"Secrets don't die with the ones who keep them. They haunt the living until they're forced into the light..."
Aminah Clarke's life shattered the night her fiancée, Hailee, died in a tragic car crash. Now, a year later, she is left with a book bar, a...
This chapter is dedicated to Nikii B on tiktok 🤍 (You asking me about the next chapter definitely made me get on my zoom) Edited 🤍
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Aminah POV
'Wake up princess'
The words echoed in the chambers of my mind. Hailee's voice, hauntingly sweet, rang through the haze of my sleep. For a moment, I was suspended between the realm of dreams and the harsh reality that awaited me.
Monday morning, the start of a new week, and I had a bookstore to open. Reality sure has a cruel way of yanking you from the solace of dreams. I sat up, blinking away the remnants of sleep, and the weight of the previous night presses against my chest.
Last night's revelations linger like a bitter aftertaste. The truth about Alex, about Hailee's past with Lauren, Devyn possibly knowing all along—my mind is a swirl of hurt, anger, and confusion. I feel like I'm about to explode. I can't shake the feeling of inadequacy, wondering why I wasn't enough to keep Hailee's heart full. Why she chose to keep me around if I wasn't what she truly wanted?
Why wasn't I enough?
The morning sun trickles in casting a warm soft glow across my loft, a contrast to the chaos that lied within. I pushed the covers aside, my movements mechanical as I moved through the motions of getting ready. Shower, dress, breathe. Each action feeling more like a chore.
I stand before the mirror, staring at my reflection. My curly hair, usually a cascade of wild elegance, now seemed to mirror the chaos within. Water droplets cascade from the coils of my hair down to the ground beneath me. Looking at the water pooling near my feet, I can feel my mind attempting to wander. Great another mess to clean.
I can almost hear Hailee's laughter now, the way she'd tease me about taking life too seriously.
'Chill out Aminah, learn to laugh a little.'
Dragging my fingers through the tangled coils, I try to shake off the haunting echoes of last night's conversation. This is my reality, and I don't have time to wallow in misery. I have a store to run. Quickly I brush my hair into a sleek ponytail and throw on an acid washed sweatshirt and leggings. This is as good as it's going to get for today.
As I descend the stairs from my loft to the bookbar, the animated chatter of my two employees, Robyn and Abby, fills the air. I hired them right after I started therapy. I was a mess and needed the help and they needed a job. The bookbar might have closed if it wasn't for them. Though I'm not proud to admit, these two dragged me out of bed when I couldn't see a point to anything anymore... As annoying as those 2 may be, they saved me and I'm grateful.
"Well well well. Look who decided to show up on time for once," Robyn teases with a smirk. "I never thought we'd see the day Robby," Abby adds in cheerfully.
