Chapter 3 3

Chapter Three

Six Months Later – The Night He Destroyed Me

Sutton's POV

Something was wrong.

I'd felt it for days-this gnawing, hollow distance. The way Jaxon barely touched me anymore, the way he avoided my eyes like I'd become someone he couldn't bear to look at.

Jaxon was never cold. Never distant. He used to touch me like I was his air. He used to hold me while I read, kiss my shoulder while I cooked, pull me into his lap just to breathe me in.

But now?

He hadn't touched me in two days. Hadn't kissed me. Hadn't even told me he loved me.

And tonight, I was done pretending it was fine.

I stood in the living room, arms crossed, waiting. The tension in my chest had me nauseous. I heard the deep growl of his car pull into the driveway, the metallic grind of tires over gravel. My heartbeat stuttered.

He walked through the door like a stranger.

No smile.

No "Where you at, baby?"

Just... silence.

His shoulders were hunched, his head down. No eye contact. Not even a nod.

"Not now, Sutton," he muttered, brushing past me.

My stomach dropped.

He went straight to the fridge, pulled out a beer, and twisted the cap like I wasn't standing in the middle of the room breaking into pieces.

"No," I said sharply, the sound of my voice cracking. "Now."

He paused but didn't turn.

"You haven't even looked at me in days. Haven't touched me. Have I done something wrong? If there's something going on-"

He finally looked at me.

And I wished he hadn't.

Because the man who turned to face me wasn't the man I loved.

It wasn't my Jaxon.

It was cold. Empty.

"Can't a man have a beer without his bitch of a girlfriend jumping down his throat?"

I froze.

My mouth opened, but the words didn't come.

Bitch?

He'd never called me anything but baby, beautiful, my girl.

That word hit me like a slap.

And still, I held on.

"Talk to me," I begged. "Please. Just tell me what's going on. I can't fix this if you don't let me in."

He took a sip of his beer, then sighed like I was a burden.

"I don't want to do this anymore."

The room tilted.

"I want you out. You've got a couple of hours to pack your shit. I'll be gone. When I come back, I don't want to see you here."

"What?" I whispered.

My legs wobbled.

He turned, started for the door.

No. No, I wasn't letting him walk away without giving me the truth.

I chased after him, my voice breaking. "Don't you dare walk away from me. Be a fucking man and tell me why. Tell me to my face why you're ending us."

He stopped. Turned.

And he shattered me.

"You want the truth?" he said. "Fine. I don't love you. I never did."

The first crack split wide in my chest.

"You've got that sweet, innocent thing going for you. The bosses thought you were perfect for PR. You were never anything more than a good image."

Crack.

"I met someone else."

Crack.

"She doesn't want to hide in the shadows anymore."

Then he looked me dead in the eyes and twisted the knife.

"And you? You're weak. You live in fantasy. In fucking books. You think love is some magical cure because it works in your stories-but this is the real world, Sutton. And you're too soft for it. Too fragile. You could never stand beside me."

My body physically recoiled, like he'd slapped me again and again and again.

"You don't belong in my world."

He said it like it was fact.

Like I should've known all along.

And I wanted to scream. To ask how he could hold me the way he did, how he could look at me like I was everything-and then throw me away like nothing.

But I didn't say a word.

Because the pain was too loud.

He moved past me to the door.

"You have two hours. I'm bringing my woman back with me. Don't be here when I get back."

The door shut.

And I broke.

My knees gave out, hitting the floor as a sob ripped from my throat. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. I curled into myself, gasping, sobbing, choking on the agony tearing through my chest.

I wanted to hate him.

I wanted to believe this wasn't real.

I wanted to scream that he was lying.

But I couldn't move.

So I stayed on the floor, holding the only thing he didn't know he left behind.

Our baby.

And I promised right then, between sobs and silence-

I would never let him break me again.