From Best Friend To Fiancé (Savannah and Roman) novel Chapter 365

Chapter 365

Despite my heavy mood, despite the pit inside my chest, I burst into uncontrollable laughter. Uncle Jace always knew how to make me laugh. even when I didn’t want to. His tickling was wild, relentless, like he needed my laughter for something–like it actually fed him.

“Now they’re staring at us,” he said between tickles, grinning like a maniac. I looked up, and sure enough, Asher was watching us with an expression I couldn’t decipher–confusion, surprise, something else that was gone too quickly. Something I was way too young to recognize.

“Stop! Uncle Jace! Stop!” I gasped, squirming away.

He didn’t stop.

Not until my face was flushed and tears were leaking from my eyes.

“I’ll only stop if you tell me the truth,” he demanded, hands hovering near my side like a threat. “What’s wrong, Sav?”

I glanced at the grass, then at Mom who was propping Chloe on her lap, kissing her knee because Chloe had apparently complained that her boo–boo hurt while dancing.

Jealousy and sadness pricked through me. And I remember looking away. “It’s nothing,” I whispered.

“Sav.” His voice dropped, losing its joking tone.

I swallowed hard. “Daddy hit me,” I finally breathed out.

The words hung between us like the smoke from the barbecue. He inhaled sharply, jaw clenching. “Why? Did you do anything?”

“No.” Tears burned behind my eyes. “Chloe tripped on my doll, and she cried. Daddy said it was my fault. He… he said not to play with her again. Or join the barbecue. Or go near her.”

The grass blurred as my vision swam. Saying it out loud made it sting all over again. Like my father’s slap had reached across hours and hit me

a second time.

Jace muttered something under his breath–then louder, with heat in his voice, “Well, fuck him.”

I gasped dramatically and slapped my hand over his mouth. “That’s a bad word! Mom said we should never use that word!”

He smirked after I removed my hand. “Yeah? Well, I trust you not to tell her I said it.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and gave him a serious look. “Just don’t say it again.”

“I won’t,” he said, though we both knew he would.

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9:50 Thu, Dec 25

Chapter 365

He looked out over the yard again, watching everyone laugh and dance and pretend our world was perfect.

“It’s actually pretty boring, isn’t it?” he muttered.

I frowned. “No. I wish I could join them.” My voice cracked. “But Daddy’s going to get mad if I go near Chloe. And he’ll hit me again.”

“How often does he hit you, Sav?”

“A lot.”

Something in his expression shifted. It softened, then hardened, then turned into something else entirely–an unreadable mix of anger and something that felt almost like possession.

Then he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into his side. “Then I’ll stay with you,” he murmured. “And you’re not missing anything. That kind of fun is overrated.”

“I don’t know what that word means, Uncle Jace. But you’re correct.”

He laughed. “You’re special, Sav. Always remember that.”

I felt my chest loosen a little. Sitting with him felt better than sitting alone–even though something about his closeness always made me feel a bit strange, like he saw too much.

“You want some candy?” he asked suddenly, patting his pocket. “I’ve got some.”

“Yes!” I brightened immediately.

He set his beer on the ground and pulled out five wrapped candies–bright red and green wrappers that shimmered in the sunlight. I snatched

them eagerly, grinning.

“Thank you, Uncle Jace!” I said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. It was sloppy and childish, but he froze for a moment, eyes flicking toward me with something sharp before he softened again.

“Uncle Jace is the best!”

He chuckled, tapping my nose lightly. “Yeah. I know.”

Even now, twenty years later, I can still taste the sweetness of that candy. I can still feel the warmth of the sun on my face. And I can still see the crooked smile on Jace’s lips as he held me close.

Back then, I didn’t know what any of it meant.

Back then, I didn’t know what he truly was.

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9:50 Thu, Dec 25

Chapter 365

Back then, I didn’t know who he truly was.

Or that he wasn’t just my uncle. He was my father.

And the man who I would grow up to discover had ruined so many lives–Including Roman’s.

Present Day

I didn’t realize I’d stopped breathing until the room went dead silent.

Every head turned toward me. Every breath seemed to hang suspended in the air. Even Chloe stared at me like she was hearing the name, Jace Hart, for the very first time in her life.

She wasn’t–she’d known him all her life just like me–but the shock on her face told me she hadn’t expected Paula to say his name.

Especially not in this way.

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