Chapter 25
Mia
Jason steps in close, so close I can feel his breath on my cheek. His eyes are wild, all pretense burned away, and he tries to loom over me, to make me flinch. I just meet his gaze, steady and cold, refusing to step back. He reeks of cheap cologne and insecurity.
I cannot believe I ever loved this piece of shit.
Behind me, I hear Marcus’s voice, low and dangerous. “That’s enough, Jason. Back off.”
Jason barely glances at him. He’s too focused on me.
“You think you’re special? You think those three actually care about you?
You’re just a fucking distraction for them, Mia.
Just a filthy little secret. Wait till everyone hears about what you’ve been doing.
Wait till the board hears. I’ll make sure they know what kind of dirty whore you really are. ”
He keeps going, piling on insult after insult, trying to get a reaction, anything he can twist into victory. I don’t blink. I don’t even look away. I feel Marcus tense behind me, ready to step in, but I lift a hand and stop him with a touch.
Jason finally pauses, breathing hard, waiting for me to crack.
But I just smile—a small, cold thing. “You’re pathetic,” I say, my voice steady and sure. “You’ll never have what we do. You don’t even know what it looks like. You’re a cheat, Jason. A liar. You’ve got nothing but your own bitterness.”
He stares at me, stunned for a second, searching for something to use, but I can see it in his eyes—he knows I’m right. He can tear me down all he wants, but he can’t touch what I have, what we have. He never could.
I turn to leave, heart pounding but my head high, Marcus just behind me.
I’ve barely taken two steps when I hear Jason snarl my name again.
I sense the movement, feel the air shift. Before I can even process it, he lunges, arm swinging back, hand aiming for my face.
For a split second, I freeze—every muscle locked tight. But before Jason’s hand can land, Tyler is there, stepping in so fast it’s almost a blur. He puts himself between us, catching Jason’s wrist in a grip that looks like it could crush bone.
For a second it’s chaos—Marcus rushes in, grabbing Jason by the collar and dragging him away from me.
He doesn’t let go. He’s got Jason pinned hard against the wall, teeth bared, anger radiating off him in waves.
Jason’s spitting curses, fighting to break free, but Marcus is stronger and, for once, he’s not in the mood to be the reasonable one.
. “You ever try to lay a hand on her again, I swear to God—”
Jason twists, tries to shove him off, but Marcus holds him firm. The hallway echoes with the scuffle, the thud of Jason’s fist against Marcus’s chest, who in turn pushes his head into the wall.
I step closer, heart in my throat, and put a hand on Marcus’s arm. “Marcus, please. Let him go. He’s not worth it.”
He glances at me, jaw tight, but finally shoves Jason back one last time and lets him go. Jason stumbles, nearly losing his balance, face red with fury and humiliation.
“Get the hell out of here,” Marcus bites out. Jason doesn’t need to be told twice—he storms off down the hall, rage simmering, probably already plotting his next move.
As the air settles, I notice something fluttering to the ground—a folded piece of paper, slipped from Jason’s tuxedo jacket during the struggle.
He’s too blinded by anger to notice it as he disappears around the corner.
I watch it drift across the tiles, a small, forgotten thing, but something about it tugs at my attention.
Tyler squeezes my shoulder. “You okay?”
I nod, but my gaze stays on that piece of paper.
I watch the paper settle on the floor, curiosity gnawing at me. As the boys calm down and Jason’s angry footsteps fade, I stoop to pick it up, smoothing the fold with trembling fingers. My breath catches when I see what it is.
Holy shit.
Jason and Sarah’s names, the county seal, the official signature—all there.
Tyler is the first to notice. “What’s that?” He peers over my shoulder, eyebrows lifting when he reads it.
I blink, stunned, holding it up. “It’s the marriage license,” I say, my voice flat with disbelief.
The one thing Jason and Sarah absolutely need to make this wedding real.
Marcus’s eyes widen too, and Alexander takes it from me, turning it over in his hands before looking up with something dangerous in his gaze.
“Well,” Marcus says, a hard edge to his voice, “it’s his fault he lost it. You just found what he dropped.”
Alexander nods, tucking the license carefully into my palm. “We have every right to keep it. Jason doesn’t deserve another chance, not after what he did to you—or Sarah.”
Tyler leans over, grinning. “You know, without this, there’s no wedding. Legally, anyway.”
I stare at the paper, the weight of it settling in my hands. My first instinct is to tuck it away, to keep it safe just until I can figure out what to do. It would be so easy—Jason lost it, not me.
But I remember the last time we tried to interfere, the pain in Sarah’s eyes when she found out. The tears, the anger, the distance it put between us.
Even if I think Jason’s the worst mistake she could make, I don’t know if I have the right to take this decision out of her hands.
I clutch the paper tighter, feeling my stomach twist. “I don’t know,” I say quietly. “It’s not my job to sabotage her wedding. Not again. If Sarah doesn’t want to marry Jason, she should be the one to walk away. I can’t be the villain in her story.”
Tyler squeezes my arm, voice low. “He’s the one who messed up. This could be the only way to stop her from making the worst mistake of her life.”
Alexander frowns, but Marcus puts a hand on my back, silent support. I know they’d back me no matter what I decide. For now, I slip the license into my bag, heart pounding. It’s a strange kind of power—one I never asked for and am not sure I want.
Tyler’s watching me, eyes bright with mischief and something like hope. “Mia, come on. This is the universe throwing you a bone. You know Jason doesn’t deserve her. He’s a fucking murderer, for god’s sake.”
“And we still can’t prove that,” I say, knowing how ridiculous I sound.
Alexander stands by the window, arms crossed, jaw tight. “He’s right. You’re not sabotaging anything. You’re just…letting things play out. If Jason can’t keep his own life in order, maybe he shouldn’t be trying to control hers.”
Their words make sense—on the surface, at least. Jason’s careless. Jason’s cruel. Maybe this is his mess to clean up. But I can’t shake the memory of Sarah’s face, pale and shocked, the last time I meddled in her choices. I know what it cost our friendship.
I let out a breath, staring down at my hands. “I get it. I do. But I don’t want to be the reason she’s hurt again. If Sarah ever finds out I held on to this, she might never forgive me.”
“She’s putting her life in danger. We can’t sit around and let her do that,” Tyler says. “Once she signs it, it’s over. There’s no prenup either, Sarah didn’t agree to it. There will be no stopping Jason.”
“Is that the only thing you’re worried about?” I ask.
“You know it isn’t like that,” Alexander says. “But we have to think things through rationally.”
I meet Alexander’s eyes, looking for certainty, but even he seems softer now, less sure. “Whatever you decide, Mia, we’ll stand with you. Just…don’t let him win by default.”
Their faith means everything, but it doesn’t quiet the ache in my chest. I’m still torn, caught between protecting Sarah and respecting her choices, even if they break my heart.
I close my bag and straighten, pushing my hair out of my face. “Let’s go,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “Sarah’s waiting for us.”
We head down the hallway together, the three of us moving in step, but my mind is spinning.
Every instinct screams to protect Sarah from Jason—after everything I’ve seen, everything I know now about his lies, his cruelty, the way he tries to break what he can’t control.
Still, my heart aches at the thought of keeping something this big from her, of making a decision that could change her entire life without her even knowing.
I want to believe I’m doing the right thing.
That maybe fate handed me this chance for a reason.
I hope I’ll know what to do when the time comes. But right now, all I can do is show up for Sarah—and pray that, this time, she sees the truth before it’s too late.