Chapter 3

Alexandra Hoffman POV:

The world blurred as I sped out of the parking lot. Tears streamed down my face, hot and blinding, making it almost impossible to see the road. Each sob wracked my body, tearing at my chest. The car swerved, but I barely registered it. All I could feel was the searing pain in my heart, the bitter taste of betrayal on my tongue.

A frantic honk echoed behind me. Jaxon. He was following. His headlights glared in my rearview mirror, a persistent, terrifying presence. He wanted to stop me. He wanted to prevent me from revealing his sordid secret. But I wouldn' t let him. Not now. Not after everything.

A cold, hard resolve began to crystallize amidst the chaos of my grief. I wasn' t going to let this go. I wasn' t going to cower in shame. They had humiliated me, lied to me, betrayed my trust. They would pay. And the first step was to expose them. To tear down their carefully constructed lies.

My mind, still reeling from the shock, focused on one person: Hanson. My brother. He deserved to know. He was a victim too, even if he was too oblivious to see it. I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles white, and pressed harder on the accelerator. I knew exactly where he would be. At the golf club, finishing up a round before the rehearsal dinner, probably still basking in the glow of his impending nuptials.

When I pulled into the club parking lot, Hanson' s car was already there. I slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching, and jumped out. My legs still felt unsteady, but the anger was a potent fuel, propelling me forward.

I found him on the eighteenth green, laughing with some friends, a picture of blissful ignorance. Karla, of course, was by his side, beaming. She caught my eye first, her smile faltering, a flicker of panic in her usually composed expression. She quickly recovered, though, forcing a bright, innocent smile.

"Alex! What a surprise! I thought you were getting ready for the dinner," she chirped, her voice a little too high-pitched.

Hanson turned, his face beaming. "Alex! Hey! What' s wrong? You look... like you' ve seen a ghost." His smile faded as he took in my tear-stained face, my disheveled appearance.

I opened my mouth to speak, to pour out the torrent of truth that threatened to choke me. But before I could utter a single word, my phone buzzed. It was an unknown number. Karla' s phone buzzed simultaneously. She glanced at it, her eyes widening, then quickly dismissed it.

Hanson' s face hardened. He looked at his own phone, which had just lit up with a message. His eyes, usually warm and familiar, turned cold, scrutinizing. He looked at me as if I was a stranger.

"So, you' re having an affair with Jaxon, are you?" His voice was low, dangerously calm.

My breath hitched. How did he know? It couldn' t be. Not already. Unless... unless Karla had twisted the narrative. Unless she had struck first.

"What? No! Hanson, it' s not like that! Jaxon is having an affair with Karla! I just found them in the parking lot! She' s been sleeping with him for three years! She just used you!" The words tumbled out, desperate and raw. I needed him to believe me.

Hanson stared at me, his face impassive. "Oh, really? And you just 'found' them? Or did you set this up? Did you plant the video? Because I just got a video, Alex. A very clear video, from an anonymous source, of you and Jaxon. Looking very cozy. It even had a timestamp from earlier today."

My heart plummeted. A video? Of me and Jaxon? It must have been from the morning, a casual hug, an innocent kiss, twisted and manipulated. Karla. She was always one step ahead. She had framed me. She had spun the web of deceit so tightly, making me the villain, the one who had betrayed my own brother. She was protecting herself. Protecting Jaxon. And destroying me.

I looked at Hanson, expecting rage, betrayal, anything but this chilling calm. He was looking at me with an almost detached curiosity, as if observing an interesting specimen. It felt worse than anger. It felt like he didn't care enough to be angry.

"Hanson, that' s not true! She' s lying! She' s manipulating you! She' s trying to protect herself because I caught them! She reported it first to make it look like I was the one doing something wrong!" I pleaded, my voice cracking.

Just then, Jaxon' s SUV screeched into the parking lot, sliding to a stop near us. Jaxon jumped out, his face pale and contorted with a mixture of fear and anger. Karla, seeing him, ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Jaxon! Darling, thank goodness you' re here! Alex is saying the most horrible things! She' s accusing me of sleeping with you! She' s trying to ruin everything!" Karla cried, her voice trembling, her face buried in his chest. A perfect picture of a distraught fiancée, caught in a baseless fabrication.

Jaxon held her tight, his eyes meeting mine, a silent plea for me to keep quiet, to just let it go. But I couldn' t. Not anymore.

"She' s lying, Hanson! Don' t you see? They' re together! They' ve been together for years! Jaxon, tell him! Tell him the truth!" I screamed, my voice raw.

Jaxon pulled away from Karla, stepping forward, his expression hardening. "Alex, what are you doing? You' re hysterical. You' re making things worse." He turned to Hanson, his voice calm, measured. "Hanson, I don' t know what Alex is talking about. She' s obviously upset. We had a... disagreement earlier, and now she' s lashing out. I swear, there' s nothing going on between Karla and me." His eyes were wide with feigned innocence, a performance worthy of an Oscar.

My jaw dropped. He was denying it. To my face. To Hanson' s face. He was choosing her. And he was painting me as the crazed ex-girlfriend, the unstable sister.

Karla, seeing her cue, stepped forward, wiping a tear from her eye. "Alex, I know you' re hurt. I know you and Jaxon broke up recently. But please, don' t drag Hanson into this. He doesn' t deserve this. I love him, Alex. I would never betray him like that." Her voice was soft, laced with a victim' s sorrow, a masterclass in manipulation.

Hanson' s gaze softened as he looked at Karla. He put an arm around her, pulling her close. He looked at me, his eyes filled not with anger, but with something far worse: pity and disgust.

"You know, Alex, I always knew you were jealous. Always trying to one-up me. But this? This is a new low, even for you." His voice was laced with a chilling disappointment. "To accuse my fiancée of such a thing, just because you can' t have Jaxon. It' s pathetic."

My eyes widened in disbelief. He believed them. He believed Karla' s crocodile tears, Jaxon' s practiced lies, over his own sister. The sister who had always stood by him, who had always loved him unconditionally.

"Hanson, I swear to you, I' m telling the truth!" I cried, desperation clawing at my throat.

His hand lashed out, a sharp, stinging blow across my cheek that sent my head snapping back. My ears rang. The world spun. The taste of blood filled my mouth.

Silence fell, thick and suffocating. My hand flew to my throbbing cheek. The raw pain was nothing compared to the shock, the utter disbelief that my brother, my own flesh and blood, had just struck me.

"Don' t you dare accuse my future wife again, Alex," Hanson snarled, his eyes blazing with a cold fury I had never seen directed at me. "You stay away from Karla. You stay away from Jaxon. And you stay away from this wedding. If you try to ruin this, I swear, I will make you regret it for the rest of your life."

I stared at him, my brother, the man I had loved and defended my entire life. He looked at me with pure hatred. And then, something snapped inside me. The pain, the betrayal, the humiliation, it all coalesced into a cold, hard rage.

Before I could even process what was happening, Jaxon lunged forward, grabbing Hanson by the collar. "Don' t you ever lay a hand on her again!" Jaxon roared, his face contorted with a fury that mirrored Hanson' s own.

Hanson shoved him back. "She deserves it! She' s a lying, jealous bitch!"

"She' s not! You' re the one who' s blind! You' re being played!" Jaxon yelled, punching Hanson squarely in the jaw.

Hanson staggered back, clutching his face, his eyes wide with shock. Then, with a roar, he launched himself at Jaxon. They fell to the ground, a tangle of limbs and furious blows, rolling in the manicured grass of the golf course. Karla shrieked, running forward, trying to separate them, but they were beyond reason.

My parents, who had just arrived, rushed onto the green, their faces a mixture of horror and confusion. My father pulled Hanson off Jaxon, while my mother rushed to my side, her eyes wide with shock.

"Stop it! Both of you! What is going on?" my father bellowed, his voice filled with authority.

Hanson, still seething, reluctantly pulled away. He looked at me, his eyes still burning with resentment. "She' s trying to ruin my wedding, Dad! She' s making up lies about Karla and Jaxon!"

Jaxon, bruised and bleeding, stood up, his jaw set. He looked at me, a flicker of remorse in his eyes. "I' m sorry, Alex," he muttered, his voice barely audible. The apology was hollow, meaningless. It didn' t change anything. It didn' t erase the slap from my brother. It didn' t erase the years of lies.