Read Online When Perfection Fails by Tyora Moody - Free Book Online Page A

righteous.”
    Lance stepped even closer to her now, brushing his arm up against her arm. Serena had smelled a hint of his cologne and it almost suffocated her.
    â€œThere are those who seek to establish their own righteousness.”
    Serena stared into Lance’s eyes, almost forgetting to breathe. The one thing she could not stand was religious mumbo jumbo. Lance really believed whatever he was talking about, which made him crazier than he looked.
    The elevator doors opened. As quickly as he entered, Lance exited and moved through the crowd outside the doors. A man entered and asked, “Are you getting off?”
    Serena shook her head, “No, not yet.” This was her second meeting with Lance Ryan, and the man always left her feeling the need to catch her bearings. This story spelled of city corruption, but her gut sensed there was more, and if she didn’t tread carefully, she would burn bridges she could never mend.

Chapter Twelve
    Jonathan turned over to the other side of the bed and reached out his arm toward his wife. He moved his arm across the sheets, and then opened his eyes. He sat up in the bed and looked around the master bedroom. Jonathan had a feeling his wife never made it to bed. He let out a deep sigh. He didn’t like when Lenora was moody. It was like she was there in another place.
    He wasn’t sure if she was disturbed by the hit-and-run accident or something else. His wife had always been overprotective of their sons. How often did he preach boys would be boys to her? They were really blessed. While Keith was not happy about his injuries, their son was in good spirits that he would be healed in time for the next basketball season. In the meantime, they would work out how to get his work from the professors.
    In the back of his mind, Jonathan knew he was the blame for some of the distance between him and his wife. When they dated, he told Lenora he would never follow in his dad’s footsteps. The church was not for him. He had his own career ahead of him.
    Unfortunately, when his father started to suffer kidney failure, his mother begged him to take over Victory Gospel for his father. She would not stand to have someone from the outside to serve as shepherd for the church. It seemed like the right thing to do, but he and Lenora had been slowly drifting apart since then. It didn’t help that Lenora stayed so busy at the boutique. With wedding season getting ready to kick off, they would rarely see each other except when an event demanded their appearance as a couple.
    He grunted and swung his legs off the bed. Jonathan pushed his feet into his slippers and reached for the robe at the end of the bed. It was still chilly at night, even though spring had come. The first week of April was still being held hostage by winter.
    Jonathan moved through the hallway. He stopped briefly at each of his son’s rooms. Keith was snoring softly. Thankfully, the boy was comfortable, despite being in pain. Jonathan peeked in Michael’s room and heard the boy’s steady breathing. This was good to hear as Michael had been prone to asthma since he was a little boy.
    Jonathan walked away from Michael’s bedroom door and leaned over the stair railing. There was a faint glow coming from downstairs. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, just as he had seen many nights, he could see Lenora’s body curled up on the couch with the glow of the big flat-screen television shining across from her.
    He walked around the couch and sat down next to his wife. Whatever sleep his wife was getting it certainly couldn’t be restful. She twitched in her sleep and let out a tiny yelp. He gently shook her. “Lenora.”
    Lenora woke up with a start, clutching her nightgown to her. Her face was shiny with sweat. She focused on him, and then relaxed her arms and shoulders.
    â€œWhat wrong? Is it a bad dream?” he asked.
    She nodded. “Sorry, I was watching a movie on