Page 125 of Rose
“I want you to meet her,” Savior said, voice quiet but sure.
Aunt Marley smiled wide. “I wouldloveto meet her.”
“Meet who?”
The question sliced through the moment like cold steel.
Savior’s body tensed.
A woman’s voice rang from the patio entrance just before her figure stepped out into the fading light.
“Shit,” Aunt Marley muttered under her breath, already knowing what was coming.
Savior turned his head, and his eyes methers.
Selene.
His mother.
Savior had always thought his mother was beautiful—stunning,even—though she’d never been worthy of the titlemom.
Her rich brown skin gleamed like polished bronze in the setting sun, smooth and radiant, untouched by time. Her long, straight hair flowed down her back, not a strand out of place. And her eyes… they shimmered with something unreadable. Guilt. Regret. Maybe even love. But none of it ever mattered. Not when it counted.
She didn’t look like she was in her fifties. Honestly, if you saw her and Sarai together, you’d think they were sisters. But all the pretty in the world couldn’t dress up the ugly between them.
“My bad, Sav. I forgot to tell you she was coming by,” Aunt Marley said, voice apologetic as she took the blunt he passed.
“It’s all good.” Savior exhaled slowly. His tone didn’t match the chill in his voice. “Wassup, Selene.”
Selene stood with a familiar mug on her face—stoic, unreadable—but the guilt had never left her eyes. It followed her like a ghost she couldn't outrun.
“It’s a problem being in the same room as me now?” she asked, her voice laced with bitterness as she caught Aunt Marley’s earlier tone.
“Selene, don’t start.” Marley took a long hit, waving her hand dismissively. “I’m high, I’m happy, I’m vibing with my nephew. Don’t come out here fucking that up.”
Selene rolled her eyes but moved to sit across from them, the air shifting with her presence. She crossed her legs, arms folding like she had a right to be defensive.
“Whatever, Mar. So…” she looked at Savior, tone sharp but curious, “who’s the woman I’m supposed to be meeting?”
So shewaseavesdropping.
Before Marley could respond, Savior cut in.
“No one,” he said flatly.
The finality in his voice settled like a blade between them.
He was done playing with illusions. The fake love. The switch-up when Saint was around. The sudden concern that only ever showed up when his father wasn’t in the room. He’d seen it all before. Lived it.Feltit.
He wasn’t a little boy waiting for her to care anymore.
So no—she didn’t get to know about Ahzii.
Not now. Maybe not ever.
“You gonna forever act like this toward me?” Selene asked, eyes locked on Savior as he took another slow pull from the blunt, unfazed.
He didn’t answer. Just exhaled and passed it back to Aunt Marley.
