Chapter Seven
Jax
I don’t go back to my apartment. I can’t.
Every corner of that place has her in it. Every room feels like a reminder of something I just lost without understanding how or why. So I drive. Straight to Sienna’s. By the time I get there, I still haven’t taken a full breath since she said the words.
I don’t love you.
Bullshit. It didn’t feel like the truth. But she said it like she meant it. And that’s what’s messing with my head.
I’d made up my mind to tell her everything about me. The racing. The name. The money. My father, who chose the company over all of us and never looked back to see what it cost. I wasn’t going to become him. That was the whole point of leaving.
I was going to tell her tonight.
I barely knock before the door swings open, and Sienna is standing there, her expression shifting the second she sees my face.
“What happened?” she asks immediately.
I step inside without answering, dragging a hand through my hair, my frustration sitting just under the surface. “She ended it.”
Silence.
“What?” she says, slower now.
“Zora,” I mutter. “She said she’s done. Doesn’t want me around. Doesn’t love me.”
Sienna just stares at me for a second like she’s waiting for the punchline.
“There’s no way,” she says flatly.
“Yeah,” I huff out a humorless laugh. “That was my reaction too.”
“No.” She shakes her head, closing the door behind me. “I met her. I saw you with her. That girl is not faking that kind of connection.”
“Well, apparently she is,” I snap, sharper than I mean to.
She doesn’t flinch. Instead, her eyes narrow slightly, something clicking into place. “When did this happen?”
“This morning.”
“And nothing happened before that?” she presses. “No argument? No fight?”
“No.” I shake my head. “Everything was fine. We were fine. Then suddenly…” I exhale sharply. “She just flipped.”
Sienna goes quiet. Too quiet.
“What?” I ask, my tone shifting.
She crosses her arms slowly, her expression hardening. “This doesn’t sound like her.”
“Clearly, you don’t know her that well.”
“I know enough,” she counters. “And I know Mom.”
I frown. “No,” I say immediately. “Don’t.”
“She found you once already,” Sienna continues, ignoring me. “You really think she wouldn’t take it further?”
“She wouldn’t—”
“She would,” Sienna cuts in firmly. “And she has.”
I still. And it lands, all of it at once. The way Zora came in that night with her face already made up about something. The way she held on too long, like she was memorizing me.
She wasn’t leaving me. She was saying goodbye.
.
“She wouldn’t go after Zora,” I say, but it sounds weaker now.
Sienna lets out a sharp breath, already reaching for her phone. “Let’s find out.”
I don’t stop her. But some part of me is still hoping Mom has nothing to do with this. I don’t know what I’ll do if she does.
Sienna puts the call on speaker anyway, her expression hard and focused. The line rings, and our mother picks up.
“Sienna,” my mother’s voice comes through, smooth and calm as always. “To what do I owe this call?”
Every muscle in my back goes tight.
Sienna doesn’t waste time. “What did you do?”
A pause. “I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”
“Don’t do that,” Sienna snaps. “You found him, didn’t you? You went behind my back and found Jax.”
Another pause. Then she says, “I did what was necessary.”
My hands curl into fists at my sides.
“How?” Sienna demands.
Silence stretches just long enough to confirm everything. Then my mother exhales softly. “I had you followed.”
Sienna’s eyes flash. “You what?”
“I knew you were still in contact with him,” she continues calmly, like this is a perfectly reasonable thing to admit. “It was only a matter of time before you led me to him.”
The frustration and anger I’ve been holding on to snaps. I step closer to the phone, my voice cutting in before Sienna can respond. “You don’t get to act like that’s normal.”
There’s a sharp inhale on the other end. “Jaxon.”
“Don’t,” I say flatly. “You lost the right to use that tone a long time ago.”
Silence. Then her voice shifts, colder now. “I see you’re still being difficult.”
“And I see you’re still trying to control everything you can’t accept.”
Sienna glances at me briefly, then back at the phone. “What did you do to Zora?”
There’s a deliberate pause before she replies: “Nothing she didn’t already know.”
My stomach drops.
“Sienna,” she adds, her tone turning almost bored. “Your brother has been wasting his time with a woman who has nothing to offer him. I simply…explained her options.”
“You threatened her,” Sienna says, her voice low with anger.
“I presented her with reality. She leaves Jaxon, and I won’t call the authorities about a child she has no legal claim to.”
“You threatened to take her child?” Sienna says incredulously. I’m too livid to speak.
“That child is not legally hers.”
“That’s not your decision to make!”
“It becomes my decision when it interferes with my son’s future.”
“That’s not your call!” I cut in sharply, my patience gone. “You don’t get to decide who I love or what my life looks like.” My hand flies to my neck as tension rolls down my back.
“You’re not thinking clearly,” she replies, her tone sharpening now. “You’ve always been impulsive, but this…this is reckless, even for you.”
“No,” I say, my voice steady despite the anger burning through me. “What’s reckless is you thinking you can manipulate people into doing what you want without consequences.”
“I did what was necessary to bring you back.”
“I’m not coming back.”
“You will,” she insists. “You have responsibilities—”
“No,” I cut her off again. “You have expectations. That’s not the same thing.”
Silence falls again, heavier this time. “I gave her a choice,” she says finally.
“You backed her into a corner.”
“I protected your future.”
My hand tightens on my neck before balling into a fist and dropping to my side. “You destroyed my relationship.”
“If it was that easy to destroy, it wasn’t worth keeping.”
That does it. “You don’t get to decide that,” I snap. “And you don’t get to touch anything in my life again.”
“Jaxon…”
“I’m done,” I say, my voice low and final. “I’m done with the company. I’m done with the expectations. I’m done letting you control anything about me.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
Sienna watches me closely now, something like pride flickering in her expression.
“I’m choosing my own life,” I continue. “And it doesn’t include Corbin Industries.”
“That company is yours.”
“No.” I shake my head. “It’s Sienna’s.”
There’s a sharp inhale on the other end. “Absolutely not.”
“She’s better at it than I ever was,” I say. “And you know it.”
“She has a family—”
“And I don’t?” I shoot back. “Or is it only a family when it fits your version of what that looks like?”
Silence.
“You want a CEO?” I press. “You already have one. You just refuse to see it.”
Sienna’s lips part slightly, clearly not expecting me to go this far.
“I’m not coming back,” I repeat. “And if you don’t fix what you did—if you don’t make this right—I will make sure every secret this family has is public by the end of the week.”
“Jaxon…”
“I’m serious,” I continue as if she didn’t call my name. “Try me.”
“What do you want?” she asks.
“I want you to fix it,” I say, my voice steady, even though everything in me is still burning. “You tell her the truth. You make it clear she has nothing to worry about. No threats. No pressure. You stay out of my life.”
“That is not how this works,” my mother replies. But there’s hesitation there now, something that wasn’t there before.
“It is now.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“No,” I snap back, shaking my head even though she can’t see it. “I made one when I let you control anything about me for this long.”
I hear a quiet exhale. Then, “Fine.” The word is reluctant. Tight. But it’s there. “I will…resolve the situation.”
“That’s not enough,” I press. “You stay away from her. From both of them.”
“Agreed.”
I don’t thank her. I just end the call. The silence that follows is thick, but different now. Not suffocating. Cleared out.
Sienna lets out a slow breath. “Well…that escalated.”
I drag a hand through my hair, already moving toward the door. “I need to get back.”
She nods immediately. “Go. And Jax?”
I glance back at her.
“Don’t let her push you away again,” she says firmly. “That girl loves you. I saw it.”
My heart kicks hard. “I know,” I reply quietly.
And then I’m gone.
???
By the time I get back to Wilder House, my heart is racing again, but for a completely different reason. I take the stairs two at a time, barely slowing down before I get to my apartment.
It’s empty. I grab the key Zora gave me to her place, hoping that she hasn’t left. Bolting back into the hallway, I reach her door and push it open.
“Zora!”
I stop. She’s in the middle of the room. Packing. Bags open on the floor, Levi’s things half gone. Everything drops out of me.
“No,” I breathe, stepping forward. “No, no, no. What are you doing?”
She freezes when she sees me, her expression shifting instantly. Panic flashes across her face before she tries to cover it.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” she says quickly.
“I know,” I admit, moving closer. “I know why you did it.”
She stills. “What?”
“My mother,” I snarl. “She came to you. She threatened you.”
She looks away.
“Zora…”
“You don’t understand,” she says quickly, shaking her head as she steps back. “I can’t stay here. I can’t risk it.”
“You’re not risking anything,” I insist, closing the distance again. “I already handled it. She’s backing off.”
“She said she would have Levi taken away from me.” Her voice breaks slightly now, the fear underneath it raw and real. “Do you understand what that means? I can’t lose him, Jax. I won’t.”
“You won’t,” I say firmly. “I won’t let that happen.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I can,” I counter, my voice steady. “I’ll hire the best attorneys. We’ll get everything sorted legally. You have that letter from your mom, right?”
She hesitates, then nods slowly.
“That helps,” I continue. “She wrote down that he’s yours and told you not to look for her. In her own hand. That’s not nothing.”
Her eyes search mine, doubt still there, fear still holding tight. “What if it’s not enough?”
“Then we find what is,” I say without hesitation. “I’m not walking away from you. From either of you.”
Her breath catches slightly. “You don’t even know what you’re walking into,” she whispers.
“Yeah, I do,” I reply. “I’m walking into a life with you. That’s all I care about.”
Silence stretches between us.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks quietly. “About who you are?”
I exhale slowly. “Because it doesn’t matter to me. That life…it’s not what I want.”
“You’re a billionaire, Jax,” she says, like the word itself is heavy. “That’s not something you just…don’t mention.”
“I’m a guy who likes racing and somehow ended up falling for you,” I push back. “The rest is just background noise.”
Her lips part slightly, her eyes searching mine like she’s trying to find something that doesn’t match what I’m saying.
“I was going to tell you,” I add, softer now. “I just…wanted you to know me first. Not that.”
She swallows hard. “And now?” she asks.
“Now I’m telling you everything,” I say. “No more secrets.”
Tears well up in her eyes. I move toward her, but she stretches out her hand to stop me.
“I was going to leave,” she admits, her voice breaking slightly. “Take Levi somewhere far away where no one could find us.”
Something twists in my chest. “You don’t have to run. I’m here to take care of you both.”
“I’ve always had to take care of myself, and now, I’ll do the same for Levi,” she whispers.
“Not anymore.” I step closer, slower this time, giving her the chance to pull away if she wants to. She doesn’t.
“You’re not doing this alone,” I continue. “Not now. Not ever again.”
Her eyes fill, but she doesn’t look away this time.
“I meant it,” I add quietly. “Every time I told you I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Her breath shakes slightly. “Even after what I said?”
“I know you didn’t mean it.”
“I said I didn’t love you.”
“And I didn’t believe you,” I reply simply. “Still don’t.”
A tear slips down her cheek.
“I do,” she whispers.
The words hit me hard.
“I know,” I breathe, closing the last bit of space between us.
Her hand comes up slowly, resting against my chest like she needs to feel that I’m real, that I’m still here.
“I love you,” she says again, stronger this time.
Everything in me goes quiet. “Yeah,” I breathe, pulling her into me. “I love you too.”
She presses into me, holding on tightly, like she’s afraid I might disappear if she doesn’t.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “For everything.”
“You don’t have to be,” I rasp, my hand steady against her back. “I’m the one who should be sorry.”
Levi lets out a soft sound from the bassinet, and we both glance over, the tension breaking just slightly.
“Our family,” I say quietly, looking back at her.
Her lips tremble into a small smile. “Our family.”