Page 104 of The Jaded Notes

Callum doesn’t answer. His jaw locks. The look in his eyes fractures. It’s as if he somehow thinks I’m the one hurting him…again.

I bolt past the blondes, past Bren’s surprise, and past the wreckage of glass glittering on the marble floor. My pulse is a war drum in my ears, and my heart shreds open.

And somewhere between the hallway and the door, it happens… The last fragile thread snaps.

Whatever buried hope I still carry for Callum Mayze dies here in this suite, under Paris lights and the weight of a toxic love that was always destined to ruin me.

The hallway stretches like it wants to hold me hostage, every step ringing too loud and too harsh. I’m out the door in seconds.

As it shuts behind me, his voice shouts out, desperate. “Lily, don’t go!”

It drives through my veins, unwanted and unshakable.

The elevator doors ding open and I dive inside, pressing the button with hands that won’t stay still.

The blondes’ shrill and triumphant laughter trails in from down the hall as if I were the punchline all along. Then the doors close, sealing me in with nothing but the rasp of my own breathing.

My reflection stares back from the mirrored wall. Smudged mascara. Lips swollen from a kiss that never should’ve happened. Eyes that look older than they should at twenty-one.

It’s not grief that stares back at me. It’s recognition of how far I’ve fallen. Of how much further I can go if I let Callum Mayze stay a part of my soul.

The doors slide apart. I march through the lobby, slip out from the revolving door, and spill into the Paris night. Cool, merciful air wraps around me, but it’s not enough to wash away the taste of him on my tongue.

I glance around, trying to get my mind right. The city gleams in front of me. Streets humming with life and the Eiffel Tower glowing against the dark like a torch lit for someone else’s hope.

I step onto the sidewalk and into the night air. The bitter chill hits me, and it’s almost cleansing. Almost.

My chest is tight, my throat raw, and my stomach rolling in revolt. Because for one unforgivable second in that suite, I kissed Callum back.

For a heartbeat, I let myself drown in it and remember what it’s like to be his. And now the betrayal isn’t his. It’s mine.

If Jaxon ever finds out… If he ever feels it in me, that invisible shell of Callum still rattling in my bones, I’ll lose the only man who makes me believe I can survive my own wrath.

I stride faster, heels cracking against the pavement like Ican outrun both of them, the ghost who won’t release me, and the man who already owns me.

That’s all it takes for me to realize there’s something I need to do, and right now is the perfect time to get it done.

Chapter Twenty-Three

JAXON/JAX

Then

Candied Chaos & Vineyard Delight

The trouble with fire is you never know which way it will burn.

The elevator doors part, and Livianna storms out like she owns the place with her hair mussed, cheeks streaked with heat, and her anger snapping through the air before I even register that she’s here.

No warning. No call. Just Livianna dragging chaos through my penthouse.

My first thought isn’t about her being here. It’s about protocol. My doorman let her up without notifying me. Unacceptable.

Her voice splits the room in half. “If I can’t have anyone else, then neither can you.”

I lean back against the leather arm of the sofa, a glass of bourbon loose in my hand. “Bonsoirto you, too.”

She doesn’t blink and doesn’t soften. “I mean it, Jax. If this is what we’re doing, then it goes both ways.”