Chapter 118

JAX

I could feel something was off with Isabella, and it had been eating at me for days. She was quieter than usual, like the light that always radiated from her was dimmed by something she wasn’t saying. I hated seeing her like this—distant, conflicted. I just wanted to make things better for her, but I didn’t know how.

After dinner that night, we were sitting together on the couch, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to ask. I shifted closer to her, gently nudging her with my shoulder, trying to catch her attention without being too obvious.

"Hey," I said, keeping my voice soft. "You've been kinda quiet lately. Is everything okay?"

She gave me a small smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The sigh that followed felt heavier than it should have. She curled her legs under her, leaning back into the couch.

"I don’t know," she admitted, her voice low. "I’ve just… been thinking a lot about my mom."

My chest tightened. Of course. With everything that had come up about her family, it made sense. I’d had a feeling it was about that. "What about her?" I asked, careful not to push too hard.

Isabella hesitated, fiddling with the edge of the blanket over her lap. She was always like this when she was nervous, and seeing her like that, unsure of what to say, broke something inside me. "I don’t know if I want to know if she’s alive or not."

That hit me harder than I expected. "What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Don’t you… want to know? After everything?"

She looked down at her hands, not meeting my eyes, her voice barely above a whisper. "I’m not sure I do."

I stayed quiet, giving her the space to explain, even though my mind was racing. It wasn’t easy for me, sitting here and not trying to fix things for her, but I knew she needed to get this out.

"I mean, if she’s alive, that means she left me. She left me and my dad, and I don’t know if I can handle that. What if she had a choice and just… left? I don’t know if I want to hear why she did it, especially if it’s for something I can’t forgive. What if it wasn’t a good reason?"

Her voice cracked, and she pressed a hand to her chest like she was trying to keep everything inside from shattering. "I’ve been so confused. I spent years thinking she was gone. Now there’s a chance she might not be, and I don’t know what to feel. I don’t know if I’m ready to face her or ask her those questions."

Hearing her say that… it killed me. She was so scared, so unsure, and there was nothing I could do to fix it. I wanted to, more than anything, but right now, I just needed to listen. So I stayed quiet and let her keep going.

"It’s just," she continued, her voice a little stronger now, "if I find her, I have to be ready for whatever I find. And I’m not sure I am. What if it’s worse than I thought? What if she left because she didn’t love me or didn’t want me? I don’t think I can handle that."

I shifted closer, pulling her into my arms. She leaned into me, and I kissed the top of her head, wishing I could take away all this pain she was feeling. She felt so small, so fragile in that moment. It was breaking me not to be able to protect her from this.

"You don’t have to decide anything right now," I told her softly. "Whatever you choose, we’ll figure it out together. If you decide to look for her, we’ll be with you. If you don’t, that’s okay too. There’s no rush, Isa. You’re not alone in this."

She nodded, her head resting against my chest. The weight of everything hung in the air between us, heavy and suffocating. I knew this wasn’t something that could be fixed overnight, and I hated it. I hated not being able to fix this for her.

But one thing was clear. I couldn’t add to her stress, not now. Not with everything she was going through. The information Connor had found, the discoveries we’d made about her mother—none of that could come out right now. She was already overwhelmed, and the last thing she needed was more confusion.

I couldn’t tell her. Not yet.

Whatever Connor had dug up, it would have to wait. Isabella needed time to process what she already knew. And when she was ready, we’d deal with whatever else came next.

But for now, I made a silent promise to myself. I wouldn’t let anything or anyone add more weight to her shoulders.

I’d keep Connor’s findings to myself. At least until the time was right.

For now, all I wanted was to give her some peace.

That night, the three of us climbed into bed with Isabella, each of us taking our place beside her. She was lying in the middle, looking so small between us, yet the love we had for her filled the entire room. Asher slipped in first on her left, then Knox took her right, leaving me at her feet. It was almost instinctive the way we surrounded her, forming a protective barrier, but it was more than just that.

I watched as Asher ran his hand gently through her hair, whispering something to her that I couldn’t quite hear, but I saw the way her eyes softened, the way she melted into his touch. Knox, always the quiet one, just pulled her close, his strong arm draped protectively around her waist.

And me? I was just there, watching, feeling the warmth of her presence, knowing that as long as we were all together, things would be okay. I rested my hand on her leg, not needing to say anything. She knew. She always knew.

Isabella sighed, a soft, contented sound, as she closed her eyes. “You guys don’t have to do this every night,” she whispered, though I could tell she wasn’t serious.

“We know,” Asher replied softly, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “But we want to.”

Knox gave her a small squeeze, his usual quiet strength making her feel safe without a word. “We’ll always be here.”

I stretched out at the foot of the bed, my hand still resting on her, just needing to feel her, to remind myself that she was here, with us. "You’re stuck with us, Isa," I teased, but my voice was soft. "Deal with it."

She smiled, that beautiful smile that made my heart skip a beat every time, and in that moment, everything felt right. The worries of the day, the uncertainties about her mother, the fear and confusion—it was all distant, pushed away by the love that filled the room. For now, it was just us, together, and that was all that mattered.

Encircled by all of us, she was at peace. And so were we.