Page 24 of A Virgo's Muse
Crack.
His head jerked back.
“Thought you was gon’ humiliate her?”
Bam.
Blood sprayed across the wall.
“You thought I was weak ’cause I found peace?”
Boom.
His nose crunched under my knuckles.
Punch after punch, my hands were a blur of rage. Every hit was another sin he’d committed, another line he crossed, another woman hurt. I saw red. His face caved under my fists. His lip split. His teeth were gone, and his eyes were swelling shut.
“You fucking coward,” I growled. My breath came in sharp, wild bursts. “Hiding behind women. Touching what ain’t yours. You wanted me? Should’ve stepped to me. But nah, you tried to break her.”
I slammed him to the floor and knelt over his bloody, twitching body.
And with one last blow that cracked his jaw sideways, I whispered something only for him to hear.
“This is for Desire. I’m gonna drain every account you and your bitch-made daddy ever touched and give it to her, for every tear, every scream, every scar you caused today.”
Then I stood over his still body. He wasn’t moving… not anymore. I turned with blood dripping from my hands. My chest heaved, but I was calm now. Ghost was holding Sade. Trell and Bullet stood silent, watching, witnessing.
“We good,” I said.
They nodded.
Sade looked at me, weak but alive. She gave me a small nod, too, like she understood this was what love looked like when it was soaked in vengeance. We got her out of there, and I was already planning the next steps.
I was hired to get my hands dirty, to take out the “bad” people. The ones who held skeletons in their closets that couldn’t come to the light but shouldn’t leave them breathing. Santos andhis dad were a duo. They hired me multiple times to take out threats of their own. When I was hired to take him out, there was no hesitation to do my job. Santos was just a bitch and couldn’t fathom the fact that his dad was an evil man and what I did was just business. Now, that business was done.
I still had a queen to make whole again. And nobody, I mean nobody, fucked with what was mine.
It had beendays since I last saw Onyx. Not hours, not one long day that dragged on too long… days. Each one moved like wet paint down a canvas I didn’t even have the energy to finish.
He tried to come by. He tried calling. He tried texting. But I couldn’t receive any of it, not yet. My spirit was swollen with too much. My best friend had been violated because of a war I didn’t even know I was standing in. My mother was fighting for her life. My pride had taken a blow I didn’t expect from someone who made me feel so safe… so seen.
And yet, no matter how much I tried to run from him, he kept showing up, not physically but through my art.
He was in every shade of black I smeared across a canvas, every burst of red and blue that bled from my brush like a bruise.His eyes haunted the sketchbook I kept by my bed. That one freckle by his lip showed up in a quick charcoal piece I swore was just a practice sketch. The angles of his jaw, the depth of his presence was all over my studio. I hated it. But I didn’t want it to stop either.
I was booked at a gallery in two weeks. It was one of the biggest shows I’d ever had. I had three more pieces to complete, and like always, he was the muse for them all. He hadn’t just left me with memories; he left me with fuel. And still… he hadn’t left me at all.
He made sure every bill in my life was handled like I didn’t just push him away days ago. I called to reverse a payment, and the lady said,“Oh, no need, ma’am. Your husband paid it in full.”
That word clung to me.Husband. He wasn’t mine, but my heart refused to correct her. Sade was still healing. She was quiet at times. But even after what she went through, being dragged into something she had no business in, she was still Team Onyx. She told me to hear him out. Swore I didn’t know the whole story. And now, she was practically glued to Ghost’s side. He was soft for her. He didn’t even try to hide it.
My mama had finally opened her eyes again. Her seizure had scared us all, but she came back to that same place—present enough to whisper a few things, squeeze our hands, smile softly. My dad never left her side. He held her hand like she still made his world spin. He lived in a reality where she was fine, and that was enough for him. That kind of love terrified me because I wanted it, and I was scared I had it and ruined it.
After moping in bed an hour too long after my alarm went off, I finally got up to do my hygiene and get ready for the day. I went to my bathroom and turned on my shower, getting in instantly. I didn’t have time to allow it to heat up before the water touched my body. I washed up twice before getting outand throwing on something quick. I grabbed my keys and a banana that was on the counter and then proceeded to head to my studio.
Today was the first day I openedMy Desiresfor a full shift. In the morning, I hosted an intermediate painting class that left me full, inspired, and exhausted in the best way. And now, I was prepping for a paint and sip party scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to midnight. Tables were set. Wine glasses lined the bar. Canvases were stacked with care, ready to be passed out. R&B played low in the background. Sage burned near the entrance. I felt peaceful… almost.
The studio clock read 3:50 p.m. when I heard the door chime. They were ten minutes early.
