Instead, I chose the safer lie.
“I’m just… thinking about the bridal brunch tomorrow,” I said.“With Lori and the girls.”
His pencil paused.“Talk to me.”
So I did.I told him about the discomfort, the way Lori had always found subtle ways to remind me she’d won.How it was going to be all women, no buffer, no distractions.How none of them had ever really liked me when I was with Chase.I was too quiet.Too reserved.Too much and not enough all at once.He didn’t interrupt once.
I finished with a sigh.“I’m expecting it to be… unpleasant, and I'm not looking forward to fake smiling for two hours.”
When I was done, his voice came softer.Steadier.Certain.
“Then don't go.”
“I wish it was that simple.If I skipped it, I'd never hear the end of it.”
“Savannah,” he said, “you don’t owe any of those women a performance.Or an explanation.Or a smile.”
I closed my eyes.
“You are phenomenal,” he continued.“And on your worst day, you’re still ten steps ahead of anyone who needs to tear someone else down to feel tall.”
My throat tightened.
“Let them talk,” he added quietly.“Fuck their criticisms and comparisons.You don't belong in any group that treats you lesser than.Those women could never compete with you, and the fact that they feel the need to tear you down when Lori and Chase fucked around on you says more about their character than yours.”
The tight knot in my chest loosened just a little, no words coming to mind—a first for me, actually.Jaxon Cage had rendered me speechless; what was happening to me?
We sat in silence for a few seconds after that.Not the awkward kind—the kind that brought comfort in a way nothing else did these days.
“Thank you,” I finally murmured.
“Always, trouble.”
The nickname didn’t feel like teasing this time.It felt… gentle.
“Can I ask you something?”I said, quieter now.
“Anything.”
I hesitated, thumb brushing the edge of my phone.“That chain you wear.You never take it off.Not even when we were in the water.”
There was a pause long enough that I wondered if I’d crossed a line.
“It’s just a chain,” he said, his voice taking a cooler tone.Then he exhaled.“The chain means nothing, but the pendant was my sister’s.She wore it on her bracelet,” he added with a soft, sad chuckle.“Wouldn’t take it off.Said it was her lucky charm.”
“Lyra?God, she used to drive the teachers insane.I remember when her entire class ended up covered in slime.I guess she takes after her brother in that sense,” I teased, letting out a small laugh.“Where is she now?”
“She died,” he said quietly.“A few years back.”
“Jaxon… I didn’t know.I’m so sorry.”
He didn’t respond right away.When he did, his voice sounded distant, like he was dragging himself back to the memory.
“It was my car,” he started.“It was the first house party of the summer—the first day of leaving high school bullshit behind.I had the hockey scholarship, and I was ready to celebrate the highs before Kingsview in the fall.That night, I was trying to get this girl upstairs.I can't even remember who now, that's how little it mattered.Someone was tugging on my jacket and when I turned around, there she was.Lyra was crying about how she wanted to go home.It was her first party—one she snuck into, mind you.I just figured she was having first-party jitters.I should've listened more.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I told her we’d leave soon.It's mind-blowing how focused I was on getting pussy that I wasn't even focused on my own sister crying.She came back two times, asking again and again, and I got annoyed, so I gave her the keys.”
