by M. Clarke
After I gave Jace a bath, I tucked him in bed and looked out the window before closing the shutters. Chloe’s car was still parked outside. What the hell? She should have been gone by now. There hadn’t been much to clean up. With a frown on my face, I headed downstairs.
Chloe was slumped over the dining table with her face on her crossed arms. Before I’d left her, she was up, taking the pizza box to the kitchen. She had done that, but she hadn’t taken her wine glass and the bottle of wine. It looked like she had finished the wine. Fuck! There was no way in hell she could drive, let alone walk to the car. She was utterly smashed.
“Chloe.” I shook her lightly, even though I wanted to shove her off the chair.
“Jasss…” she slurred. “I…”
I couldn’t hear the rest. Her words were lost.
I rolled my eyes. “Chloe. You have to get up.”
She lifted her head and I could tell from the black smudge of her makeup under her eyes that she had been crying. Shit! Now what?
“No. I donna wanna go,” she whimpered, sniffling. “I-I...waaan family back.” Swinging her body toward me, she wrapped her arms around my waist and started bawling. “Jaaass Jassss, I miss...plezzz.”
I inhaled a deep breath, standing stiffly, trying to maintain my calm, and trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do with Chloe. “You can’t stay here. We’ve been down this road a couple of times before and it didn’t work out. Third time is not a charm. We aren’t meant to be. I love Rachel. Nothing is going to change that.”
“But—”
“You’re wasted, Chloe,” I continued, before she could give me more lies. “You’re saying things you don’t mean. Do you have a friend I can call for you? Maybe she can pick you up.”
Her face dug into my stomach, grazing higher up to my chest as her hands glided along. I felt like she was doing more than trying to anchor herself up, but I let her. She was too wasted to stand on her own. When she finally stood, I secured one arm around her waist. “Rachel is coming home tomorrow. I’ve got a lot of explaining to do. You’re so lucky I’m a nice guy or else you would be sleeping in your car.”
Chloe snuggled her head on my shoulder as if to make herself comfortable and I were her pillow. “J-jassss so sweet. Meee luck...ee.”
I helped her to the guest room and tried to settle her on the bed. It was almost impossible while she blabbered away and held on tightly. Her arms around my neck yanked me to her, causing our lips to touch just when I finally got her to release her body. She tried to slip in her tongue, but my sealed lips prevented it. Fuck! I managed to shove her off me and then wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, only to hear her snicker.
Chloe whipped around so she was lying on her side and got into a fetal position with a sigh.“You no fuunn, Jas. W-weee family.”
She was wasted and didn’t know what she was doing, I told myself. If I yelled at her, she wouldn’t know what the hell I was saying anyway. Shaking my head in annoyance, I got out of the room and closed the door behind me. Afterward I dropped her high heels and her purse by the bedroom door. I walked around the house to make sure all the windows were closed before I turned on the alarm, but then decided not to. I was hoping Chloe would wake up and realize where she was and leave on her own. If not, how was I going to explain this to Rachel? Maybe I could get Chloe to leave before Jace woke and before Rachel came home.
Rachel
I had time to think and reflect about what had happened, and came to the conclusion that I was being ridiculous. Jax loved me and I had to trust him. Though he had never left Chloe for me, since they were already broken up when we met, he had picked me. And that had to mean something.
When Jace and Jax called, I had been packing. Matthew had let me know that Addy had a fever and asked if I wouldn’t mind if we left earlier than planned. Earlier meaning going home tonight—the red-eye flight. Knowing Matthew was eager to see his family, and so was I, I’d agreed. He’d been constantly calling home whenever he had the chance. I couldn’t blame him. Addy’s fever was 103, and Becky had even taken her to the hospital.
I had never taken the red eye before, but I’d heard from my friends that it was uncomfortable and you really didn’t sleep the five hours. There’s a lot of tossing and turning, and even occasionally a bump from the person next to you. However, my situation was different: I would be flying in the Knight Fashion private plane. The comfortable chair I sat on reclined to a bed. Talk about luxury.
I had it all timed and planned out. Arriving at the airport at approximately five in the morning, and considering the time it would take to be in my car and driving, it would be close to six when I finally made it home. Since it would be early morning and also Sunday, there would be no traffic for sure. I would slip in next to Jax in our bed and surprise him. I was sure he would be up to having “I missed you” sex.
In the limo, driving to the airport, Matthew and I discussed the new clothing line he’d created with Max. They were going to officially introduce their line in a month in high-end stores like Saks, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and others. I could recall the meetings when Max and Matthew would discuss potential names for the clothing line. MK—though the initials worked, MK was already known for Michael Kors. M&M would definitely not work. MMK sounded weird. So they finally came up with M. Knights.
One of their plans was to hire Jax, one of the top models around, to launch their line. I was so happy Jax had accepted their offer. That would mean I would have the opportunity to work with him again. That could be a good or bad thing, depending on whether Chloe would be placed with Jax.
After I had parked the car in the garage, I tiptoed into the house and left my suitcase and my purse behind. I was so excited to surprise my family that I just hopped out of the car. Funny, the alarm wasn’t on when I entered. I guessed Jax had forgotten to turn it on last night. Trying to be as discreet as possible, I took off my boots and placed them by the front door.
I didn’t know why, and there was no reason to feel this way, but I suddenly had nausea. Something was off. A pair of black heels and a black purse were by the guest bedroom door, but there was no one there. The bedroom door was wide open, and it looked like someone had slept there. Getting an ugly feeling in the pit of my stomach, I checked the bathroom. What I saw was something I could never have fathomed.
As I stared at the pregnancy test box that was open on the counter, I wondered how it could have gotten there. One test had been already used and it was in the trash can, but I dared not look at the result. I put two and two together and knew who had been there. I almost dropped to the floor as shock fired through me so fast and hard that I lost my balance. An ache in my heart grew and pounded fiercely against my chest. This couldn’t be true.
I stepped out of the bedroom with my whole body trembling to examine more. There was an empty bottle of wine and one empty glass, and another half filled. What the hell?
Blood rushed to my head and every nerve, muscle, and bone caught on fire. My whole body felt scorching hot as I climbed up the stairs, twirling my engagement ring around my finger, reminding myself that Jax loved me and would never cheat on me. Please don’t let this be real, I prayed, hard.
The double doors of our bedroom were wide open. I was stunned so far beyond reason that I froze, unable to take another step. Blood drained to my toes and now everything inside me hurt like hell. A pair of women’s jeans, a T-shirt, a bra, and even red panties were on the floor. What I saw before me would change my life forever. Air. I needed air!I’d lost the ability to breathe as the pain of feeling like someone had ripped my heart out came crashing through. My stomach dropped to the ground and blankness took over me, unable to comprehend this situation. It was as if my mind and heart finally came into sync.
Jax was not alone in our bed. There was a woman cuddling right beside him. When she moaned and shifted, I saw her blonde hair, and then her face, confirming it was Chloe. A shock of alertness made me move out of the way. I didn’t want her t
o see me. Humiliated, embarrassed, and still trying to control my emotions, I headed down the stairs.
How could Jax do this?I asked myself over and over, still trying to comprehend what I had seen, trying to figure out if he had given clues that he was unhappy. He wanted a child, and maybe because it seemed as though I wasn’t in a hurry like him, Chloe was the next option. Surely this wasn’t the reason. Maybe he really did love Chloe and wanted her back in his life but couldn’t tell me. Maybe he hadn’t known this until I was out of the picture. Chloe had said that she had her own agenda. Obviously, it was getting Jax and Jace back.
Tears finally caught up with the realization that Jax was in our bed with Chloe, blinding my vision. My Jax was in bed with his ex-wife! Oh my God! I covered my mouth with my hand, not wanting to scream out at the top of my lungs. I needed to get out before one of them woke up. My Jace!The dagger in my heart couldn’t have pierced any deeper. It was beyond repair. How much I loved him, and now...I felt so bad for him. He’d already been through so much with his parents: the screaming fights, being in and out of the hospital, and the divorce. This was going to really affect him.
With my hands trembling, I took off my engagement ring and placed it on the dining table. Slipping back into my boots, I glanced around my dream home—this place where Jax, Jace, and I would have started anew. My dream family had now officially become nothing but my nightmare.
As uncontrolled tears streamed down my face and unable to catch a breath, I left with pain beyond measure. A pain that would leave a permanent scar on my heart and on my life. I didn’t know where I was going to go; I just had to get the hell out of there and as far away as possible. I could have stayed and cursed both of them to hell, ranting that I wished them lives full of misery, but would that have lessened my pain or made it any better? And my poor Jace would have heard the fight, and I couldn’t put him through that. So I really had no choice. I had never been the confrontational type, nor would I start today. Silence was deadly, at least that was what I had been told. As if I could outdrive the pain, I drove fast...and kept driving.
Chapter 18
Jackson
The sound of the garage door opening woke me up. I was aware that it was morning, but I couldn’t open my eyes. Rachel had said she would be home by eleven, so I needed to get up, clean up the mess downstairs, and get Chloe out of there. Eventually, and sooner rather than later, I would have to explain to Rachel why Chloe had been there and why she had spent the night. I didn’t want her to hear it through a rumor, just in case Chloe decided to open her fat mouth.
People talked too much in our industry; the reason why I didn’t make close friends with the people I worked with. They might think that I was standoffish, but it really was to find out who my true friends were. There was a lot of backstabbing and talking shit among fashion models, and I certainly wasn’t going to play their games or be their pawn. Of course, not everyone was that way, and there were genuinely nice people, like Josh and Nathan. Shane was a nice person as well, but I didn’t like the way he flirted with Rachel or the way he looked at her. I guessed I should get used to it. Rachel was beautiful inside and out—a rare gem, hard to find.
When I heard a moan, I reached over. Rachel had come home early? I thought this because I’d heard a faint sound of the garage door opening in the still of the morning, and it wasn’t just my imagination. How did she get in the bed so fast without me knowing? The only logical explanation would be that I’d dozed off again.
“Rachel,”I groaned, feeling my dick rising.“I missed you so much, babe. This bed feels so cold and empty without you.”I slipped my arm under her neck with my eyes still closed and pressed her body to mine. Her body felt so wrong. The scent of her and her hair was off too. My eyes shot open just as she turned around and reached for me.
“Jax.”Her hand slid down to my boxers and rubbed my dick.
Chloe!“What the fuck are you doing in my bed?”I jerked away.
Chloe propped herself on her elbow. From what I could see, from the way the sheet barely covered her breasts, she was naked, at least on the top. “Oh, come on, Jax. It will be like old times.”She said it like it was no big deal, like this should be natural, like cheating was okay for her.“I know you’re horny. Let me fix that for you. Just one time. I won’t tell Rachel.”She scooted closer.
I slid off the bed as if it were on fire and quickly grabbed and put on a pair of sweatpants. Thank God at least I had a T-shirt on. Gripping a fistful of my hair, I paced the length of the bed. I tried to calm down before I blew up because I wanted to choke the life out of her. And Jace was still sleeping. Then a thought came to me. Last night, she’d acted like she was wasted. I wondered how much of that had been an act. Usually, when she was that smashed she would be sleeping like a baby until late in the morning. Panicking, I looked at my cell phone on my nightstand. Thank God it was only seven in the morning.
“Get up and get out,” I said softer, but I let her know I meant it with my fierce tone.
“Jax, come on,”she pleaded, her eyes begging.“Let’s have another baby. Jace needs a brother or a sister. We made a beautiful child together. Let’s do it again.”
She had drawn the last straw. I wanted to kill her. Ignoring her question I snarled through gritted teeth with fire flaming out of my eyes,“If you don’t get off my bed now, I’m never going to let you see Jace ever again. Don’t test me, because you know I will do what I say. And don’t ever come over without being invited. You have crossed the line by being here and on this bed. This is Rachel’s place too. You have disrespected her in many ways. I’m giving you five minutes. If you’re not out by then, I swear, Chloe, I will personally throw you out. I will carry you and drop you out the front door.”
Chloe glared at me. I had offended her, and I didn’t give a shit what she thought of me. I turned away when she came out from under the sheet, but I caught sight of her bare ass. Getting a fast glimpse of her body confirmed she was naked and her intentions of being there the night before were screwed, calculated, and planned. Why didn’t I ever learn? I so badly wanted Jace to have his real mother in his life, but how could I let her in our lives if this was how she was going to be?
This was my fault. I’d let her stay, but she was too wasted to drive. My first instinct had been to call a cab, but then she would have needed help getting out of the cab and into her hotel room. And it wasn’t safe. I couldn’t have called Hendrix to help me. And she claimed she didn’t have any friends—though I did believe this to be true—at least not good friends to help her out in situations like this. I couldn’t have called my friends because they were her friends too, and I didn’t want Chloe to look bad in front of them. But why the hell should I have cared? I shouldn’t have! Come to think of it, I should have driven her to the hotel myself, but then I would’ve had to wake up Jace. So when I’d thought of all my options, I really didn’t have any except for one.
I walked out of my room to check up on Jace. Seeing that he was sound asleep, I went downstairs. I could hear Chloe shuffling and whatever she was doing to get ready to leave. I even picked up her shoes and purse and placed them by the front door for her. She wouldn’t have known where she had kicked them off in the first place. Still giving me the evil eye, she got her purse and shoved her feet into her heels.
“I’m still going to be at Jace’s birthday party, and you can’t stop me. Many of our mutual friends will be there.”She huffed.
I crossed my arms and gave her a nonchalant expression.“Fine. They can come, but I’m pretty sure they won’t care if you’re there or not.”I gave her a grin she would want to smack off my face.
“I’m going to be there.”She made it sound like her words were final.
“Fine! The only reason why you’re going to be there is so that Jace won’t be disappointed. That’s the only reason. After that, don’t come around.”
Surprisingly, Chloe didn’t retort, but only looked back at me with sadness before she closed the door behind her
.
I let out the longest breath I’d ever held. Having her out the door was like the hurricane had finally ended. Without a second to lose, I went to the dining area, knowing I had to clean the table. But—what was that?
Something caught my eye. A ring?Chloe actually gave me our ring? She told me she still had it, but I didn’t think she would give it back. I picked it up. This wasn’t Chloe’s ring. It was Rachel’s. How in the world did it get here? It wasn’t here last night. Did Rachel forget to take her ring? Surely she would have let me know. Placing the ring back down, I dashed to get my phone in my bedroom. I picked up the phone and texted Becky: Is Matthew home yet? I have a question for him.
After five minutes a text returned from her: Yes.
Do you know what time they arrived in LA this morning?
Took the red eye. She told me she wanted to surprise you. Where’s Rachel?
Then I came to a realization. Oh fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Rachel had been there. She had seen Chloe in our bed! What the hell should I do? How could I make this right? I couldn’t even message Becky back. What could I say: Your sister caught me in bed with my ex-wife who I thought was sleeping downstairs? But I swear I didn’t know she would slip into bed with me because I’m an idiot to believe people were actually good.
Deep in thought, I dropped down to sit on the floor, curling my body over my knees that were tucked in and resting my head on my folded arms. I had to think of how to approach this sensitive topic. I had screwed up. Not because I had cheated, but because I was an idiot to believe Chloe wouldn’t try to pull something like that.
I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move. I felt brain-dead. It felt like my life had been pulled right out from under me. Don’t just sit there, do something,I told myself. But do what? Tell her my side of the story? The stupid story where the guy believed the mother of his child was actually interested in seeing her son and not trying to rekindle a past—the past Rachel had warned me about? The warning I’d dismissed, because I thought I knew what the hell I was doing. How many times was I going to let Chloe screw up my life?