Chapter 20 – Pure Gol #2
"Melly, please tell me you don't mean that," he whispers so softly I can barely hear him.
"I do mean that," I tell him fiercely. "I didn't realize it at the time, but the minute you gave me that ultimatum, and then shared what was mine with someone else, it was over between us."
I turn to Mandy, who is still blubbering and bleeding.
"You didn't take anything from me," I tell her, quietly, softly. "He gave it to you, and that lets me know that we were already broken, somehow. In ways I'll never know or even care to know now."
I can hear Jaxson softly sobbing now.
"When did your affair with Mandy start, Jaxson?"
"Only after our agreement. I swear. I never cheated."
"He's lying," Mandy interjects. "It was just after the last season ended, and it carried on until I exposed him on the PuckCam. He thought he could dump me after nearly a year and go back to you and play house. But he'll never be rid of me. Never."
There's nothing rational left in Mandy's expression. Just frantic eyes and unraveling control. I glance at Jaxson, who appears hollowed out, as the cost of his choices is playing out in real time.
Not a good look for two people left with only each other. There's no going back for me, and Mandy looks less like a prize and more like a problem, her fixation on Jaxson tipping into something darker—obsessive, edging toward stalker territory.
"Wow. I'd say you know how to pick them, except you picked me." A laugh slips out, thin and shaky, and I have to bend forward, hands on my knees, just to breathe. This whole thing is finally catching up to me.
I wave my hand dismissively.
"You two deserve each other," I spit. "I wish you a long and miserable life together."
"No," Jaxson begs. "Listen to me, Melly, please. We can put this all behind us. It was the worst mistake of my life, and I regret ever doing this to us."
"Jaxson, you may regret it now that you've discovered that you can't keep the prize and chase the thrill, too. No having it both ways. "
"I know. I know. You were right. I was wrong. Stupid. You're the only good thing in my life, Melly. I realize that now. I was such an idiot to risk what we had for nothing. My life is empty without you."
"I beg to differ," I snap. "If that were true, where were you for the last six months?"
Mandy's sobs turn into laughter.
"With me," she gloats.
I look over at her as she's being held up by my security team.
"She needs medical attention," I state numbly.
"Don't worry about me, you clueless idiot!" she screams, lunging again toward me. "He's mine! Do you hear me? Mine!"
"Shut your mouth, Mandy," Jaxson bellows, jumping in front of me. "You're the saddest excuse for a human being. I regret the day I met you. Completely pathetic."
"Get her out of my sight," I tell my security team. "I'm sick of looking at her."
They begin to escort her, well, mostly drag her out, scratching and fighting the entire time.
"And as for you," I angle myself to address Jaxson. "I would say that you are the top contender for being a completely pathetic human being. After all, you brought that into our lives." I gesture toward Mandy.
"No! Jaxson," Mandy screams. "Tell her that it's me you love. We both know it is!"
Jaxson shakes his head and runs his hand over his face, clearly uncomfortable, considering his recent life choices and the consequences.
"Jaxson!" Her shrieks continue to follow her long after we can no longer see her. "You've been with me for months now, don't try to pretend you love herrrrrr!"
"She does have a point," I glare at him. "Maybe it's time we had a conversation to clear the air."
"Yes, yes, please," he gasps out. "I've tried to call you nonstop, and you haven't been taking my calls or answering my texts. You left your phone at our house. I couldn't reach you."
"I guess you know how that feels. Being neglected. I certainly did," I calmly say. "You dropped a bomb on me, laid out some useless rules, and rode off into the sunset with Mandy, apparently. Since your affair started way before you even mentioned an open marriage to me. Not that it mattered."
His face turns white. I guess he'd hoped I'd forget that part .
"For your information, I tried calling you. I hoped for months that you'd talk to me, tell me it was just a prank, or at least apologize and say it was a mistake."
"I tried to make it right. Did you see my press release and statement after…" he trails off.
"Yes, I know about that. I can't say I watched it," I reply coldly. "But I read the statement. What exactly do you want from me—kudos? Such a good boy, everything's forgiven? Should we kiss and make up now?"
I let out a short, humorless laugh.
"You get caught naked with Mandy and her bestie on the hotel balcony, and suddenly you remember I exist? You think I should be grateful for those crumbs—a few carefully chosen, curated words. I didn't hear from you for months before that. Truly impressive. Real classy."
"No, it's not like that, Melly," he grasps hopelessly. "I—I'd already dumped Mandy that morning. It was over before that even came out. Mandy set me up."
"If you had never started anything with her, and hadn't been with her the night before, there would've been no way to set you up."
"I am sorry, Melly," he continues with a flinch, yet ignoring my words. "I didn't know how to reach you, so I t ried to contact you any way I could. I apologized at every post-game press release. I appeared on those two talk shows; did you watch them?"
"It's too late for apologies, Jaxson," I say quietly. "Since I was sixteen years old, you held my heart in your hands. You were my life. We did everything together. Until you started pulling back last Spring."
"It can't be too late, Melly," he says, blinking hard, a tear slipping past. "I never meant to lose you. I just wanted to have a little fun. We were so young, and I thought I needed to experience life a little."
"How'd that work out for you?"
Jaxson drops to his knees, his hands clasped together like prayer.
"Ah, Melly, please forgive my stupidity." The tears are coming faster now. "I was wrong. I don't know what I was thinking."
"You weren't thinking," I say sadly. "Back then, it didn't matter to you.
My feelings didn't even cross your mind.
But now it's all I can think about . Every waking moment for the past several months, I've been haunted by thoughts of you with other women.
The idea of ever being intimate with you again is unbearable.
It just leaves me cold inside. No desire, no love, only sadness and pain.
I'd only be haunted by the betrayal. Forgiv eness, maybe someday, but there's no going back. I'll never be able to trust you again."
"Please don't say that, Melly." He drops his head to the concrete floor. It's not a pretty sight, but it doesn't move me the way it once would. Maybe I'm petty, but I feel vindicated.
"What did you expect, Jaxson? I waited for months. I never heard from you again. I'm done."
I hear a cough behind us. Jaxson jerks his head up just as I turn to see Bash standing there, his head slightly bowed, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"What are you doing here, Duchesne?" Jaxson snarls, leaping to his feet and quickly wiping his eyes.
"I… I owe her an apology, too." He's talking to Jaxson, but his eyes stay fixed on me.
I lift my chin, my voice cold. "You and your apology are unwelcome as well. I'm not in the mood to hear anything from a faithless friend, or a cheating ex." I look at Bash first, then at Jaxson. My meaning is clear.
"Faithless?" Jaxson glares murderously at Bash. "You were sneaking around with my wife behind my back?"
I snort, dripping with sarcasm. "Like you care!
After months of ignoring me, deserting me, and making me feel invisible?
How dare you accuse me of anything when y ou started your affair long before you forced me to accept your cheating?
I have never strayed outside our marriage.
Ever. Can you say the same?" I jab him sharply in the chest.
Bash steps forward, eyes burning. "You're wrong, Jaxson. After everything you put her through, we never did anything behind your back or otherwise. It was just a friendship, a beautiful one."
Startled, I meet Bash's eyes. "A beautiful friendship?"
"Yes, a beautiful friendship," Bash repeats, his gaze flicking from mine to my lips.
" She's my wife ." Jaxson interrupts, voice sharp.
"Shut up, Jaxson," I snap. "I'm just a toy to you. You set me down, and now someone dares to be interested in me. Like the dog in the manger, you're fighting for property. I've been your wife in name only for months."
"Amelia… I love you," Bash says, his voice catching as he gulps, emotion choking his words. My eyes lift immediately to his, surprised, my heart skipping at the sincerity of his confession.
"I… I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion at Christmas." He continues .
"I had begun to have feelings for you, too, Bash, but… "
"Please hear me out. I know you didn't lie to me, Firebird," he says gently. "It's just my insecurities."
I laugh in disbelief. "You have insecurities? Not possible."
"Yes. I've never known anyone as genuinely caring and kind as you.
Women always made me feel like an object instead of a person.
But not you, you looked at me, saw me for myself, not for how I look or what I can give you.
With you, I truly feel seen. Important. Cared for.
But when I learned you were Jaxson's wife, I doubted you in that moment.
As soon as you left, I saw the footage of the charity game, and I knew I was wrong.
I'm sorry it took that to pull me out of my head and make me see clearly again. "
"It doesn't matter any longer," I whisper. "Too late. I don't trust you, now. Either of you." I look at Jaxson pointedly.
Jaxson's fists clench. "I'm not letting him take you from me." His voice is low and gravelly, but I can hear the hurt underneath.