Chapter 3

A flicker of something-alarm, maybe concern-stirred in me as I saw the blood stream down Jaxson's face. He swayed on his feet, but his eyes were fixed on me, glowing with a disturbing sense of accomplishment.

He wiped at the blood with the back of his hand, smearing it across his cheek. "I got here," he said, a breathless, happy sound. "I saved you."

And just like that, the flicker of concern died, replaced by a cold, familiar disgust.

His words triggered a landslide of memories, sharp and brutal.

A dark, frozen road. The sound of our baby, so small, so sick, his cries growing weaker in the back seat. I was on the phone, begging. "Please, Jaxson, come back. He's not breathing right."

His voice, distant, distracted. "I can't, Eva. Brinley says a man is following her. She's terrified. I have to make sure she's safe."

He hung up. He left us there. Our son died in my arms an hour later, his tiny body growing cold against mine.

Another crash. The screech of tires. He had been chasing me after another fight about Brinley. He'd swerved to avoid a deer, slamming his car into a ravine to save me. He lost both his legs. The guilt of that had chained me to him. He used his wheelchair like a throne of martyrdom, a constant, silent accusation. "You owe me," his eyes always said. And I had paid, serving my sentence in a loveless marriage until the day he finally ended it all.

Now, here he was, bleeding from a superficial wound, claiming victory. My savior.

The thought was so repulsive it made me want to scream.

Before I could, a different scream cut through the air. "Jaxson!"

Brinley came running, her face a perfect mask of terror. She shoved me aside, sending me stumbling to the ground. My broken arm hit the pavement, and a fresh wave of agony shot through me.

"What did you do to him?" she shrieked, slapping my face, hard. Then again. "You witch! You stay away from him! He belongs to me!"

She turned back to Jaxson, her expression melting into one of tender care as she gently dabbed at his wound with the hem of her expensive-looking sweater.

"Brinley, stop," Jaxson mumbled, his eyes on me. "Apologize to Eva."

Brinley's lower lip trembled. A single tear rolled down her cheek. "But... she hurt you."

Instantly, Jaxson's resolve crumbled. "I know, I know," he soothed, pulling her into a hug. "It's okay. I'm okay."

I watched the pathetic scene, my face still stinging. I pushed myself up, ignoring the throbbing in my arm, and got ready to leave. This was their circus, and I was done being one of the clowns.

"Don't you dare walk away!" Brinley snarled, her voice dripping with triumph. She held onto Jaxson's arm like a prize. "Jaxson won't let you hurt me ever again."

As I turned, I saw Jaxson instinctively shift, placing himself slightly in front of Brinley. It was a small, unconscious movement, but it spoke volumes. After everything, he still saw me as the threat, and her as the one who needed protection.

I stopped. I looked him dead in the eye.

"Kensington, Albright, and Shaw," I said, my voice flat. "And the numbers are 40.7128, and 74.0060."

Brinley looked confused. "What are you talking about, you crazy-"

But Jaxson went pale. His face went slack with shock. He knew exactly what I was talking about. Kensington, Albright, and Shaw were the names of three key investors his father was about to get into bed with, a deal that, in our first life, had bankrupted Blake Industries. And the numbers, they were the GPS coordinates to a plot of land the Blake family company was about to disastrously overpay for, based on a fraudulent geological survey.

It was information I had spent years of my first life digging up to try and save our company, information he had ignored because he was too busy dealing with one of Brinley's dramas.

"How...?" he whispered, his voice shaking.

"Consider it a thank-you gift for the rock to your head," I said coldly. "Now we're even. Stay away from me."

His face crumpled. The dawning horror in his eyes was absolute. It wasn't just about the company. He finally, truly understood. It wasn't that I needed saving. It was that I no longer wanted him.

I just wanted to be gone.