Chapter 57 Built on Lies
Built on Lies
As Claire walks into the house, she finds Travis sitting on the couch, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor like it’s holding all the answers. But when he looks up, the storm in his eyes says everything before he even opens his mouth.
“You were with him, weren’t you?”
Her heart sinks. It's not a question—it’s a sentence. A truth he’s already convicted her of.
Are my feelings for Jaxon that obvious? There’s no way Travis could understand why I went back. Not really. I didn’t see Jaxon. We didn’t talk. He looked right through me like I never even mattered. But how do you explain needing closure from someone who didn’t even know you came looking for it?
“No,” Claire says softly, “I wasn’t with him.”
Travis leans forward, his voice harder now. “Then what the hell were you doing back on the island?”
She swallows. “I just… I needed to make sure everything was okay. I guess I needed closure.”
“Closure?” he spits. “You guess? You drove six damn hours without even knowing if he was alive!”
“He was in Atlanta a few weeks ago,” she snaps back. “So yeah—I knew he was alive.”
Travis’s face shifts, eyebrows pulling tight. “And how the hell do you know he was in Atlanta?”
Claire sighs. “Sara ran into him. At the corporate event her company catered. It was for his promotion. And before you ask, no—I didn’t see him. I didn’t know he was there.”
Travis laughs, but there’s no humor in it. Just hurt. “Claire, what the fuck are you doing? You have me. We’re engaged. Why are you still chasing some summer fling from years ago?”
Claire lifts her chin, defiant but trembling. “Because it wasn’t just a fling. It changed me. That place changed me.”
“Then why’d you leave? Huh? If it was so perfect—why didn’t you just stay? Why didn’t you get on the fucking plane, Claire? Or at the very least, call?”
Her blood runs cold. Her voice goes quiet. “How do you know I didn’t fly back?”
Travis stands. “Because I went to the island. I talked to him.”
She stares, stunned. “You did what?”
“A while back,” he says, pacing now. “I drove to Oak Island. Walked into his office. Told him who I was.”
Her voice shakes. “What… what did y’all talk about?”
“You.” He stops and turns to her. “We ended up throwing fists in the hallway of his business.”
Her jaw drops. “Why would you—”
“Because of you!” Travis explodes. “Because we were going through the same shit again, and I figured you were pulling the same stunt. And he—he had no idea. He kicked my ass, Claire. And then—get this—he told the cops not to arrest me.”
Silence.
“I’m sorry,” Claire whispers.
But Travis is already gone. Not out the door—but somewhere else entirely.
“Sorry?” he says, laughing bitterly. “Claire, you’re stuck in the past, daydreaming about some perfect little world that doesn’t fucking exist anymore.
You spend all day thinking about him, and then crawl into bed beside me every night like it’s nothing. ”
He looks down at her hand—at the ring she agreed to wear.
“You said yes to a future with me… while you were still holding onto a past with him.”
And then the door slams.
Claire is left standing in the middle of their quiet, too-clean home. Alone. Finally, brutally alone. The silence screams louder than any fight ever could.
She looks down at the engagement ring—perfect, polished, meaningless.
Claire, what the fuck were you thinking?
You left Jaxon. You walked away without a word. You never told him why. Never gave him the chance. And now? You’re living a life you don’t even recognize, with a man you don’t even love.
And the worst part?
It’s nobody’s fault but your own.