Page 27 of My Girl to Use

The words land clearly. Precise. Almost foreboding. My stomach drops. “Excuse me?”

“Jaxon Corbin,” she says, like that explains everything. “You know him as Jax, I assume.”

My heart starts pounding harder. “I don’t know what you’re—”

“Don’t insult me,” she cuts in smoothly. “I know exactly who you are.”

Silence stretches between us, heavy and suffocating.

I swallow. “What do you want?”

Her lips curve slightly, but there’s no warmth in her expression. “Good. Straight to the point. I appreciate that.”

Levi shifts slightly, letting out a soft sound. I adjust him automatically, my attention splitting between him and her.

“I’ll make this simple,” she continues. “You and my son, whatever this is, ends. Immediately.”

My chin comes up. “That’s not your decision.”

“No,” she agrees calmly. “But this is.”

Her gaze drops briefly to Levi again, sharper this time. “I know he’s not legally yours.”

Everything inside me freezes. My breath catches. “What?”

“You heard me,” she says, her tone unchanged. “You have no legal claim to that child. No documentation. No custody.”

My heart starts racing. “How do you—”

“I know everything I need to know,” she interrupts. “Including how quickly I could make one call and have him taken from you.”

The world tilts. “No,” I whisper, shaking my head slightly. “You can’t—”

“I can.”

The certainty in her voice goes through me like cold water. Levi lets out a small whine, and I take him out of the stroller. I want him close to me, like I can shield him from her words.

“Why are you doing this?” I ask, my voice shaking now despite my effort to stay steady.

Her expression doesn’t change. “Because you’re a distraction.”

“A distraction?” I repeat, my voice tighter now. My grip stays firm around Levi like she might somehow take him right here in the street.

“Yes,” she says calmly, like we’re discussing something trivial. “My son has responsibilities. A future that does not include…this.”

Her gaze sweeps over me briefly, not cruel, just dismissive in a way that stings more.

It’s the same look the woman in the hallway—Jax’s sister—gave me. The one who didn’t see me at all. I understand now that she learned it from somewhere.

Heat rises up my neck. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know enough,” she replies. “You’re a daycare worker, barely supporting yourself, raising a child that isn’t legally yours, living in a place like Wilder House.” She pauses, tilting her head slightly. “Do you really think you fit into his world?”

My heart stumbles. Because I don’t know his world. I never asked. And he never told me.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, quieter now, something uneasy settling in my stomach.

Her lips press together briefly before she answers. “Jaxon is not just some man renting a temporary apartment. He is the heir to a multibillion-dollar company. His father is stepping down soon. That makes Jax the next CEO.”