Page 83 of Trial of Deceit

“Me a tell yu,” Sahil gritted out.

Jediah smiled.“Okay.You’re right.I don’t know how this works.I’m not the one who made the arrangement anyway.I think you should go talk to Kayon about my marriage.”

Sahil pursed his lips.“Weh Kayon?”

“Where he’s been for the past seventeen years.”

“Sahil,” Elias called out, and Sahil looked at him.“Kayon is on a new medication that makes him drowsy.Be quick in your conversation lest he falls asleep mid-convo.”

Sahil stood, nodding toward Elias before leaving the room.The door closed behind him.Elias waited a moment before taking Sahil’s seat.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Elias said.“This isn’t going to end well.We both know Sahil couldn’t care less, but that won’t be the same for Raven.She and Acacia had a tight bond.It won’t be long for Raven to start asking uncomfortable questions after the media publishes the images we choose from tonight.”

“Raven probably just done get beat by her man and gone back a hospital.Acacia is the least of her concerns,” he dismissed, causing Elias to hiss his teeth.“I will tell the photographers not to publish any pictures with me and Ash.Is that good?”

“No.You keep delaying the inevitable,” Elias said.“Howie isn’t even a teenager yet, and the bonds she has with her closest cousins makes me know how women are when their comfort gets taken away.Think of Reine.If anything happened to her, you’d want to know.”

“Nothing can happen to Reine.”

“Can…It’s words like these, which you always use, that fuel your belief that you can control the future.”Elias’ eyes flashed to the board before meeting Jediah’s eyes.“You’re playing with the Richardson name.I know you don’t like that Kayon downgraded me from being his right hand to being your adviser, but you will soon realize that this is real life and not your little board games.”

Jediah’s eyes narrowed.“Get out.”

Elias’ jaw ticked before he placed a hand on the table.His chair scraped against the floor as he pushed it backward, stood, then took long strides out of the room.The corner of Jediah’s mouth tugged upward into an angry sneer as Elias slammed the door shut.Shaking his head, he relaxed his facial muscles and looked back at the board.He hadn’t realized when he’d started playing against himself.Only his king was left on the board, surrounded by most of the white chess pieces.

His brows furrowed further as new thoughts plagued his mind.They sucked him into an endless abyss of mental torture, only freeing him hours later when the sound of a car in the distance driving away interrupted him.

Standing, he reset the board, then exited the office.He went to Kayon’s side of the wing, passing by Bryony on the way, who refused to acknowledge him.Her actions wounded him, but he pretended not to care.After his mother died, he and Bryony bumped heads all the time.Except, this time, he wasn’t so sure they’d make up so easily.

Bryony couldn’t have any kids of her own.She had an extra soft spot for pregnant women, and for Jediah to—

Jediah released a heavy breath as he entered Kayon’s room and closed the door.Jazz music welcomed him.Jediah walked toward Kayon, who was already at the window, and stood at his side.

“Sahil expressed his disappointment that he was not invited to Acacia’s wedding, but he is happy to now have ties to the family,” said Kayon.“Have you not told him that his daughter died?”

“Why you never do it?Nuh yu friend?”Jediah jested.

“I’m not in the position to tell a man that my son killed his daughter.”

“So, you’re admitting that you’re weak?”

“I’m Kayon Richardson.I’m never weak.”

Jediah scoffed as he watched Kayon’s hand loosen around the joystick.“The irony,” he muttered before looking out the window.

“Eli is not satisfied that you left Sahil with the impression that Acacia is your wife.That’s not true,” Kayon said, and Jediah stiffened.“I know everything that happens in this house.You’re beating yourself up about what you had to do to Ashari.You love her, I know, but women have to be punished sometimes when they forget their place.We don’t do it because we want to, we do it because we love them.”

Jediah’s jaw clenched as his eyes moved from the trees lining the backyard to settle on his mother’s grave.Memories flashed across his mind, but only one stood out the most right then.“You said that every time you hit Mom… Even when she didn’t deserve it.”

“So, you’re saying that she deserved it sometimes?”

He quickly spun around to look at Kayon.His eyes narrowed.“No.She neva deserve none a wa yu put her through.Especially on that night.”Jediah sucked in a deep breath as Kayon’s lip twitched into a tiny smirk.“It’s your fault she died,” he gritted out.

“It isn’t.It’s yours, Jediah.Are you forgetting what really happened that night?”

“We were driving home and you hit her.”

“Why did I hit her?”he asked, but Jediah refused to answer.Kayon’s hand moved quickly.“Why did I hit her?”