engine; she grabs her phone and her handbag. As she stepped out and closed the door, she saw a tall white woman walking out of the entrance. It was her manager.

She probably came to fire her and she wasn't there.

She proceeded to walk and came face with her.

"What a wonderful night it is, Miss Jackson." Her English accent came out strong, and she hugged a red jacket around her.

"I heard what happened earlier today; please make sure you are at work tomorrow; we just got some special packages delivered for VIP guests, laundry service, etc; please make sure to check in and check out when you're leaving. Have a good night."

Amari nodded her head, turned her back to the hotel, and watched.
Amari admired how she walked, head and chin high. Her aura screams business. She got in the van, and the van drove off. She left a lingering scent of perfume in the air.

Upon entering the hotel, she greeted the receptionists and showed her ID to them. She was given a room in the back, and the receptionist stated that the rest of the rooms were booked.

She decided to walk along the corridor after grabbing a bottle of wine, which workers normally get.

She was stupid to bend, to call him and tell him how she misses him. How foolish of her, she blames herself.

There she was, drinking from the bottle, when she stumbled upon a secret door.
Far away from the rest of the hotel rooms. She has never been down that entrance before. Curiosity got the best of her, making her slightly push it.

Thick English accents could be heard coming from the inside.

There wasn't a sound of Jamaican tongue, and her eyes widened in fear.

"There's is two hundred pounds of pure cocaine and fifty pounds of the crack, boss."

"The guns are on the way Mr Romano."

"We'll repackage this one. Disturbed these, and get these out of the way. What happened to the mule, Blake?"
Shuffling could be heard from inside as the accents correspond with each other.

"She didn't survive, Boss."

"Get another one, and make sure this one lives, or kill yourself after and save me the trouble."

Such words she'd never heard before, and she shook her tipsy head to the side, causing the bottle to fall from her loose grip.

"And who could that be?"

She bends to the floor to take up the bottle, but Her body presses a little hard on the door, and she meets a face. She glimpses him, leaning back in a chair as he twisted the rings around his finger. His feet lay up on the desk in all-black leather clothing. Packages of cocaine were around the room.

She had no idea how quickly the wine left her system, but she was up and running for her life. The bottle fell from her hands in the process and red wine was now a red carpet.

"Bring her back, Alive!"

They were after her. She races around the corner as fast as she can. Her breath came in rushes as she thought of Paris. She thought of her life in Atlanta.

She was swung back by such force, but she kicked out and ran through a familiar door. Closing herself in the 'Employees room' she tries to steady her breath, looking widely around the room.

Frantically she searches for a weapon only to open a barrel with guns.
She slaps her hands over her mouth as her, all her life, starts to flash through her mind.
She was getting doomed.

Maybe this is how people felt when their death was near. Her whole body shook before she took a risk and slowly opened the door.

She walked normally to the front, but as soon as she was at the entrance, she raced out.

Sweat comes through her pores like running water. She fumbled in her bag for her keys, unable to speak, unable to unlock her car, and didn't want to remotely fly the doors.

Finally, she got the door open, started the car, and did a reverse. She was blocked in!

Her car was hit full force from behind, and yet still she ignored it only to speed off too fast and have it hit from the front by the same person.

For a moment, her world went blank, and the only thing that kept her holding tight to the steering was Paris's face.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked. Her doors were opened, and a strong arm pulled her out.

"Princesspa?" He asked; she felt fingers on her temple, fingers on her forearms, and a body heat against hers.

"Is she okay, Boss?"

"She's fine, I can handle it." She was airborne into his arms as if she weighed nothing. His scent entered her nostrils, and she felt strangely safe.

"Mr Romano, Sir? we have-"

"Talk to me next time, Blake."

"Sir, but -"

"If I tell you to remove your tongue, would you do it?" His thick accent asks. She felt him walking with her, but she didn't want to open her eyes.

"My apologies Sir."

He placed her down, away from the crowd, and preened her at all angles. She was a beauty in his eyes.

"Princesspa." He whispered.

She opened her eyes and was blessed by what she saw. His eyes are a death stare; they feel like they are seeing through her soul as he scans her.

His skin-perfect complexion is not so tan. His dark hair sat in a wave on his head; his head side fades. His body was perfectly sculpted, and she wanted to trace her fingers down to his navel as he wore only his jacket. He seems immune to the coldness of the air. He wears tight black trousers that show how sexy a man could look. Tattoos from his neck to the middle of his chest. Not a trace of a smile on his face, and his eyebrows seem to be set in a frown.

She wanted to sink under him, feel his body. She stood with her arms around her, hugging herself and he circles around her like a gamecock. If it wasn't that he circles her with his hands in his pockets, she would think he was bored.

What is it with this man that she wants him so much?

"The name is Dominic Romano, have we met before?"

_______________________________________

Thoughts? Unfortunately, I am not the one. With Cals, I would have been his worst nightmare.

Ladies nuh mek no man mek uno loose self value 🤌

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