PROMISED TO HIM
CHAPTER 19
JAYDEN SMITH
My lungs burned, my chest ached, and my head spun with the sound of that gunshot from yesterday. The echo followed me down the driveway, sharp and haunting, bouncing inside my skull until it became more than a sound — it became guilt.
Blood dripped from my nose to my chin. Roy’s punch had been brutal. He didn’t hold back, not for a second. He never did — not when we were boys, not now. That’s how he’s always been. Cold. Ruthless.
I wiped the blood away with my sleeve, but it didn’t change how dirty I felt. Not from the fight. From everything else.
“Damn it,” I muttered, hitting the car window with my fist
Roy.
My brother. My blood. My enemy.
He always got what he wanted — the money, the power, the name. And now, even the woman I loved.
I know what people think — that I’m jealous, that I want to live in his shadow and steal what’s his. Maybe they’re right. Maybe I just wanted to take something back for once. But Mayi wasn’t supposed to be part of that plan.
I didn’t mean to fall for her.
At first it was to fulfill mom’s mission but when i got spend time to spend with her —her eyes were soft but impossible to ignore.
I saw her trying to be strong, trying to be perfect for a man who only knew how to control, not love. And I hated him for that.
For not seeing her. For not knowing how lucky he was.
So, yeah… maybe I crossed the line. Maybe I wanted her to see the difference between us. That I could be gentle where he was harsh. That I could care where he commanded.
But tonight — when Roy showed up, when his hand went around my throat, when his eyes went dark with that cold fury — I realized something.
You can’t fight a man like Roy and win.
You either destroy him completely or he destroys you.
I leaned against the car and let out a shaky laugh that felt more like a cry.
What the hell had I done?
The woman I wanted to protect saw me being beaten half to death by her husband. The brother I used to look up to now wanted me dead. And the worst part? There was truth in his anger. Because I did kiss her. And she did kiss me back.
Even if it was only for a second, it happened — and that second ruined everything.
I climbed into my car, slamming the door shut, and dropped my head against the steering wheel. My phone vibrated on the seat. The screen flashed an unknown number.
For a moment, I hesitated. Then I picked up.
“Jayden Smith,” the voice on the other end drawled — calm, deep, familiar in the worst way.
My stomach dropped. “Ma,” I muttered. “What do you want?”
“I want results,” she replied smoothly.
“You were supposed to give me photos of Mayibuye naked on your bed . Instead, I heard you were fighting your brother with gunshots and chaos in your brother’s house.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Mom i cant do this anymore.”
She laughed softly, almost mockingly.
“I gave you an opportunity, Jayden. You wanted out of your brother’s shadow — I offered you a way. The pictures would have ruined his shares, his offshore accounts, his estate holdings — that was your ticket. But you got distracted, didn’t you?”
My silence said everything.
“Ah,” he continued, his tone dripping with satisfaction.
“You fell for that stupid girl because you are stupid ”
“Don’t talk about her,” I snapped.
“Touchy?,” she said angry.
“Let me remind you — Jayden. You wanted a way to hurt him. You wanted your share of the empire. And now, look at you — beaten, bleeding, and still fighting for a woman who chose him over you.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone screen, shaking my head. “No,” I whispered to myself. “That’s not true. That’s not who I am.”
But deep down… it was.
I did want to take something from Roy. I did want to prove I wasn’t just his little brother living off scraps. And in that anger, in that hunger, I let mom use me.
Now I was tangled in something far worse than a broken marriage — I was caught in a web that could destroy us all.
I hit the steering wheel, once, hard.
“I didn’t want this,” I muttered. “I didn’t want this, Mayi…”The funny part is that I don’t know what do I want
The image of her face flashed in my mind — the tears in her eyes when she saw Roy holding the gun, the way she fell trying to stop us, the way her voice trembled when she said, ‘He’s your brother!’
She didn’t deserve any of this.
I started the engine and pulled out onto the dark road. The rain had started to fall, soft at first, then heavier. The wipers swiped across the glass, the sound mixing with my heartbeat.
For a moment, I thought about driving far away — disappearing, leaving everything behind.
But I couldn’t.i will just hide where Roy won’t find me
Because as much as I hated him, as much as I wanted to break free from Roy’s shadow, he was still my brother I knew how he operates
And if I didn’t stop mom, he’d come for her too.
I pressed harder on the accelerator, the city lights blurring through the rain.
“Damn you, Roy,” I whispered. “You think I’m your enemy… but you have no idea what’s coming.”
My world is falling apart