Megan’s POV
Chapter 90
Mellan’s scream still echoed off the ballroom walls.
Flashes kept going. People whispered behind lifted champagne flutes. Staff scrambled to shield her with coats, stammering apologies.
The white gown she’d been so proud of now clung to her like an afterthought, torn at the side, and shame.”
Jane rushed to her, hissing commands under her breath, shielding her like it would undo what just happened, clutching her arm like she could still salvage the night.”
But the cameras had alread
captured it. The damage was done.
I didn’t move.\
Didn’t speak.
Didn’t smirk.
I just watched.
And then I felt it, their eyes on me.”
Jane finally looked at me.§
Her mask was gone. Fury now raw in her eyes.}
“You think this changes anything?” she spat quietly, crossing back toward me.}
I turned to face her, calm.
“I think you’re not used to the consequences of being ordinary,” I said. “Tonight reminded you what that feels like.”
She stepped closer, her voice shaking. “You humiliated her.”
“No,” I said. “She did that all on her own.”
I took one last sip of champagne. Set the glass down on a tray as a server passed by.
I turned and saw Jaxon standing by the corner pillar, drink in hand, untouched. His gaze locked on mine. He didn’t blink.
For a long second, neither of us looked away.
Then, quietly, he walked over.
The music picked back up, polished jazz but the space between us was quiet.
“You planned that?” he asked, low.
“No,” I said. “She did the rest of it to herself.”
He ran a hand down his tie, loosening it slightly. “Jane’s furious.”
“She should be.”[
His jaw twitched. “You could’ve humiliated her privately.“[
I laughed softly. “You think I did this for revenge?”
He didn’t answer.
“She’s the one who planted the pregnancy rumor and that incident that night,” I said. “You think I’d stay quiet after that?”
Jaxon looked away. “I didn’t know she did that.”
“You always don’t know anything,” I said. “Because you didn’t ask either. Deep down, it suited you.”
He finally met my eyes again. “That’s not fair.”
I tilted my head. “Tell me what’s fair, Jaxon. Marrying me to save your company? Letting your sister frame me? Letting Mellan stand next to you while I was dragged through the press?”
“That wasn’t-“E
“Love?” I said quietly. “I know.”
He looked down at his glass.
“She’s not who I thought she was,” he muttered. “Mellan. I thought… I thought if I finally had her, it would feel like winning.” “And does it?”
He didn’t speak.!!
That silence said everything.
He gave a short, broken laugh. “I didn’t know what I had until I saw you tonight. Not just the dress. The way you walked in. The way you looked at Jane like she didn’t scare you anymore.“”
“She doesn’t.”
212
“I know,” he said. “And it’s killing me.”
I crossed my arms. “Why?”
“Because I thought you were weak,” he admitted. “I thought loving Mellan made me brave. I thought marrying you was a transaction. But tonight, I saw you, and I realized I was the one who settled.“”
I let that hang between us.
“I see you now,” he said finally. “The way you carry yourself. The way you don’t flinch anymore.“\
“Because I have nothing left to lose,” I said. “And that’s the most dangerous thing I’ve ever been.“}
“I never wanted it to end like this.”
“But you were fine watching it start this way.”
Jaxon closed his eyes for a beat. “I’m sorry.”
I looked at him. “You’re sorry now that you’re standing in the wreckage. But I’ve been crawling out of it for three years.“> He opened his mouth, but I didn’t let him speak.
“I don’t need your guilt,” I said. “And I definitely don’t need your apology.“”
“I was going to call you,” he said suddenly. “Ask you to meet. I didn’t want to do it here.“\
‘stepped closer, not out of warmth, but finality.
“You wanted to talk?” I said. “Then hear this. There’s nothing left to fix. I don’t miss you. I don’t hate you. I just don’t care anymore.”
He froze.<
Because that was the one thing he hadn’t prepared for.
Not my rage. Not my heartbreak.
My indifference.[
1 turned and walked away before he could respond.
