Prologue: 'A Broken Promise.'
Melissa Jaxson couldn’t stop looking out the front window. She could see the sea from her father’s little beach house. It was right on the edge of Ocho Rios, Jamaica; the parish that unfolds like a vibrant tropical paradise where lush greenery meets the shimmering blue of the Caribbean Sea. But it wasn’t a pretty day outside.
The sun was nestled behind a thick sheet of thunderclouds. She could hear the thunder rumbling across the sky. Lightning followed every sound. It was only a matter of time before it started to rain, which wasn’t good for the young woman’s anxiety.
She was restless, bouncing her feet against the old, creaky floor. Her baby gurgled in her embrace and cried endlessly. Its shrill, unhinged wail dared to outmatch the thunder. Melissa tried to calm it down with a milk bottle, but it wasn’t working. Neither did burping the child nor hugging it. Between the infant and the weather, everything was driving her crazy.
“Mel, give her to me.”
Melissa sighed with relief and handed the baby to her father. The old man nestled his grandchild in his arms and sat adjacent to his daughter. She quickly fell asleep in his embrace. Melissa managed to smile despite the tears that threatened to roll down her chin. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“I’ll always help you, darling. For as long as I can... but you need to accept the truth.”
“No.”
“Melissa, he’s not coming back.”
“No, he’s coming for us, daddy!”
The rain fell with the unrestrained fury she shook. Melissa leaped out of her chair as the rain drummed against the zinc rooftops. She couldn’t stop the tears now, but she was confident in her words.
“Wyatt loves me. He loves his daughter. He won’t leave us behind. He promised me that he was coming to get us. He’s just a little late, that’s all.”
“Melissa, he told you that five days ago. I won’t have you waiting on that man forever. Him nah come back!”
She didn’t want to believe him. Not now. Not ever. But her father was right. That man made a promise. The man with a vision of rugged charm and effortless allure, a striking figure whose presence commands attention the moment he enters a room. The man with sun-kissed blonde hair and striking blue eyes that she could drown in.
Wyatt Rourke, the man she fell in love with from the moment he visited her father’s old horse for a quick ride. He promised her that he would come back for her. That she and her new baby were his family now.
She believed him.
She had to.
The rain came down harder, but the sudden reversion of an expensive engine cut through the storm. Melissa looked out the window, and a large smile split her face in two. A sleek, black Mercedes pulled up at their gate. Her lover quickly climbed out and ran towards the door.
“Look, daddy! He’s here. I told you that he’d come.”
Melissa opened the door and flung her arms around his neck. Wyatt’s cowboy hat fell from his head as he kissed her with a searing passion. She felt her knees buckle as he hugged her tightly.
“What took you so long?”
He didn’t answer. His blue eyes found the disapproval of her father before he could think about a response. As a matter of fact, the world faded away when he saw his baby girl sleeping in his arms. He walked over to him and took her out of his hands. She was so tiny, but her little hands captured his heart. Melissa smiled as she watched him fall in love with his new child. It was perfect. Everything was perfect now.
“Our bags are in our room, baby. I’ll hold her so you can get them.” Wyatt stopped smiling. He stopped moving. Hell, he probably stopped breathing for a moment, which confused her. “What’s wrong, Wyatt?”
“... Mr. Jaxson, can you please take my daughter for a moment?”
The old man quickly agreed and took the baby out of the kitchen, leaving the lovers to talk. Wyatt carefully pulled Melissa into his lap and held her like she was a piece of glass. It wasn’t as loving as before. She felt awkward in his embrace. But she gained enough patience to wait for him to say something... anything.
“Have you named her yet?”
“Uhm, yeah. Her name is Jahari... Wyatt, why aren’t you grabbing our things?”
“... Because I can’t take you with me, baby. I can’t take any of you.”
Melissa felt her heart shatter into a million shimmering fragments. “Wh—at did you just say?”
“Listen, baby girl. I know that I made a lot of promises, but there’s a lot that you don’t understand—”
SMACK!
Wyatt’s face stung, but he knew he deserved it. He knew that this was going to hurt. It hurt him to admit this, not that he was showing it. Melissa’s tear-jerking face was going to haunt him. He knew it would. Every time she slapped him, it cut into the wall around his soul.
“You came onto me! You made me fall in love with you! You fucking promised me that you would marry me! And now... you’re just gonna leave us?! What about Jahari? What am I supposed to tell her when she grows up? Huh?! She needs her father!”
“... Look, I’ll send you both enough money to live comfortably—”
“Yuh bombohole! I don’t want your money, Wyatt. I want you! And I want you to be my daughter’s father—”
The man leaped out of his car. “Well, I can’t fucking do that, Melissa!”
He balled his hands into fists and swallowed his anger with all his might. In that moment, he resembled a wild, dangerous animal... until he looked up, and Melissa saw a glimmer of it. His unbearable regret. His all-consuming sadness. The pain... it stopped her in her tracks... until it didn’t. Until the rage of a scorned woman burned a brand into her heart.
“If you’re gonna leave, Wyatt, get the fuck out of my daddy’s house. But you better not come back.”
A defeated sigh filled the haunted silence. “... Don’t worry, I don’t plan on it. I’ll send you money every month—”
“Keep it. You don’t get to have access to us anymore. Not even with money. Now, go. Get the fuck out!”
“Melissa, please—”
“Mi seh fi come out!”
Wyatt bit his tongue and walked out of the house. Every step felt like torture... but he took them anyway. He walked out into the rain, got into his car, and drove out of her life forever. Away from his daughter, forever... and that would be his greatest regret, despite all the demons he kept buried under that hat.
