Because she was right. And the truth was eating him alive.
“Aight,Dori!That’senough!”Harpershouted,grabbingherarm and yanking her back.
Dorian snatched away, eyes blazing. “This nigga hurt her! Did something to my cousin—and this ain’t near enough!”
“I’m just as confused and worried about Sevyn as you are,” Harper snappedback,hervoiceshaking,“butHassanisstillmyblood, and you not about to stand here and beat on him like he’s a fuckin’ punching bag.”
But even as she defended him, Harper’s eyes drifted to her cousin—and what she saw only made her stomach twist. Hassan wasn’t fighting back. He wasn’t mouthing off. He looked gutted, his whole body caving in under the weight of something unforgivable. And the tears in his eyes—real, silent tears—told her this wasn’t just about Sevyn leaving.
This was deeper. Darker.
“Hassan… what the fuck did you do?” Harper asked, her voice trembling now, fear threading through her anger.
“I—” he started, but the words choked out before they could take shape.
“You what, nigga?!” Dorian barked, getting in his face again. “Spit the shit out!”
Roman stepped in, wrapping his arms tight around her before she could swing again. “San, what the fuck is goin’ on?” he asked low, calm—trying to keep the room from detonating.
Hassan stood frozen for a long moment. His jaw clenched, his shoulders heavy with shame. And then finally—he broke.
“I hurt her,” he said, barely above a whisper. But his voice cracked under the weight of the words, slicing the air like a blade.
The whole room fell silent.
Harper’s heart dropped. “What the fuck do you mean you hurt her?”
“Let me the fuck go, Roman!” Dorian snapped, fighting against his grip, ready to swing again.
Hassan’s voice came in a rush. “I thought—” he swallowed, the guilt eating him alive. “I thought she was my pops. I blacked out. I didn’t know it was her…”
Harper blinked, stunned. But the pieces clicked before he could say another word.
“Youhurther…becauseyouwerehallucinating,”shefinished quietly, the realization making her breath catch.
Roman’s jaw tightened. He looked away, shaking his head. Because they knew. They knew this side of Hassan. The blackouts.
The rage. The moments where his bipolar disorder dragged him into a past he couldn’t escape. Harper had once locked herself in a closet as a teenager while Hassan tore her room apart. Roman had gonetoe to toe with him more than once when Hassan mistook him for someone else during a spiral. But Sevyn?
Sevyn was the one person who saw him through it all—who never flinched, never ran. And now, she was the one who paid the price.
And by the look on Hassan’s face… he didn’t know if he’d ever get her back.
"I need to call Sevyn," Harper said, already dialing as panic started to creep into her chest.
"Roman,IsweartoGod—you’regonnabelaidupinagrave next to this crazy-ass nigga if you don’t let me the fuck go!" Dorian snapped, thrashing against Roman's hold. But Roman tightened his grip, refusing to let her fly off the handle again.
TheroomwentsilentasSevyn’scallwentstraighttovoicemail.
Tension thickened.
"She’s not going to answer!" Dorian shouted, her voice breaking. "She was on the phone with me when she left this bastard’s place— crying, shaking, barely holding it together. Then I heard a scream… and the line went dead."
Harper’s breath hitched. Hassan froze, his entire body locking up.
"A scream?" he asked, his voice suddenly low and dangerous.
"Yeah,mane,"Doriansaid,softernow."Shewaspanicked… askingifIstillhadherlocation.NextthingIknew,itwentsilent. That’s why we rushed here."