I Love You Too Much

by Jessica N. Watkins

Genres: Urban Fantasy

Synopsis

A husband’s deadly affair sets off a chain of deception, obsession, and unraveling truths in this twisted domestic thriller where love becomes a weapon, the past won’t stay buried, and the truth is more dangerous than the lie.

Jovian Clarke is a man with everything to lose—and even more to hide. To the world, he’s a devoted husband and father, but behind closed doors, he’s keeping an explosive secret: his affair with his wife’s best friend, Mia, ended in tragedy. Now, he’s desperate to erase the evidence, bury the truth, and preserve the illusion of a perfect life—no matter the cost.

Aviana suspects Mia is out to destroy her, unaware the real threat lies much closer to home. As her marriage begins to unravel, she turns to Mythic—her first love and longtime confidant—rekindling feelings she thought she’d buried. Torn between past and present, and with her sense of reality slipping, Aviana inches closer to a truth that could shatter everything.

As Jovian sinks deeper into guilt and delusion, and Aviana untangles the lies tightening around her, the truth erupts—warping love into control and exposing the wreckage left by secrets too dangerous to stay buried.

Release date: January 27, 2026

Publisher: Black Odyssey Media

Print pages: 288

Sample

PROLOGUE

It was the perfect start to summer, and the yacht party was lit. The sun was shining bright over Lake Michigan as a group of friends partied without a care in the world. Music blasted from the speakers, heavy beats pulsed through the deck, and drinks were flowing nonstop. Everyone was feeling good and tipsy. Some were way past drunk, laughing and dancing.

A few of them had already jumped off the boat. They were splashing in the cool water, relieving themselves from the relentless heat. Others were floating around in the lake on inflatable rafts. It was wild, chaotic fun, just like it was supposed to be for Kayla’s birthday party.

“Yo, what’s that?” one of the guys shouted from the water. He was pointing to something a few feet away that was bobbing in the lake.

Kayla, who was lounging on a floatie with a drink in hand, glanced over, squinting. “Probably nothin’. People throw all kinds of trash in the lake.”

But Marcus was persistent, per usual. “Nah. It looks like a suitcase or somethin’.”

Standing on the deck of the yacht, Trey shook his head as he held his beer up to his lips. “This nigga always minding the wrong business.” Then he took a swig before shouting to Marcus, “Bro, chill! You better leave that alone. It’s probably some drugs in there that fell out of a plane.”

Marcus looked back at Trey, grinning. “Then I should definitely go open that bitch up.”

“And you goin’ straight to jail,” muttered Angie who was lounging beside Kayla.

But Marcus being the nosy one, he wouldn’t let it go. He swam closer to the suitcase, and as he did, something caught his eye. “Hold up,” he muttered to himself as he got a better look. He squinted as he realized what was caught in the zipper of the suitcase.

It was…hair.

His heart began to pound against his chest now. “Yo, I think there’s hair stuck in the zipper!”

Kayla sat up on her float, frowning. “Hair? Hell nah. You trippin’. You better leave that shit alone, man.”

“I’m serious,” Marcus said as he continued to swim toward the suitcase. “I’m checkin’ this out.”

“Marcus, don’t! What if it’s some weird shit? Just leave it,” Angie shouted.

But Marcus was already too close. He grabbed the suitcase, feeling how hard it was to move. Shockingly, it was heavy.

As he tried to pull it open, his hands shook a little. The zipper creaked, and when he finally got it open, he froze.

Inside lay something grotesque. Its eyes were staring blankly at nothing, and its limbs were twisted at unnatural angles. “Oh shit!” Marcus’s stomach turned as panic hit him. He couldn’t think or breathe.

The body was in a grim state. It had seemingly been in the water for days, and the effects of decay were clear. The skin was pale and bloated. It stretched tightly over the bones in some places, while in others, it had started to peel and loosen. There was a greenish tint to the body, and parts of the skin were dark and discolored from being submerged.

Her face was swollen and unrecognizable to be human. The lips were pulled back slightly, exposing the teeth. The eyes were sunken and clouded over, no longer resembling anything human. Her hair, tangled and matted, stuck out from the zipper of the suitcase and clung to the sides like seaweed.

There was a foul smell, even over the lake water. It was a sickly odor that made it clear the body had been decomposing for some time. The joints were stiff, and her limbs looked awkwardly positioned since they had been forced into the small space of the suitcase.

Marcus’s stomach lurched before he screamed, “Oh my God!” He let go of the suitcase and pushed himself away from it as fast as he could, splashing wildly. “What the fuck?”

Kayla saw the look on his face and started freaking out too. “What? What is it?”

Marcus, still swimming away from the suitcase, yelled, “It’s a body! There’s a body in the suitcase!”

CHAPTER 1

Aviana Scott

Mia and I sat across from each other in a soul food spot in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago. Our table was cluttered with mason jar lemonades, half-eaten cornbread, and empty plates. Old school R&B played low through the speakers.

“How was your food today, ladies?” The waitress, Nakia, grinned as her slanted eyes bounced back and forth between Mia and me, waiting for our approval.

“It was delicious,” I replied. Then, with a heavy breath, I sat back in the booth and began to rub my belly, which felt like it was being stretched to capacity by all of the food I had just inhaled.

In response, the waitress giggled.

Mia nodded dramatically. “Everything was really good.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” the waitress said and set the black billfold on the table between Mia and me. “Well, here’s your check. Take your time, though. No rush.”

She walked away with a reassuring, pleasant smile as I glanced at the time on my phone. Seeing that it was half past two o’clock, I groaned. “Well, we do have to rush. We’re already thirty minutes late.”

Mia waved her hand so nonchalantly that I chuckled. She was unfazed because she and I had laid-back positions at Dream Realty. She was the office manager for the large real estate company based in Hyde Park. With control of the office, she had a lot of flexibility with her hours. As one of the rental agents at the company, she was my boss, as well as my best friend since elementary school, so I’d inherited the same flexibility.

The owners of the company, a pair of Polish twins in their late fifties, usually came into the office in the mornings for briefings with Mia, rental agents, and other staff, so we weren’t in a rush, but there were a few Karens in the office that we had to look out for.

Watching Mia glance over the bill, I asked, “How much is it?”

She sucked her teeth and waved me off without taking her eyes off it. “I got it.”

“Okay, Big Money,” I teased.

“Don’t hate,” she playfully boasted.

Laughing, I replied, “Nobody is hating.”

With her lips pursed, she answered, “It sounds like you are.”

“You know I’m not.”

She finally let her artificial guard down and admitted with a smile, “I know.”

Tilting my head to the side, I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “But how long are you going to keep doing this?”

She cockily shrugged. “As long as it’s putting money in my pocket.”

Sitting back, I shook my head, not bothering to hide the apprehension in my eyes. “I told you that the more money you make, the greedier you’ll get. Don’t you think it’s time to chill before you get caught?”

Mia’s perfectly tinted brow arched dramatically. “You know something about me potentially getting caught?”

Offended, my head reared back. “Don’t play with me, Mia. You know I would never say anything—”

“Especially when you’re reaping the benefits,” she interjected again, raising her brow even higher.

“Pause,” I pressed. “Don’t try to include me in your scandalous ways, heffa. You’ve bought me a few lunches and some drinks, but I don’t have anything to do with what you’re doing.”

“Don’t forget the bottles we’ve popped,” she quipped.

I sucked my jaws in, running my fingers through my hair. “Touché…Touché, bitch.”

“Mm-humph,” she snorted as she dug into her purse.

With a playful smirk tugging at the corner of my lips, I lifted my hands in surrender. “You won that. I was just trying to look out for you.”

As she placed a few twenties in the billfold, her haughty disposition vanished. She pouted as her eyes found mine again. “I thought you weren’t judging me.”

“I’m not,” I insisted. “I never would. I get it. I just don’t want you to get caught. I love you, and I’ve always got your back, but I can’t help you if you’re in prison doing five to ten.” As I laughed, she did as well.

Yet, as I gathered my purse and phone, worry still lingered in the back of my mind. I had been raised in the Wild Hundreds, a nickname for the Roseland area on the far south side. When I was growing up, the Wild Hundreds had an extraordinary amount of gang activity that caused it to be a high-crime area, so I wasn’t unfamiliar with criminal activities. But I was more used to being surrounded by the likes of gangs, drug dealers, addicts, and thieves—crimes more akin to people from impoverished neighborhoods like mine. But Mia was dealing with some white-collar crimes that would likely get her black ass real time if she was ever caught.

Though she and I had full-time jobs, for thirty-year-old women, we weren’t gainfully employed. Unfortunately, after high school, we found ourselves in unhealthy relationships rather than in a healthy relationship with college. As a result, we were making seventy-five thousand dollars a year during a time of inflation, scammers, and social media that made money, status, and popularity a priority. So, when Mia revealed to me a year ago that she had figured out how to steal money from Dream Realty, I understood her thirst for more.

Through Dream Realty, she was creating fake invoices for services and supplies. As the office manager, it was her job to approve those invoices for payment. She’d create the invoices and approve them, then when the company paid the invoices, those payments were diverted into a business account that she created using a fake identity she’d purchased from one of her scamming cousins.

At first, she was only doing it here and there to give herself a couple extra thousand dollars when she needed it. However, as time went on, she’d upgraded from an apartment on the south side to one of the more modern and expensive condos owned by Dream Realty in the South Loop. Her clothes became more expensive, and so had her life. I worried that she had fallen so far down the rabbit hole that she would never be able to crawl out unscathed.

But I didn’t and would never judge her. Nor would I ever tell a soul. She and I had grown up in the same neighborhood and had gone to the same elementary and high school. Therefore, I knew her struggles and would never forget the obstacles that had been against us from birth. Plus, Mia was single, while I was married to a husband who was paying the bills where I laid my head.

“I won’t get caught, I promise.” Mia smiled as she threw the strap of her YSL purse over her shoulder. “And I’ll stop soon.”

I nodded with a half-smile as Mia and I climbed out of the booth at the Soul Food Cafe. Standing at the table, I looked up at Mia since she was quite a few inches taller than me because of the heels she was wearing that day.

I smiled as I softly bumped her with my elbow. “You know I’m never judging you, right?”

The corners of her lips touched her ears. “I know.”

“Trust me. I know the feeling of desperately needing and wanting more.”

Mia pouted while searching my weary, longing gaze. “Are you worried about getting hired for that new position?”

I’d applied for the property manager position at Dream Realty. I would manage all of their properties across the city. Most importantly, there was a significant salary increase. Though my husband, Damar, took care of our bills, I wanted more for myself. I had always wanted to be a certified registered nurse anesthetist. It had always been a passion of mine to follow in my mother’s footsteps. But Damar didn’t want me away from him and the home as much as clinicals and studying would take me. And he was now ready for us to have a baby. Earlier in our marriage, Damar’s son, Jeremy, was still young, so Damar wasn’t ready for a baby. But now that Jeremy was older, Damar had been insisting that we finally grow our family.

“Yeah. But I haven’t heard anything yet.”

“I heard that the twins will be making a decision soon.”

I half-smiled. “Oh, okay. Good.”

We traveled through the maze of tables toward the exit. The warm-brown walls were decorated with vintage posters. The aroma of savory spices swallowed us as the chatter of other diners blended with the clinking of silverware and soulful R&B music.

Stepping outside of the restaurant, the May sun bathed us in summer warmth. It felt so good to feel the city finally defrosting.

“You’re going to Enchant tonight, right?”

I lightly groaned, rolling my eyes as I walked alongside Mia through the parking lot. “I guess.”

She eyed my irritation suspiciously. “What’s the problem?”

Frowning, I asked, “Why can’t we go somewhere else? We’re always there.”

“Because our best friend owns it, and we drink and eat for free. Why would we go anywhere else?”

I groaned in response because she knew exactly why.

A taunting grin reached Mia’s ears. “Oh, because it’s entirely too stressful for you to be in the same space with your husband and the love of your life,” she mocked me with a laugh as she answered her own question.

I rolled my eyes with exaggeration. “Whatever, Mia.”

She giggled while popping the locks of her SUV. “Mm-humph. I better see you tonight.”



The breeze downtown was so warm. It was the kind of evening that made you forget winter had ever existed. Damar had insisted we take advantage of it being too nice outside to be inside, so after work, he’d met me at home, then I’d jumped in his car, and he’d brought us downtown.

We walked slowly along the Magnificent Mile with our fingers interlocked. Damar pulled me toward a boutique with a glass storefront showcasing designer handbags.

“Let’s go in here,” he told me, not giving me an option.

I followed him, and the chime of the doorbell welcomed us as we stepped inside.

Damar and I strolled past displays of luxury handbags that cost more than some people’s rent. He kept me close with his arm sliding around my waist. He constantly tugged me against him like he wanted everybody in the store to know I was his.

“Oooh. Try that one on,” he said, pointing to a sleek black tote with gold hardware. “That one look like money.”

I slipped it off the display and threw it over my shoulder, then I stepped in front of the mirror. Damar stood behind me, admiring me with a cocky and proud smirk. “Damn. Look at my wife. You look expensive as hell with that bag on your arm, like a basketball wife.”

I laughed, blushing.

“Nah, for real. That bag says you’re a dope boy’s wife. Like you don’t check price tags. Like you’re used to this life.”

I tilted my head, eyeing myself in the mirror. He wasn’t wrong. The bag looked good on me. I looked like I belonged in spaces where women sipped champagne while they shopped and didn’t flinch when swiping a black card.

He kissed my cheek, pressing his lips close to my jaw. “I work so hard because I want to give you this life all the time. You deserve to have the best every time you even think of it, not just on a special occasion, and I’m going to give you just that. I swear.”

I glanced up, startled by the sincerity in his eyes. I hesitated because guilt pinched at my throat, making it hard to swallow. I smiled up into his eyes. “I know, baby.”

“You want it?”

“Damar, you don’t have to do this,” I murmured.

Damar was successful, but he hadn’t reached the point in his career that spending this type of money on a handbag wouldn’t put stress on his bank account.

“I know,” he said quickly, gently tilting my chin so I met his eyes. “I want to, so let me.”

The way he looked at me felt earnest. It was desperate almost, like he was doing everything in his power to bridge the emotional gap I’d quietly allowed to form between us, and that made the heaviness in my chest multiply.

I sighed and smiled. “Sure, baby.”

His smile stretched wide. “Then it’s yours.”

As he signaled for the saleswoman, I felt like such a fraud.

I had been complaining about the lack of passion between Damar and me for quite some time. I had been having the same complaint since before we married.

He was a handsome, charismatic man with swag. I could never deny his tall, massive beauty. He was healthy for my broken heart when we met. But I never felt the heart-wrenching longing and need for him that I always felt for my other best friend, Mythic Grey. I hoped that once Damar and I fell in love, once we married, that it would develop. But our chemistry was never a match for the flame that roared in my heart for Mythic.

From the beginning, my marriage with Damar had been mundane. He checked all the right boxes. He was successful, dependable, and a “good man” on paper, but that was it. I thought that the issue was that he wasn’t as connected to our marriage because he was so focused on his party promotion business. But a year ago, Damar started to switch things up. Out of nowhere, he started turning up the romance with dinners, flowers, compliments—the things he used to overlook.

I tried to enjoy it. I tried to appreciate the effort he was finally putting in. But the truth was, even with all his changes, my heart kept drifting back to Mythic.

After Damar made the purchase, he kissed my temple, slipped his arm around me, and we stepped back into the evening.

And as I held tightly on to the expensive gift bag, my guilt screamed loudly in my ears, drowning out the carefree laughter and conversations of the people passing by.

As we waited to cross the street, he leaned in and kissed me again.

My eyes fluttered closed, but not for the reasons they should have.

It was Mythic’s face that filled the darkness behind my eyelids. I heard his voice and felt his hands. The way he used to look at me like I was both his peace and his undoing. I hated that my body reacted to the thought of him more than to the man actually kissing me.

I pulled back gently and forced a small smile. “You’re really making a day of this, huh?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, glancing at me like he was searching for something in my eyes. “I just wanna be with you, Avi. No distractions. No bullshit. Just us.”

We started walking again. The sidewalks were crowded, but we moved slow, like the city wasn’t rushing past us.

Damar’s grip on my hand tightened a little. “I know I wasn’t always…present. I got caught up with the parties and the scene. The promoting. The attention. I thought providing meant showing up with money and connections. But that’s not what you need. And I hate that I had to almost lose you to realize that.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, fighting the sting in my chest.

“I’ve been putting in the work,” he said, “trying to prove to you that I’m here—that I’m serious about us. But I can’t lie, Vee—” He stopped walking, turning to face me— “it scares the hell out of me that it might be too late. That I waited too long to choose you the right way.”

He looked at me like he needed me to save him. But I didn’t feel like anyone’s savior. I felt like a traitor in heels and lip gloss.

“You didn’t lose me.” I barely believed my own words.

His thumb brushed against my knuckles. “Then help me feel like I haven’t.”

I nodded slowly. My lips curled into something that looked like love, but inside me, it was hollow. Damar was a good man. He was willing to fight for what we had.

But my heart was somewhere else—with someone who made me feel like I couldn’t breathe without him.

Someone who wasn’t my husband.

And no matter how many steps Damar took toward me, I kept drifting farther away.



A few hours later, Damar and I met Mia at Enchant. As soon as we walked through the doors, we went our separate ways so that he could get to work.

Mythic owned the nightclub Enchant while Damar promoted parties there. Damar had been a very successful and popular promoter in Chicago since he’d graduated from college. In the last few years, he’d expanded from promoting small parties to building a full-fledged, lucrative business in the nightlife scene. What started with handing out flyers and hosting club nights had evolved into securing major venues, booking big talent, and locking in sponsorships. His name held weight now in clubs and in other lanes too. He had his hands in event production, brand partnerships, and even upscale private experiences for high-end clients.

When Mythic opened Enchant, Damar was obsessed with getting entertainment control. He had explained that the club was new and hot because of Mythic’s street fame, so he had to have a piece.

On the second floor, Mia and I swayed our exaggerated curves along to the beat of the latest rap songs while looking down on the sea of clubbers from our appointed VIP section.

Mia’s curves were exaggerated because she had gotten implants and fat transfers applied to a slim, petite frame. Those surgeries had been funded by the money she’d been stealing from Dream Realty. My curves were exaggerated because I was two-hundred and sixty-five pounds on a five-foot-four-inch frame. Though I was a big girl, I wasn’t ashamed of my curves. I had never been kicked out of any man’s bed because of my weight. Each pound was well proportioned on my short frame, and most of the weight was in my lower body, leaving me with a much smaller upper torso in comparison.. . .