From Best Friend To Fiancé (Savannah and Roman) novel Chapter 373

Chapter 373

Chapter 213: Sounds Beautiful

Roman

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I took a deep breath as I stepped onto the cool, moon–washed sand. The waves crashed in slow, rhythmic pulses–beautiful, steady, calming. Or they should have been. But tonight the sound only sharpened the chaos in my head.

I’d been strung tight all day. I thought that maybe walking out here, letting the water kiss my feet, letting the night swallow me whole, would help. But my chest still felt iron–clamped. My mind still churned. My stomach still twisted with something that felt halfway between rage and sickness.

I felt… bad. Really bad.

I sat down on the sand, dragging a hand down my face as Paula’s voice echoed in my mind, sharp as shrapnel even over the rolling of the

waves. The ocean was peaceful. The world was peaceful. But inside me? It was war.

God. How did everything get so twisted so fast?

All I wanted was simple. A life with Savannah. A place no one could find us–no fathers, no enemies, no ghosts clawing at our backs. A home where our kids could run without fear, where their last name wouldn’t be a target painted on their foreheads.

But instead… I got this.

My father.

The man I once idolized. All sons look up to their fathers, don’t they? I did too. Once. The man I stupidly believed was strong, brave, unstoppable. The man who actually turned out to be a monster.

“How do you sleep at night?” I muttered under my breath, staring out at the vast black water. “How do you live with yourself?”

I remembered being little and watching him command uniformed men with cold precision. I remember thinking he was a giant, a force of nature. I remember thinking, I want to be like you when I grow up.

Now the thought alone makes me sick.

I shove my fingers into the sand as a tremor runs through me. Not fear–anger. Betrayal. Shame. I idolized that man. I wanted to fit into his mold–sharp edges, iron fists, unshakeable. And now I wonder if I ever truly knew him at all.

The sky wavered in my vision. My throat tightened. I didn’t know if it was the wind or my own body shaking.

I just want peace.

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Chapter 373

I just want her.

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I just want a chance to rewrite the damn future so my children aren’t condemned by the sins of their grandfather. So they won’t be hunted. So people won’t whisper their names with hatred. So they won’t grow up wondering why the world is waiting for them to pay for

someone else’s evil.

How deep does his darkness go? How many lives has he shattered? How many more truths are waiting to claw their way out?

I take a deep breath. And then–darkness behind me. A pair of hands covered my eyes.

“Found you!” Savannah’s giggle danced through the air.

My heart–heavy, bruised, aching–lifted immediately. Her voice alone pulled the tension straight out of my shoulders. I could smell her- fresh shampoo, warm shower steam still clinging to her skin, her body wash sweet against the night breeze.

I let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, right. You caught me, baby.”

She removed her hands and dropped into the sand beside me, her smile soft and amused. “What are you doing out here? I thought you were coming inside.”

I shrugged, staring out at the water. “I don’t know. I just… needed to feel the wind, I guess.”

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