The Years Between

MALACHI

Walking away was supposed to be a wake-up call, not an ending. I thought creating distance would force Yoni to choose herself. Instead, she vanished without a trace.

Seven years of silence. Seven years of wondering if the woman I loved was dead in a ditch somewhere. I channeled the grief into building an empire she was supposed to share with me. Now she's standing right in front of me. I'm drowning in the raw relief of knowing she's breathing, and suffocating under the rage of having to ask: How could you leave a nigga like that?

YONI

Disappearing in the dead of night was the only card I had left to play. Malachi was ready to go down with the ship to save me, and I couldn't let my chaos drown him too. I had to learn how to swim on my own.

Seven years later, I've finally built a life I'm proud of. But facing Malachi again forces me to confront the devastation I left in my wake. I owe him answers, but his eyes are dark with a rage I don't know how to cross.

How do we move forward when my survival came at the expense of his heart? We survived the fall seven years ago, but the ghosts we left behind might just finish the job.