Page 158 of The Jaded Notes

Let the old self-image fall away now, the one shaped by survival. You don’t need her anymore.

You’re safe to expand. Safe to be seen. Safe to be the goddess you’ve always been.

Safe. The word cracks something open in my chest. When was the last time I felt trulysafe?

When Jax held me? When we danced barefoot in his vineyard? When he whispered promises against my skin that I believed with every cell in my body? The moment before he said we needed a break?

There is no test. Only a remembering. And you are already in it.

When you feel the chill that has no source, the flutter behind your ribs, the urge to say what you think might be too much…that’s me.

That’s us.

I press the letter to my chest, experiencing the phantom flutter he describes. Even now, thousands of miles away, buried in business that matters more than I do, he’s still here. Still haunting every breath I take.

And I will keep showing you who you truly are…until you no longer forget.

When the day comes and you no longer need me, trust I’ll always be here for you when you do.

With eternal presence and fierce love, no matter where we end up,

Jaxon

The signature blurs through my tears. Eternal presence…except he’s not here. Fierce love…except he chose everything else over me and never said the words.

My phone stops buzzing. The silence stretches like a gaping wound.

I fold the letter with trembling fingers,each crease a memory I can’t let go of. The woman in the mirror stares back at me, broken and raw, and I see the truth written across her face.

I’m not okay. Not even close.

The courier envelope sits on my desk like a grenade with the pin already pulled. CONFIDENTIAL, stamped across cream-colored paper.

It’s from Heathrow, Clay & Associates. Jaxon’s personal attorneys. I know before I even touch it that whatever’s inside is going to shatter what’s left of my carefully constructed denial.

My phone buzzes against the mahogany desk that’s next to my drafting table, lighting up the dim studio where I’ve been sketching until my fingers cramped.

Callum:You awake, beautiful?

I glance at the clock—past midnight. Of course I’m awake. Sleep has been as elusive as everything else that used to make sense in my life.

Me:Unfortunately. What are you doing up?

Callum:Thinking about you. Can’t seem to stop.

The sincerity in his message makes my heart swell. I set the phone aside and tear open the envelope with trembling fingers, already knowing this is going to hurt.

My breath catches as I scan the legal jargon until one phrase jumps out like a slap.Membership Interest Assignment and Transfer Agreement that effectively transfers ownership of Jax’s Malibu beach house to me.

Membership Interest Assignment and Transfer Agreement. The Malibu beach house. Our sanctuary. The place where he whispered sweet words against my skin while waves crashed outside our window.

He signed it over to me like I’m some consolation prize he can’t be bothered to deliver in person. My signature of acceptance is on it, but how?

It hits me in seconds. The paperwork he had me sign before he left. It must have been shoved in with all the other documents. What a gut punch.

My phone buzzes again.

Callum:Still there? Or did I scare you off with my honesty?