Chapter 55 More Than Enough
Chapter 55 More Than Enough
Max
I pulled over to the shoulder of the road, half-blind as the lights- red, blue, and yellow- pierced through the darkness of the night.
Killian and Jax were both wrapped up in a conversation with a police officer as the tow truck hauled the Mercedes out of the shallow trench.
My stomach rose to the top of my throat when I saw the front end, crunched to oblivion, airbags still half-inflated.
“Hey,” I called out as I closed the door and approached. “Fuck, are you guys okay?”
“We hit a tree,” Jax replied with a small shrug, turning back to the officer. “No, the deer took off into the woods.”
Deer. Nice cover.
“Well, the good news is that you’re both uninjured,” the officer replied, scribbling in his notes. “I’ll follow up with a copy of my report so you can submit it for your insurance claim.”
“Thank you, Officer.”
The minute he stepped away, I turned to Jax. “Jesus Christ, you didn’t tell me the car was totaled.”
“The state of the car doesn’t really matter at this point. We need to focus on getting whatever dirt we can on James before one of us winds up in a hospital bed.” I nodded in agreement, the mere thought making me feel slightly sick.
“I’m sorry, guys.”
“For what?” Killian asked.
“I’m the one who brought her into our lives. I don’t regret it, not for me. But now, you guys have to deal with her family bullshit. This isn’t like the trouble we get into at school. This is dangerous.” As I spoke, I realized just how true the words were. Aellorah had warned me. I hadn’t been concerned enough.
“No,” Jax replied, giving me an assuring pat on my shoulder. “We all knew. You told us from the beginning. We knew what we were getting involved in. And you love her—so she’s worth every sacrifice. She’s family.”
“The gala was just testing the waters with the public and her family,” I replied with a nod. “I’m sure Aellorah’s mother will have something for us to use against him.”
We waited together in tense silence. The tow truck arrived while the police were finishing up their report. In my pocket, I could feel my phone vibrating repeatedly, and I knew it was Aellorah.
“You gonna get that?” Jax asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“After I’ve dropped you off,” I replied bluntly. “There’s no use in worrying her further by telling her anything.”
“She’s worried… about us?” Killian teased, placing his hand over his heart.
“Of course.” I rolled my eyes. “You guys are like her brothers… Er, I mean, proper brothers,” I corrected awkwardly, relieved when they both laughed.
Aellorah
I waited, impatiently pacing the length of the suite. A few minutes quickly became an hour, and then two. Max wasn’t answering his phone. I could see his location, knew he was moving, but the silence unsettled me. My stream of worried texts remained unanswered.
Finally, after what felt like days alone, the elevator dinged softly, signaling Max’s arrival. I bolted across the room, ready to throw myself into his arms the moment the doors slid open.
Instead, I stopped short, my heart sinking into my stomach.
“You know, it’s really not difficult to get a room key,” Jonah informed me with a smirk, holding up the key card he’d used to access the elevator. “All I needed was his last name, princess.”
“What are you doing here, Jonah?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. I was barely dressed, Max’s coat buttoned over my naked skin. The action didn’t help in the slightest. My brother’s lips curled back into a distasteful sneer.
“What else?” he asked, stepping out of the elevator and into my space. “Putting an end to this little rebellion and bringing you home. Alright? Father has agreed to make some… compromises, so long as you’re finished slumming it for his attention.”
“Slumming it? For attention?” I echoed, my face twisting in disbelief. “Do you even hear yourself? Has Daddy really brainwashed you so fucking completely?”
His jaw clenched at my cursing. I’d never been allowed to use language like that at home. “See? The fucker even has you talking like trash now.”
“I’m talking like trash? Using the same language you and Daddy use all the time?” I countered with a glare. “Go home, Jonah. I’m not coming with you. Ever again."
Jonah’s expression faltered, a frown taking over his face before his usual smirk reappeared. “Big talk from such a little girl,” he said.
“I’m not a little girl anymore, and I won’t let you bully me!” I snapped. “I’m an adult, and this is my life! You, Casey, and Daddy can’t tell me what to do anymore!”
I didn’t mention that I knew about the accident. So, it was meant to serve as some kind of distraction while Jonah tried to bring me home. The absolute arrogance of my father to think I would just go along with it.
“But you are, Aellorah. You’re still our little girl, our princess, and we still need to take care of you.”
“Take care of me?!” I snapped, finally having had enough. “Raping me, controlling me, isolating me?! You call that ‘care’, Jonah?! Do you think that’s how normal families work?”
At that word—rape—something flashed in his eyes, something like recognition. Like he might finally begin to realize the extent of the damage they had done to me. But the look was gone as quick as it had come, and his expression hardened.
“This isn’t up for debate, sis.”
“You’re right; it’s not, Jonah. I’m staying right here with my fiancé, and there’s nothing anyone can say to change my mind.” I remained firmly planted in my spot, arms still crossed.
Jonah knew he couldn’t win. He would have to carry me, kicking and screaming, out of the hotel. And he couldn’t afford that kind of attention on us.
“You’re going to regret this, you know,” he sighed, shaking his head and pulling out his phone.
“No, I don’t think I am,” I replied with a glare. I’d been fed up with my family for as long as I could remember, but Max… Max had finally given me the strength to stand up for myself, once and for all.