From Best Friend To Fiancé (Savannah and Roman) novel Chapter 240

**TITLE: Dreams Folding Into Broken Time**

**by Serene L. Ard**

**240**

In that moment, Roman was unraveling before my eyes. The cruel twist of fate was that he had become the fragile one, the one who needed to be handled as if he were made of glass, ready to shatter at any moment.

I inhaled sharply, my breath shaky. “You should’ve told me,” I managed to say, the words tumbling out like a pebble rolling down a hill.

“I know,” he replied, his voice barely a whisper, as if he feared the very air around us would shatter the moment. “I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t want to see you hurt any more than you already had been. But now I see I had no right to make that decision for you.”

This infuriating man. Always stepping in to decide what was best for me, always shouldering burdens he thought I couldn’t bear.

God, how I wanted to scream at him, to break through the walls he had built around himself. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it—not when he looked so vulnerable, not when his fingers trembled against my skin, and his head hung low as if he were pleading for forgiveness.

So, I swallowed the storm that threatened to erupt within me.

“Thank you for telling me,” I finally said, my fingers resuming their gentle rhythm in his hair, trying to soothe both him and myself. “Though, I have to say, you kind of let it slip earlier.”

He let out a small, weary chuckle, the sound echoing with a hint of regret. “I know. I just wanted to stretch out the moment a little longer before we returned to being strangers.”

A faint smile tugged at my lips, even as it hurt. Typical Roman. Always preparing for the next disaster, never allowing himself to believe that good things could last.

We lingered in that space, the air thickening between us—not uncomfortable, but heavy with all the things left unsaid. His hand shifted slightly, tracing the seam of my robe as if he were searching for something real, something tangible, something alive amidst the chaos.

Then he spoke again, his voice quieter this time, as if the very act of speaking was a weighty confession. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

My heart plummeted. “What now?” I asked, bracing myself for whatever revelation was about to unfold.

“Kingston knew my father.”

The words hit me like a sudden gust of wind. “What?”

Roman sat up slowly, still holding my hand as if it were a lifeline. “He hinted that they had worked together. At first, I thought it was just another one of Kingston’s lies—he says a lot of things just to get under my skin. But after he said it, I couldn’t shake the thought. My father never mentioned him, not once. But the way Kingston spoke about it…”

He trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief.

“What did he say exactly?” I pressed, my curiosity piqued despite the growing dread in my chest.

“Kingston said that he did what my father asked him to do,” Roman explained, his brow furrowing as he recalled the conversation. “He claimed they had a deal, and that he fulfilled their last agreement.”

A chill raced down my spine. “What kind of deal?”

“I don’t know,” he replied quietly, his eyes darkening with concern. “But I have a sinking feeling it wasn’t anything good.”

I stared at him, my mind racing. “Roman… What could a man of your father’s stature possibly want with someone like Kingston? What kind of ‘deal’ could exist between a decorated ex-president and a rapist?”

His jaw clenched tightly. “That’s what terrifies me.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify