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“Of course we will. You don’t even have to ask. But seriously, Nyx, please consider taking that deal. It’s what’s best.”

“But it’s not,” I countered, pushing myself to my feet. “Not to me.”

Leaving them where they were, I stopped past the kitchen to reign in my emotions. Deep down, I knew that they meant well. But the idea of allowing Shane and his wife to back me into a corner and force me to bend to their will wasn’t an option I could live with.

I had to defend myself. Lord knows nobody else was going to.

“I don’t even know why you let them get under your skin,” my brother’s voice found my ears, making me jump and scaring the hell out of me.

I’d been so consumed with my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed him sitting at the table.

Grabbing my chest, I narrowed my eyes. “Lincoln, what the hell?” I hissed, frowning. “What are you doing here? I didn’t see your car outside.”

“It’s in the shop. I’m using Pop’s truck until it’s ready.”

“Well, make some noise next time, shit.”

Leaning back in the chair, Lincoln tapped his finger against the table. “You want to talk about it?”

My eyes rolled to the ceiling as I sank into the chair across from him. “Not really. At this point, it feels like I’m beating a dead horse. People refuse to see where I’m coming from, and I’m exhausted from trying to explain myself, especially to those two.”

“Yeahhhh,” dragging out the word, Lincoln glanced toward the living room. “Dealing with them is a pill, but you already knew that. It probably wouldn’t have been as bad if they heard about the deal from you instead of the lawyer, though.”

Groaning, I dropped my face into my hands. “You know about that too?”

“They were talking about it when I got here. Why haven’t you said anything?”

“Truthfully, Linc, I’m still trying to process it all. In three months, my life has completely flipped upside down. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going, and now, out of nowhere, I have to decide between willingly becoming a felon or potentially losing my freedom. Neither seems like a good option.”

“Well,” my brother nodded slowly. “This is true. But, you’re also leaving out the possibility that you could beat this entirely.”

“I used to think so, but the way things are going now,” pausing, I scoffed. “I don’t know. Maybe I should just give them what they want and put this entire thing behind me.”

“That sounds good and all, but that’s not the Nyx that I know. My sister is a fighter, which, coincidentally, is what got her in this situation in the first place.”

Glancing down at my hands, I laughed lightly. “Don’t remind me. Had I just taken my ass home instead of letting my anger get the best of me, I wouldn’t even be in this situation.”

“You stand up for yourself. It’s who you are, who you’ve always been. Things may have gone too far this time around but think of it as a bought lesson.”

“Jail is a hefty ass price to pay for a lesson.”

“I agree. But, dwelling on the past won’t change shit. You did what you did, and while some of this bullshit are the consequences of it, the extra drama is the result of the nigga that you were fuckin’ with being a bitch. At the end of it all, he’ll get his. You just need to learn that you don’t always have to be the one issuing out the punishment.”

“I saw his wife the other day,” I blurted. A heart-to-heart with Lincoln wasn’t in my plans for the day, but sometimes, the universe knows what you need even when you don’t.

“What happened?”

“Rae and I were on our way to Cocoa Amore as she came out of some boutique. Of course, she couldn’t wait to jump at the opportunity to let me know that I hadn’t meant a damn thing to Shane the entire time we were dating. As if his actions didn’t already prove that.”

“Fuck her. All that bitterness she’s harboring needs to be directed towards her nigga.”

“You know it’s always in a woman’s DNA to hold everybody but her man accountable. I wanted to punch her in her face so fucking bad.”

Blowing heavily, Lincoln shot me a sympathetic look. “I know. I’m surprised you didn’t.”

“As good as I look in orange, I’m not built for jail. With a pending case and an active restraining order in the mix, I’m sure she wouldn’t have hesitated to call the police and paint herself as a victim. Despite her being the one antagonizing me.”

“From everything that’s happened since November, I’m wholeheartedly sure that’s what she wanted,” he huffed. Sitting up, Lincoln grew serious. “But, you know none of that shit she said was valid, right?”