"You need to get a grip, Bash snorts. "The world doesn't revolve around thegreat Jaxson Kingston."
Bash's lip is bleeding, a thin line of red tracing his chin, and he swipes it with his wrist.
"I care about her," Bash snaps. "You left her alone and hurting. I couldn't bear to see her so devastated. She's become important to me."
"She's important to me!" Jaxson stabs a finger toward himself. "She's my wife."
"Yeah, right," Bash spits. "You proved to the world how important she is to you."
"Don't talk about her like she's anything to you," Jaxson yells.
"She's everything to me," Bash whispers sadly. He looks over to me with the most devastating look. "You're everything to me, Firebird."
Jaxson shoves Bash away. "Don't talk to her like you know her. Why do you keep calling her Firebird?"
"I do know her," Bash tells him quietly, while still holding my eyes. "I know she loves to figure skate and is poetry in motion. Her favorite flower is the gerbera daisy. Her favorite food is dark chocolate, and she hates cilantro with a passion." Bash continues, his voice low and mesmerizing. "I know she has a laugh I would kill for, and a stubborn streak that could sink a ship. I know she dreams in colors that most of us will never be able to see, and she presses her hand to her chest when something moves her."
He pauses to take a breath. I look down, and my hand has migrated to my chest, just as he knew it would. He leans in, eyes never leaving mine, his words come softly now, meant only for me.
"I know you believe in second chances, but you're terrified of being hurt again, so you're cautious now. I know you fight hard for those you care about, and you've been hurt enough by those who love you to build walls no one else can climb. But a door cracked for me once. I have to believe it's not too late for us."
Jaxson scoffs, taking another menacing step towards Bash, but Bash doesn't flinch.
I'm transfixed. His eyes bore into my face, but his words lash out at Jaxson. "I've seen what you've done to her, Kingston." He rounds me, and comes up to my ear and speaks a vow that springs hope in my chest. "I promise her, I'll never make her feel that way. Not from someone who cares as deeply as I do. I love you, Firebird. I know you're hurting, little one. And I can wait. As long as you need… to heal… to trust me again. You're worth the wait."
I shake my head to clear the magic his words have conjured in my head.
"And the reason I call her Firebird is that she rises from the ashes every time life burns her down. Because she is made of fire."
I realize that he knows me—really knows me—in a way no one ever has, and something deep shifts inside me.
Is that hope? Maybe? Someday, when my life isn't total chaos.
"Bash, I needed you that day, but what I thought we had wasn't real. When you told me to leave, it became clear that I'd started to depend on you to feel safe. I'd already lost Jaxson and, without meaning to, I shifted that need onto you. It wasn't healthy, and the aftermath made that clear. I found myself alone again, and that’s when I knew I had to become my own safe space. I don't need a man, whether husband, friend, or boyfriend, to define who I am or complete me. I need to find myself before I can truly heal and open my heart to someone else. Because I will love again."
"I'm sorry I abandoned you when you needed me," Bash reaches to brush my cheek. "But I want you to know, I'll be waiting. For as long as you need. When you're ready to reach out again, I'll be there."
"I'm going to rip that silver tongue out of your mouth." Jaxson lunges at Bash, grabbing his shoulder, but immediately recoils, shaking his hand out and wincing. "I think I broke my hand on your face, Duchesne!" he hisses, furious.
Bash merely pulls back. "I won't disrespect Amelia by engaging in a fight over her," he snaps, meeting Jaxson's stare steadily. Every thought is protective of her, even as he fires back at Jaxson.
"Jaxson, stop acting like a child," I say. "Enough."
The security team rushes up, having just hauled Mandy out. They plant themselves between the two men, halting the argument before it turns violent again.
I step forward, hands raised. "Enough," I repeat. "Both of you—stop."
Finally, I force them into silence, speaking low and steady, lethal in its finality. "I have nothing left to say. I don't trust either of you. I. Am. Choosing. Myself."
The corridor goes eerily silent.
"No, Jaxson. I will never be with you again in any type of relationship. That includes friendship. You've managed to wipe out all my happy dreams for our future and laid waste to the past memories we shared. Just sign the divorce papers, or I'll drag your name through the mud and let your PR team try to salvage your career."
"But.. "
I hold my hand up in Jaxson's face to silence him.
Facing Bash, I continue, but soften. "No, Bash, I can't do this right now. I have to focus on healing."
I turn on my heel and walk away, each step deliberate. The tension behind me crackles like electricity, but I don't look back as I hear my security detail forcing Bash and Jaxson to leave. I am choosing freedom. I am choosing myself.
