Chapter 3

The city lights blurred as my driver navigated the bustling streets. Tonight, I was reclaiming my life, one exquisite bite at a time. I dined alone at Le Cirque, ordering the most expensive champagne and a tasting menu that defied description. Each delicate course, each sip of sparkling wine, tasted like freedom. There was no need to worry about Jackson's disapproving glances at the bill, no pretending to enjoy Cornelia' s bland cooking, no listening to Jordan' s endless drama. Just me. And the world, laid out like a feast.

It was well past midnight when I returned home. The house was a dark, silent monolith. No lights on, no one waiting up. Not a single soul seemed to notice or care about my absence. The familiar chill of neglect settled in my bones, but tonight, it didn' t sting. It simply reinforced the truth. I let myself in, closing the door softly. My footsteps echoed on the marble floors as I made my way to the master bedroom, the sanctuary that once felt like ours.

A strange, cloying sweetness hung in the air, a mix of Jackson' s cologne and Amber' s signature floral perfume. It was a stench of invasion, clinging to my sheets, my pillows, my space. A wave of nausea washed over me, hot and cold at once. They had been in my bed. In our bed.

My territory. Invaded. Desecrated.

I walked to my side of the bed and sat down. The mattress dipped, and a sharp, piercing shriek tore through the silence.

"AHHHHHHH!"

I flicked on the bedside lamp. Amber Compton lay sprawled on my side of the bed, her face contorted in a mask of terror, clutching a silk pillow to her chest. Her eyes, wide and panicked, darted from me to the empty space beside her, where Jackson had clearly been sleeping.

A primal roar erupted from somewhere deep inside me. It wasn't a thought; it was pure, unadulterated instinct. My hand shot out, grabbing Amber's arm. I yanked her, hard, sending her tumbling off the bed with a muffled thud.

"Ow! My head!" she wailed, tears instantly streaming down her face. She was a master of playing the victim.

Jackson, jolted awake by her scream, sat up with a gasp, eyes wide. "Hailey! What the hell?" He scrambled out of bed, instinctively shielding Amber, putting his body between us. "Amber, darling, are you okay?"

"She... she attacked me!" Amber sobbed, pointing a trembling finger at me.

"She was just... sleeping here, Hailey! It was an accident!" Jackson insisted, his voice laced with a panicked urgency that screamed of lies. His pupils dilated slightly, a tell-tale sign I recognized from years of watching him. He was lying.

"Sleeping?" My voice was calm, too calm. "In my bed? Waiting for me to come home? Or waiting for you to return from wherever you ran off to when you heard me come in?"

His face flushed. "Don't be ridiculous, Hailey! She just crashed. We were talking. I, uh, I was on the couch."

"On the couch," I repeated, my eyes sweeping over the rumpled sheets, the two distinct indentations. "Right." My surgeon's eye noted the lack of any obvious physical intimacy between them, but the violation was clear nonetheless. She was in my bed. My space.

"Get out," I commanded Amber, my voice now a low rumble. "Get out of my bedroom. Now."

Amber whimpered, clinging to Jackson. "But, Jackson, where will I go?" She looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, thick with false vulnerability.

Jackson glared at me, his protectiveness for Amber overriding any sense of propriety. "Hailey, you can't just throw her out! She has nowhere to go!"

I watched them go, Amber clutching Jackson like a lifeline, her sobs echoing dramatically through the hallway. The moment the door clicked shut, I moved. I stripped the entire bed – sheets, pillowcases, duvet. I threw them all into a heavy-duty trash bag. Then I opened every window, even though it was a cool night. I lit a palo santo stick, letting the cleansing smoke curl into every corner of the room, banishing the lingering scent of her cheap perfume. I sprayed a powerful antibacterial cleaner on every surface, scrubbing with furious energy until my arms ached. This wasn' t just cleaning; it was an exorcism.

Moments later, Jackson was pounding on the locked bedroom door. "Hailey! Let me in! What are you doing? I can hear you spraying things!"

"Getting rid of the stench of betrayal, Jackson," I called back, my voice flat. "Don't worry, I won't contaminate your precious Amber with my 'jealousy' any longer."

"There's nothing to be jealous of! We're not doing anything!" he protested, his voice strained.

"Are you sure about that, Jackson? Because your family seems to think Amber is just perfect for you. And if that's the case, then perhaps you both belong together, permanently."

Then Amber' s voice, shrill and insistent, joined in from the hallway. "Hailey, please! Don't make a scene! We're supposed to be celebrating!"

"Jealousy is such an ugly emotion, Hailey!" Jackson yelled, his voice laced with disgust.

Cornelia' s voice, sharp and cold, cut through the noise. "Hailey, stop this nonsense! You're embarrassing us!"

"Yes, you should be ashamed of yourself!" Jefferson barked, his voice filled with a faux patriarchal authority that had always grated on my nerves.

Jordan snickered from somewhere in the background. "Looks like someone's losing her man-child, huh?"

Amber, peeking around Jackson's shoulder, smirked. Her eyes, full of triumph, met mine through the crack in the door.

Jackson suddenly pounded on the door again. "Hailey, open this door! Now! We have to pack the bags for St. Barts! My parents' luggage is heavy. Amber has three suitcases. Jordan's carry-ons are enormous. You're going to help me carry them to the car in the morning!"

Then Cornelia chimed in, her voice annoyingly sweet, "Yes, Hailey, darling. All of them. We're counting on you."

I smiled. A slow, chilling smile that didn' t reach my eyes. "Of course, Cornelia. All of them."

"Good," Jackson grumbled, relief evident in his voice. "Don't be late. We leave at five AM sharp."

"Five AM sharp," I repeated, my voice as sweet as poison. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."