Chapter 14
“What those guys said earlier…” he trailed off, “you don’t deserve that kind of crap.“[]
Riley blinked, then gave a small smile: “It’s fine. I’m over it.“[]
That was the truth.[]
The old wounds were still there, but they couldn’t hurt her anymore.]]
Ethan watched her closely and said softly: “If someone’s worth your heart, that person should treasure it, not throw it away.“]
The streetlight’s glow reflected off his glasses, Riley couldn’t see his expression clearly, but she felt her heartbeat skip.[]
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She lowered her head and said quietly: “Good night, Ethan.“]
“Good night.”
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Sophia glared at Jaxon, who was clearly not paying attention, and finally exploded after holding back her anger for ages.[]
“Are you even LISTENING to me?!“]
Sophia slammed her hand on the table, making the coffee cup rattle loudly.[]
Other customers turned to stare, but she didn’t care, her voice shrill: “You’ve been spaced out for days! Is this about Riley?“[]
Jaxon just sat back and watched her have a complete meltdown, his face totally expressionless.[]
Before, he would have immediately tried to calm her down, but now he just felt exhausted.]
“SAY SOMETHING!” Sophia grabbed napkins and threw them at him, “What did you promise me when you were chasing me? Didn’t you say being with her was just for practice? But now that you’re with me, you won’t go anywhere I want, you tune out everything I say–are you hung up on that bookworm…“[]
“ENOUGH!” Jaxon cut her off coldly, “Stop calling her that.“]
Sophia froze, her face going deathly pale.[
She’d never seen Jaxon look at her like this before.[]
Cold, annoyed, even with a hint of undisguised disgust.[]
“You… you’re actually defending her?” Her voice shook, “Fine! Go find her then! See if she even wants you!“[]
Jaxon stood right up, threw some cash on the table: “Get yourself home.“[]
“Jaxon! Don’t you DARE walk away!“[]
Chapter 14
But the only response was the café door slamming shut.[]
Sophia just stood there, totally freaking out as everything slipped away from her.
For the first time, she realized that Jaxon–who had always revolved around her–had truly changed.]]
The bar was dimly lit with loud music mixed with the sound of clinking glasses.[]
Jaxon sat in a booth downing whiskey after whiskey, ice cubes clinking against the glass.[]
“Jax, what’s your deal these past few days?” His buddy Derek came over and took the glass from his hand, “Princess Sophia giving you drama again?“]]
Jaxon’s face darkened as he grabbed another glass and filled it with alcohol.[]
“If you ask me, you’ve been out of it lately–it’s gotta be because of… Riley, right?” Derek asked tentatively.[]
Jaxon’s hand froze, his eyes going ice–cold, his breathing uncontrollably frantic: “Don’t mention her.“[]
Derek wisely shut up, but after a moment he frowned like he’d remembered something:]
“Actually, there’s something I always thought was weird… that time at the escape room, didn’t Sophia’s little gang of followers sneak off with some kind of remote? I caught a glimpse but didn’t think much of it then, but now that I think about it, that thing looked like a shock chair controller…”
Jaxon’s head snapped up: “What did you say?“]
“When Riley passed out,” Derek lowered his voice, “and a while back someone posted on the forum about seeing Sophia deliberately lock doors, but the post got deleted real quick.“[]
Jaxon’s knuckles went white, and suddenly images flashed through his mind of Riley standing soaked at their apartment door that day…
“Sophia’s friends tied me to the shock chair.“]]
How had he responded?]
“When did our little scholar learn to joke around?“]
His chest felt like someone had stabbed him with a knife–the pain was raw and bloody.[]
He felt like everything was spinning out of his understanding.]
So many things he suddenly didn’t have the courage to face.[]
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