26. A Woman Scorned
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
A Woman Scorned
“To say man is undeserving of the life they’re given would be an understatement. Of all the creatures gifted this planet, it was man who was so prideful, arrogant, and selfish to declare themselves as conquerors above all living creatures.”
Deja snorted, turning another page of Roselyn’s Memoir. “She’s got that right. Men are certainly prideful, arrogant, and selfish bastards.”
Wearing a silk, red halter dress, Deja lay on the couch in the living room, rereading bookmarked passages in Roselyn’s Memoir . She checked her watch for the umpteenth time that night and sucked her teeth in aggravation.
It had been two hours since Ian and Keith had picked up Chloe. Two hours that she lay on that damn couch. Two hours since Jax said he’d be back.
Why the hell was she even waiting for him? What was she expecting? For him to apologize for making her life a living hell? To let her go so she could return home? To revert back to the Jax she originally fell in love with?
Deja irritably rubbed her temples. She couldn’t understand this vice-like grip Jax had over her. She feared him, hated him, and despised him. Yet, he consumed her every waking thought.
His voice was like liquid poison she was too willing to drink.
His face turned her peaceful dreams into chaotically erotic nightmares.
His touch felt like a skin-singing fire that she had become addicted to.
Jax had become a toxin she couldn’t live without.
As if his absence would leave a crater-sized hole in her life.
And she hated it. It terrified and angered her that this invisible chain had bound them together. Even now, his empty promises had her waiting for him alone in a cabin in the middle of the woods like a fool.
“Screw this,” she muttered. Standing from the couch, she put on her heels, grabbed her coat, and headed for the door when it abruptly opened. Deja jumped back as Jax stood on the other side of the door.
Completely covered in blood. “...what the hell?!” she panicked.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Jax said, handing her a blood-stained teddy bear.
“I know we were supposed to go out, but the restaurant is closed. I figured we could eat in, so I picked up some food.” Deja watched Jax enter the cabin and place a bag of food on the table.
“I’m gonna shower. I’ll be right out,” he said, shedding his bloody clothes.
“Jax-” she started, but he was already disappearing into the bathroom.
Deja sat at the end of the dining room table, watching Jax prepare a plate for her. The scent of his cologne wafted beneath her nose as her eyes roamed over his black cashmere sweater rolled to his elbows and clinging to his muscular physique. His jet-black hair was still damp from the shower.
He seemed so calm. Relaxed. As if he didn’t keep her waiting for 2 hours with the empty promise to finally let her escape this cabin.
“Since you’re still breastfeeding and can’t have wine yet, I got you grape juice,” Jax grinned, pouring her a glass. He seemed so pleased with his little joke. But Deja was not amused.
She silently looked down at her food as Jax sat across from her. Taking a sip of his drink, Jax eyed her cleavage, admiring how the deep red of the dress complemented her beautiful dark brown skin.
“That dress…” he hummed. “You look bewitching.”
Deja simply lifted her eyes and stared at him.
“Did you see the necklace?” he asked, digging into his plate.
“...I did.”
Jax took a bite of his food. “Do you like it? I thought it would look beautiful against that gorgeous skin…”
Sipping her drink, Deja forced herself to bite her tongue.
“How’s your project coming along?” he asked.
“...Ian killed my investors.”
Jax raised his brows. “Did he? Well, I’m sure they deserved it then,” he said, taking another bite.
Deja exhaled through her nose. Her eyes darted around the room, anywhere but the man in front of her, who was igniting the rage within her. Her eyes finally settled on the curtains.
“How was Chloe?” Jax continued. “I missed her.”
Deja remained silent, staring at the curtains.
“Deja?”
“I hate those curtains.”
Jax looked at the curtains. “What’s wrong with them?”
“They’re hideous.”
“They don’t look that bad.”
Deja snorted. “They’re not even their original color. I’ve cleaned them too many times to remove the bloodstains.”
“I think you did a good job.”
“No. I didn’t. They’re disgusting. They look awful. They smell putrid. And I hate them.”
“They’re just curtains, Deja.”
“They’re ugly fucking curtains, Jax .”
Jax raised a brow. “Alright then… I’ll buy you new curtains-”
“ Oh my god! It’s not about the fucking curtains !” she snapped angrily.
Jax was startled by Deja’s explosion. He looked at her curiously as she breathed angrily, clutching her fork. “Is… something wrong?” he asked.
Deja looked at him incredulously. “Are you freaking kidding me?! Yes, Jax! Everything is wrong ! I hate it here! I’m losing my damn mind! I can’t stand another moment in this stupid fucking cabin!” She looked at him seriously. “I need to go back home. I need to be with my fam-”
“It isn’t safe yet,” Jax said firmly.
“Is it ever going to be safe?!” she blurted. “How much longer do I have to stay here?! I’m going crazy- I swear sometimes I feel like the walls are talking to me- When am I going to finally have a say in the things that happen to me?!”
“I told you it isn’t safe. You can leave when I feel the time is right,” Jax said calmly. “Until then, you can still go out with an esc-”
“I don’t want an escort, Jax!” Deja banged her fist on the table.
“I’m not a child! I’m not your prisoner!
I’m an adult who had a life before you fucked it up!
” Slamming her hands against the table, she stood to her feet.
“And I’ll be damned if I let you tell me what I can and cannot do with my own fucking life! ”
She stormed towards the door before Jax grabbed her arm. “Deja-”
But Deja turned around and slapped his hand off. “Don’t fucking touch me,” she sneered.
Jax tilted his chin up, surprised by the threat in her voice. He had never seen her like this before. This fire in her eyes. He reached for her again. “Try to calm-”
But before Jax could finish, Deja violently shoved him until he stumbled backward. Her face was twisted with rage. “You think you can do whatever the fuck you want?!” she snapped. “Fuck you, Jax!” she said, throwing the bear at him.
Jax sighed. “Instead of acting like this, we could just talk things out.”
Deja’s eyes bulged. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” she shouted as she began snatching things off the counter to throw at him. “I’ve been trying to talk to you! But you never have time for me.”
“That’s not- Deja, stop! You’re acting like a child!” Jax snapped.
Deja remembered when Esme had drunkenly told her about being possessed by the spirit of Roselyn right before she went on a violent rampage:
“Call it a girl power thing, I dunno,” Esme grinned, downing her wine.
“But I swear, it’s like… I can feel her anger.
Her frustration. That moment when she’s just reached her breaking point.
But she doesn’t cry. Hell no,” Esme snickered.
“No, that badass bitch harnesses all that pent-up rage. All that hate. All that passion. And she channels that into a fucking massacre.”
Esme teasingly grinned at Deja. “My Roselyn… When that fateful moment comes, and you feel the cold, hard blade between your fingertips… This… ” Esme said, pointing to Deja’s chest. “Is what drives it. This is what makes the magic happen. This is how I make my fucking masterpiece…”
Esme winked at Deja. “Besides… why should the men get all the fun?”
Deja wasn’t sure if that was what had happened to her. If perhaps she had read a bit too much of Roselyn’s Memoir . But she didn’t have much time to think about it before she tackled Jax into the wall.
“Deja!” Jax said, trying to hold her off. But Deja didn’t let him finish before she was shoving him to the ground. Jax looked at her, startled as she grabbed a vase. He quickly rolled to the side before it hit him as it smashed to pieces on the ground. “Deja, you’re acting crazy!” Jax snapped.
“Crazy?!” she snarled, grabbing several glasses from the counter. “I’ll show you motherfucking crazy!”
Jax dodged the glasses before Deja tackled him again. She wildly flung her arms, hitting him every which way she could.
Trying to get Deja to calm down was like trying to catch every bee from a fallen hive. She clung to his back like a spider monkey, her legs tightly wrapped around his waist as her arms choked his neck. She bit down hard on his shoulder, refusing to let go.
Deja felt feral. Manic.
Here she was clinging to the back of her murderous ex-fiance, biting down on his shoulder like a damn cannibal, hoping to make him bleed.
But Jax was like a titan. His skin was tough. Though she left a purple mark, her teeth barely did any damage. Reaching behind his back, Jax grabbed Deja and flung her on the couch like a rag doll. Deja bounced off the couch onto the floor with a thud.
Panicking, Jax quickly crouched down to check on her when Deja threw both of her shoes at him.
Jax only managed to dodge one before the other hit him smack in the face.
Sighing with frustration, Jax stood to his feet and looked down at her panting breathlessly on the ground.
“Exactly what are you trying to accomplish here?” he asked.
Deja looked up at him angrily. “I’m trying… I’m trying to kick… your dumb… stupid… annoying ass!” she growled, breathing heavily.
Jax raised a brow. “Really? That’s how you want to spend this evening? Fighting me-”
“No,” she panted, struggling to her feet. “I said- I said kicking… kicking your dumb… stupid-”
“Annoying ass. Yes, I got that part,” Jax sighed. He looked at her wearily. “...will that make you feel better?”