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I always viewed myself as a strong woman. Heck, I left a marriage that was not serving me. But I strayed from the post-divorce goals I set for myself. I took a job that was beneath me when maybe I should have waited for another Vice President level position. I let my crush on a stranger in a poster dictate my next move.
And now, I’ll be the subject of countless media headlines. I bet they already started. I can picture them:Is Jax Slater Still Dating Cailin McCall?,Baby Breakup: Jax And Cailin McCallIt Quits, andJax Slater Proposes To Baby Mama. Those are just the first that come to mind.
The thought of Jax moving on with another woman makes me sick. If he’s the standup guy I think he is, he will want to be present in his child’s life. He’ll be a great dad. A great husband, even if he doesn’t love her. He will ensure she wants for nothing.
Meanwhile, I’m here breathing in the remnants of his scent on my sweatshirt. Thinking of the sound of his kisses. The way his eyes squeeze together when he laughs. How he made me feel protected after the accident and encourages my career. How his fingers twirled my hair. The way he loved me. Or I thought he did.
Another famous boy band’s song creeps into my mind as I move outside to wait for the rideshare. It’s about being hit by the truth and subliminally tells me that I am doing the right thing by leaving and saying bye-bye. The music video for that song features the band members as marionette puppets. I wonder if I was just a puppet in Jax’s game to clear up his reputation. He was pulling my strings all along and I didn’t realize.
I replay the same thought in my head—it was all a lie. One beautiful lie. Does he just throw outI love you’sto everyone he dates? Flirt with everyone to sleep with them? Gosh, Harry must have thought I’m such a naïve girl. Just another one of Jax’s conquests, but at least I was the one who got a paycheck. And Hayley. Why didn’t she warn me? I thought we were close.
Finally, the car service arrives. I open the back door and dash inside. “To the airport, please. As fast as you can,” I direct the driver as I buckle my seat belt.
While the driver sets off, I pull up the nearest airport on my phone. I wish the location Jax’s jet landed had outgoing flights for the public. On my phone’s browser, I search airlines and book the first flight back home. It leaves in two hours. That should give me just enough time to arrive and go through security. Of course, I have no luggage so that helps.
I remember that I left my laptop on the plane with all my stuff. Great. I’ll ask Marisol to coordinate with Harry and have all my personal items sent back to my place. It’s not like I’ll need my computer for work anymore. I’m done with Jax Slater. I’ll look for a new job once my laptop arrives.
I reply to Marisol’s text and fill her in and she says she’ll get my belongings shipped back ASAP. I tell her we’ll touch base later, after I’m done traveling. Then, I text my mom to tell her I’m coming home. I know she’ll want me to go stay at her house. She’ll have an uplifting speech ready about how you can never trust men. Then she’ll worry about what to tell all her friends.
As for my own friends, I reply to Imani with a few emojis and signal I’ll talk to her when I’m ready. I ask Gemma to meet me at my apartment later today. If anyone will understand the depths of my pain, it’s Gemma.
My phone starts to ring and I wonder who else could possibly have the guts to reach out to me right now.
It’s Jax.
I reject the call and block his number.
Trash the Dress Online Chat
Lizzie:I decided I could have worked my butt off to make my marriage work but in the end, marriage is two-sided and I didn’t fail at anything.
Alexandra:Yes!
38
HEARTBROKEN CAILIN MCCALL SPOTTED SOLO AT AIRPORT
CAILIN
Jax is lookingat me with a strong stance. He’s confident in his action and doesn’t even blink when I brush past him over to the cashier to pay for my water. Of course, he can’t blink because the Jax Slater in front of me is just an image on the cover of a magazine at the gift shop. Turns out I can’t get Jax out of my head, or my line of sight. I make a face at the magazine and the cashier asks, “Do I know you from somewhere? You look so familiar.”
“I get that a lot. Must have one of those faces.” I collect my change and quickly put on my sunglasses even though I’m indoors. If people start to recognize me, this could be very bad. None of my training in crisis communications covered how to hide in the airport when you’ve become a public figure overnight. The last thing I need is strangers snapping photos of me and selling them to the tabloids so they can reportHeartbrokenCailin McCall Spotted Solo At Airport.
I board the plane and take my economy seat, a world away from the luxury accommodations I enjoyed earlier today. My seat is near the back of the plane and I’m squished between a plump man in a business suit and an elderly lady. The man, thankfully, puts headphones on and watches a movie on the screen in front of him, and the woman is knitting a potholder. I’m grateful I don’t have to make small talk. However, my mind is immediately transported back to the jet with Jax, when I was cuddled on his lap watching a romance bloom on screen. Real love, I conclude, only exists in the movies.
I sink into my seat, grateful that I’m not sitting next to the gabby woman across the aisle. She’s been talking to her friend about everything from her dry skin to orthopedic foot inserts. The woman takes a stack of magazines out of her carry-on bag and just when I think the rest of the passengers and I will be spared any more stories, she starts talking about celebrities. I lean over to get a closer look at what she’s reading, only to discover it’s a weekly gossip rag.
“Did you hear that Jax Slater knocked up some fan?” she says to her friend. “That poor girl he was dating. I really feel bad for her. I had a feeling he didn’t change. Everyone made a big deal about him finding love, but once a player, always a player.”
“I’ve been following that story,” her friend says. “Such a shame. These celebrities are all messed up. And with his past, who knows how many secret kids he’s fathered.”
I make all efforts to shield myself from their view, but I can’t hide from my hurt feelings. This is just one conversation of millions, I’m sure, where people are dissecting my relationship with Jax. I can’t blame them for the small talk. Celebrity drama can be entertaining and I’ve been guilty of doing the same, but now this is my life. I can’t just turn the page on this story.
This is going to be a very uncomfortable flight. I close my eyes and try to sleep for the next few hours, but I’m in a nightmare whether I’m awake or not. I wonder what Jax is doing. Did he call his baby mama? Is he happy? Does he know the shape of my heart is forever changed? Or is he more worried about how the guest list for tonight’s show is being handled?
Maybe he’s smart enough to check my laptop. After all, he’s sharp enough to devise a plan to seduce me while he has a secret baby mama. However, I will give him credit for one thing. He probably didn’t know. Otherwise it wouldn’t make sense as to why he publicly declared his love for me.
I stumble off the plane and find my mom and Gemma waiting for me. They group hug me and I unleash the floodgates. Words can’t relay how I feel.
