The next morning, the box was heavy in my arms. It contained every tangible piece of our shared history, a graveyard of forgotten promises. I drove to Jax' s house, my heart a dull, rhythmic thud against my ribs. I had to do this. I had to cut every single tie.

His mother, Mrs. Mathews, opened the door, her face creased with concern. "Kylie, darling! What a surprise. Are you alright? I heard about the fire. Jax said you handled it well, but I was worried sick about you." She pulled me into a warm embrace, her familiar perfume a strange comfort. "Come in, come in. Jax is just upstairs, I think Cinda is with him."

My stomach clenched at Cinda's name, but I forced a polite smile. "I'm fine, Mrs. Mathews, thank you. I just need to speak with Jax for a moment."

I walked up the grand staircase, each step a testament to the life I was leaving behind. Reaching Jax' s bedroom door, I heard it. A light, tinkling laugh, unmistakably Cinda' s. A wave of nausea washed over me. I pushed the door open, my hand trembling slightly.

They were sprawled on his bed, a tangle of limbs and soft whispers. Cinda was giggling, running her hand playfully through Jax' s hair. He was smiling, a genuine, relaxed smile I hadn't seen directed at me in months. My eyes landed on the open box on his nightstand. It was my box. The one containing my old letters, my photographs. And there, in Cinda's hand, was a faded picture of Jax and me from prom night, our faces flushed with innocent joy. She held it up, a triumphant smirk on her face.

"Look, Jax," Cinda purred, her eyes flicking to me with a venomous sweetness. "Isn't this the girl who used to stalk you? So desperate." She crumpled the photo in her hand, her gaze locked on mine.

Jax finally looked up, his smile faltering as he saw me. A flicker of annoyance crossed his face. "Kylie? What are you doing here?" His tone was sharp, impatient.

My heart hammered. He wasn' t even surprised to see me, just irritated. He thought I was here to cause a scene. He thought I was still fighting for him. The realization hit me like a physical blow. He truly didn't understand. He never had.

"I came to return your things," I said, my voice surprisingly steady, though my throat felt like sandpaper. I held out the heavy box, filled with what remained of our history. "And to collect mine."

Jax glanced at the box, then back at Cinda, who was now clutching his arm, her lower lip trembling slightly. "My things? What are you talking about? Just leave it, Kylie. I don't want your old junk." His words were laced with dismissiveness, a casual cruelty that made my vision blur. He was throwing away years of memories, years of us, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Something inside me snapped. The carefully constructed facade of composure crumbled. The heavy box still in my hands, I spun around and, with a guttural cry, hurled it down the majestic staircase. It tumbled, end over end, scattering its contents-photos, letters, trinkets-across the polished marble floor. The sound of breaking ceramic, a small, innocent vase I had made him, echoed through the quiet house.

Jax' s eyes widened, a rare flash of genuine shock. "Kylie! What the hell was that for?"

"What was that for?" I repeated, my voice rising, trembling with a fury I hadn't known I possessed. "That was for every time you chose her over me. For every lie. For every broken promise! You want your 'old junk'? There it is! Take it! Burn it! I don't care!"

"Fine!" he shouted back, pushing Cinda gently off him. "Fine. If that's how you want to be. Just get your stuff and leave." He pointed vaguely towards his closet. "And don't you dare come back."

My chest heaved. I walked into his closet, my movements stiff and robotic, grabbing a few boxes I had stored there, packing my clothes, my books, anything that was unequivocally mine. Cinda, now fully recovered from her "shock," had draped herself back onto Jax, whispering conspiratorially in his ear. He was stroking her hair, his back to me, as if I were already invisible.

A small, intricately carved wooden bird, a gift from my grandmother, fell from a shelf. I bent to pick it up, my fingers brushing against a new, gleaming silver bracelet on the floor. It was identical to the one Jax had given me for my birthday, the one he said was "one of a kind." But this one had Cinda's initials engraved on it. My breath caught. The irony was so sharp it made me laugh, a harsh, brittle sound that startled them both.

"Oh, look," Cinda said, her voice sugary sweet, holding up the bracelet to Jax. "Jax just gave me this. It's so much prettier than the rusty old thing he gave you, isn't it, Kylie?" She winked at me, a calculated, malicious glint in her blue eyes.

My gut twisted, but I felt nothing. No pain, no anger. Just a profound, aching emptiness. It was done. He had replaced me, not just in his heart, but with my very possessions. My everything had become her something.

"You know," Cinda continued, her voice gaining confidence, "Jax told me all about your little family. So traditional, so... boring. I heard your parents aren't exactly thrilled with your lack of 'direction'. I bet they'd be devastated if they knew how you were really acting, throwing tantrums like a child." She was poking at my deepest insecurities, the ones Jax knew only too well.

Her words, however, did not sting. They were a revelation. Jax had told her. He had weaponized my vulnerabilities, handed them over to his new pet. The anger, cold and precise, finally returned.

"You know what, Cinda?" I said, my voice low and steady. "You can have him. You can have all of it. Because what you have with him? It's cheap. Just like you."

Before she could react, I lunged, my hand shooting out to push her. She shrieked, stumbling backwards, grabbing onto my arm in a desperate attempt to regain balance. Her pull was unexpected, strong. My head, still tender from the fall a few days ago, cracked against the heavy oak doorframe as we both lost our footing.

We tumbled down the stairs, a clumsy, tangled heap of limbs and fabric. I hit the marble floor hard, the sharp pain in my head blossoming into a dizzying white flash. I tasted blood. Cinda let out a theatrical wail, clutching her ankle, though she seemed remarkably unharmed.

"Oh, my God! Jax! She pushed me! She tried to kill me!" Cinda screamed, tears streaming down her face, her eyes fixed on Jax.

Jax was at her side in an instant, his face contorted with rage. He barely glanced at me, lying there, blood trickling from my temple, my vision swimming.

"What have you done, Kylie?!" he roared, his voice filled with such venom, such disgust, that it felt like a physical blow. "Look at what you did to Cinda! Are you insane? You psycho!"

I tried to speak, to explain, to tell him what she had done, what she had said, how she had provoked me. But the words wouldn't come. My head throbbed, and the world spun sickeningly.

"I..." I began, but he cut me off.

"Get out! Get out of my house, Kylie! I never want to see you again!" His eyes, once so full of a possessive love, now held only raw hatred. He looked at me as if I were a cockroach, an infestation he needed to eradicate.

He didn't help me up. He didn't even look at me. Instead, he gently scooped Cinda into his arms, murmuring reassurances to her, carrying her away from the "monster" I had become in his eyes. As he turned, I saw Cinda' s face over his shoulder, a look of pure, unadulterated triumph. She had won.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I remembered a time, long ago, when he would have carried me. When my smallest hurt was his greatest concern. That Jax was long gone, replaced by this cold, unrecognizable stranger.

There was no point in explaining. No point in defending myself. He had already made up his mind, just as he always did when Cinda was involved. My pain, my truth, meant nothing.

I slowly pushed myself up, each movement an agony. The boxes of my belongings lay neglected on the floor. I didn't care. I wouldn't take anything from this house, this life. I stumbled out, ignoring Mrs. Mathews' horrified gasps, ignoring the shattered pieces of our past scattered at my feet. My blood stained the pristine marble.

Somehow, I made it to my car. The drive to the emergency room was a blur of throbbing pain and silent tears. The doctors cleaned my cut, stitched it up, and told me I had a mild concussion. They asked if I had anyone to call. I just shook my head.

Later, in the sterile quiet of my small, empty apartment, my phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

"He chose me. He always will. You were never good enough. Bye-bye, Kylie. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Oh, wait, you probably already hit your head on it, didn't you? LOL."

It was Cinda. A selfie of her and Jax, his arm protectively around her, a faint, tender smile on his face, was attached. My last remaining shred of hope, the lingering phantom of what we once were, finally died. I felt nothing. Just a vast, echoing void. My heart had bled itself dry.

I deleted the message. Then I blocked her number. And his. Every social media account. Every email. I severed all ties, not with anger, but with a chilling finality. I was done.

Chapter 2

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