Page 160 of The Jaded Notes

Then I stare at Callum’s responses…direct, honest, and asking genuine questions about my actual life.

Me:Just wondering what an honest conversation feels like right now.

Callum:It feels hard and sometimes uncomfortable. It feels like someone actually giving a shit about the answer when they ask how you are.

My throat constricts because he’s right. Jax hasn’t even asked me how I’m doing.

Me:And what if the answer isn’t pretty?

Callum:Then it’s the truth. And that’s always better than lies.

I press my fingers to my stinging eyes, the tears threatening to fall. The legal papers are still scattered across my desk, Jax’s final goodbye written in contract language and notary stamps.

Me:I think I’m drowning, Callum.

Callum:Then let me throw you a lifeline. Where are you?

Me:My studio. Working late because going home feels impossible.

Callum:Send me the address. I’m coming to get you.

Me:You don’t even know where I am.

Callum:Vixen, that’s why I asked you for the address. Let me be here for you, Lily. The way I should have been for the last five years.

I peer down at my phone, finger hovering over the keyboard. Across from me, the Membership Interest Assignment and Transfer Agreement seems to whisper all the ways Jax has already moved on, already decided I’m something to be handled through attorneys and motivational quotes.

Me:I could be far away from you.

Callum:So?

Me:Can I meet you somewhere instead?

Callum:Time and place, and I’ll be there.

Me:I’m going to need an hour. I need to send a correspondence to someone. It’s urgent.

I set my phone down and lean back in my chair, gazing at the ceiling.

For the first time since Jax left, I don’t feel completely alone. Maybe that’s what hope feels like—someone actually showing up instead of sending quotes about how you deserve better.

I seek out one last message from Jax.

My King:“When one door closes, another opens.” Trust the journey,mon trésor.

I delete it. Some doors need to be closed, especially when I need to let go.

I take a few minutes to formulate what I want to say and prepare my goodbye letter to Jaxon Crowne, the man I never really knew.

Tears fall as I type, snot runs out of my nose, and the pain in my chest makes me believe I’m having a heart attack. But how you do one thing is how you do everything. Another Jaxon Crowne pearl of wisdom.

So, I craft the email with style and hold my head up high. I don’t burn the bridge, and I pour my soul into the letter until I’m satisfied with it. I get ready to send it, but wait.

Maybe I should hold off for a few days and not be so reactive. I huff. I even learned that from him. He’s weaved himself into the fibers of my entire being.

I throw my face into the palms of my hands and have a good cry. Once I get myself together and fix my makeup, I close my laptop and shut down my office. I leave and get into my car.

Jaxon is gone, and I need to move on. I’m not running to Callum because the past is healed. I just feel like life is survivable with someone I trust by my side right now.

I send one last message.

Me:Send me your address and I’ll come to you.

The Jaded Notes was only the setup.

The collision follows, leaving no one out of the wreckage.