My voice dipped.“When my dad died, it was Chase who sat with me at every appointment, every service, every piece of paperwork.My mom, she… she ran off to travel the world.It was really just me and my grandma for a while.And when my grandma got sick, he helped me find her a nice place.The kind she’d never been able to afford.”
The path curved closer to the water.The lights thinned.The air felt colder.
“We just… connected,” I whispered.“Even when everything else sucked, we still had each other.Then something changed.We'd argue about the littlest things, and he became controlling—wanted me to give up on law school since he would be running his billion-dollar company.”
Jaxon’s jaw ticked, but he stayed silent.
“I didn't realize how dependent I had become on him being there for me until he wasn't.And once I started law school…” I exhaled shakily.“We drifted even further.And we just kept drifting.For three years.”
We reached the far end of the walkway—a quiet strip where the lights faded out, leaving only moonshine trembling over the river.
I stopped walking.
“Savannah,” he murmured, stepping beside me.
I swallowed hard, the words clawing their way up.
“He cheated once before.”The admission slipped from me in a soft, breaking drop.“He said it was a drunken mistake, and it was because I wasn't there with him.I just… kept thinking it wouldn’t matter because once law school was over, things would go back to how they were.Like it was something we could survive.”
I laughed weakly, bitterly.“Stupid, right?”
“No, it's not.”
I pulled my gaze from his and looked out to the open water.“I loved him for a long time, but I feel stupid for believing him.For putting up with him.He tossed me away like I meant nothing to him.Him sleeping with Lori on his birthday?That was the last straw.HeknewI was coming—he knew I'd catch them in the act.And she just smirked at me like she finally won.”
Jaxon's jaw ticked again, his eyes darkening with anger, promising retribution.My breath hitched when he took a step closer.He caught my chin between his fingers and brought my face up to his.
His voice was rough velvet.“He’s a Goddamn asshole for putting you through that.”
I blinked fast, trying to hold myself together under the weight of his stare.
“You should never settle for someone who treats you like you’re disposable,” he went on, leaning closer.“You deserve someone who puts you first.Every time.Above everything and everyone.Someone who believes in you.Someone who wants you to become the woman you want to be.”
His thumb brushed my jaw, and my knees almost buckled under his touch.
“He didn't deserve you, Savannah.Trust me when I say that.”
The air between us tightened, trapping me in that spot, forcing me to obey every command coming from his dark gaze.He was so close that his breath was warming my lips.
I looked at his lips.
He looked at mine.
And for a fraction of a second… I wanted it.
The kiss.
The relief.
The freefall.
It would’ve been so easy to cross that line with him.He made it so easy.But once we crossed that line, there'd be no going back.My heart sprinted toward him—and my brain yanked it back.
I cleared my throat sharply and stepped away, the cool night air rushing between us.
“We should, um…” I gestured vaguely behind us.“Probably walk back.”
Jaxon gave a slow nod, his gaze unreadable as he looked at my lips once more before stepping back, too.
