“Mom, what are you doing?”

“I saw him and I thought it best to let him know.” The way she said him—cold and distasteful—made Cyril flinch. She’d been like a second mother to him before what happened. “We’re here to stop the wedding and save another woman’s life.”

Cyril looked at Daryl. His cousin had once been his best friend. The closest person to him in the world, but after his mother’s murder, his aunt Gayle had pulled them apart. Daryl had believed in him and Preston throughout everything, but loyalty to his mother prevented him from stepping up for them. Cyril never would have believed his cousin would bring his mom down here just to stop the wedding.

“Please don’t do this,” he pleaded. “Come to the house, let’s talk.”

Daryl nodded. “That’s why we came. To talk about things. That’s all.”

Gayle shook her head. “There’s nothing to talk about. I’m here to make sure everyone knows Preston Dash is a murderer and that no woman in her right mind should marry him.”

Cyril glanced back at Imani, but she was gone. He frantically glanced around the parking lot only to see her car backing out of the lot. His stomach twisted. Everything they’d finally built up in Peachtree Cove was ruined.

thirty

Imani had no idea how she made it to her mother’s shop. Her mind whirled with the accusations Cyril’s aunt had thrown out like grenades.

“I won’t let him hurt her, too.”

“We’re here to stop the wedding and save another woman’s life.”

“I’m here to make sure everyone knows Preston Dash is a murderer and that no woman in her right mind should marry him.”

Each revelation tore a hole in Imani’s heart and shattered the slim bit of confidence she’d had in her relationship with Cyril. He’d lied to her. Not just that, his father had lied to her mother. She should have gone with her initial plan and believed there was something shady about this hasty wedding. Instead, she’d been charmed by Preston and Cyril and let her own uncertainties drift away.

She couldn’t believe they would keep something like this from her and her mom. Though her mind couldn’t wrap itself around the idea of Mr. Preston harming anyone, she’d also never imagined her dad’s actions would ultimately lead to someone trying to kill her mother. She knew better than anyone that she couldn’t just trust what was in front of her.

The deeper pain was knowing Cyril had kept this from her. After they’d gotten closer, after she’d cried in his arms, after they’d made love. He hadn’t said a word. Was he just as guilty as his dad?

She arrived at the flower shop and rushed inside. She had to tell her mom. There was no way she could hold on to this until later in the day. Not if Cyril’s aunt was on a campaign to spread the news far and wide throughout Peachtree Cove.

Imani stopped short after crossing the threshold. Her mom and Preston stood next to each other behind the register. They laughed together while her mom playfully swatted at his arm. Preston gazed back at Linda as if she were the best thing he’d ever witnessed in his life. The contrast of seeing the way he looked at and treated her mom compared to the truth she just learned twisted her stomach into knots. The anger, hurt and betrayal bubbled inside until she thought she’d explode. There was no way she would let him hurt her mother the same way her father had.

“How could you do this?” Imani’s voice, loud, angry and sharp as a whip cracked through the silence in the shop.

Her mom and Preston jumped and turned her way. Her mom scowled. “Imani, what are you yelling about?”

“I have every right to yell. I have a right to do more than that.” She hurried across the room. “How could you do this? Did you think we wouldn’t find out? Did you think you could lie to us forever?”

The way Preston’s face went utterly still with shock only hurt her more. There was no confusion in his expression. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

“What did Cyril say to you?” he asked.

She scoffed. “Cyril? You really think he would tell the truth?”

Preston frowned. “Then how did you...”

Her mom held up her hand. “Hold up, what’s going on here? The truth about what? What’s going on here?”

“The truth that Preston killed his first wife,” Imani snapped.

Her mom gasped. She jerked back from Preston as if he were acid. “What? No!”

Imani didn’t break eye contact with Preston. “Yes. How long were you going to lie to us?”

Preston shook his head. “I didn’t hurt my wife. I would never hurt her.”

“If that’s the case then why is your name tied up in this? Why does her family still believe you had something to do with it?”