Chapter 106 THE FIRE NEEDED
Chapter 106 THE FIRE NEEDED
I don't know how long we stayed wrapped in each other's arms, but eventually I felt Jaxon's hold loosen around me and assumed he had fallen asleep. I didn't want to wake him, but there was no way he could get the rest his body needed in the awkward position we were in — still tangled together on the couch.
I gently whispered his name until his eyes slowly opened, staring weakly back at me. He looked even paler.
“Are you okay?” I asked, watching him force a weak smile before nodding and pulling me back into a hug.
“How about we go upstairs so you can rest? You really need to get some sleep,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I don't mind staying like this. I don't want to sleep,” he replied, snuggling closer against my chest like a child, but I could tell what this was really about.
He was avoiding sleep.
Avoiding the nightmares waiting for him behind closed eyes.
“You need it. Your body needs it.”
After much quiet arguing and gentle persuasion, I finally managed to get him to bed. I stayed by his side the entire time, our hands entwined as we lay facing each other.
I stayed awake with him until he finally gave in and drifted into sleep.
Only then did I allow my own eyes to close.
Jaxon's POV
I woke up to her peaceful face lying beside me.
Her small, slender hand was still resting in mine. Loose strands of hair had fallen across her face, making her somehow look even softer… even more beautiful. She looked fragile, vulnerable… yet completely at peace.
A small smile curved my lips as I reached out, gently brushing the hair away from her face.
She stirred slightly, making me pull my hand back immediately. I didn't want to wake her.
Her presence alone was enough to bring peace into the chaos inside my head, and a part of me wished I could stay here longer… just lie beside her and watch her sleep.
But I needed to catch that flight to Brookleigh.
I still needed to visit Emmy.
And there was someone I needed to see.
Leaning down, I pressed a soft kiss against her forehead before slipping into the bathroom for a quick shower. Afterwards, I made my way downstairs in search of Troy.
Walking into the kitchen, I found him making coffee.
“Make it two,” I said from behind, announcing my presence.
“Sure,” he responded while I headed to the dining table, quickly pulling my laptop open.
Troy joined me moments later, dropping a cup of coffee in front of me. I could feel his gaze fixed on me. Looking up from my screen, I met his stare.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I questioned.
“Nothing really. Just taking in what you look like without the little frown of worry and distress permanently sitting on your face,” he said, the amusement in his eyes deepening as he leaned closer.
I immediately shot him a glare, earning a nervous laugh from him.
“Did you at least get Silvia back to the hotel early enough to rest?” I asked, dragging my attention back to my laptop.
“Wow. Who would've thought Jaxon would someday worry about me not getting enough rest?” he said dramatically.
“From your face, I can guess you slept well,” I replied, briefly looking up over my reading glasses to stare at him.
“Same as you. I mean… you got your girl.”
I froze for a moment at his words.
I liked the way he said it.
Your girl.
It carried a strange sense of responsibility… one I wasn't sure I was ready for.
I looked up at him, holding his gaze for a long moment as my thoughts drifted.
I didn't know if I should tell him about Renna.
I didn't know if I should trust these feelings that were growing stronger by the day.
I didn't even know if getting close to Nancy was the right decision.
Ravyn Vale was still out there.
So was Falcone.
“Did you book our flight?” I asked, forcing my gaze away from him.
“Uhm… about that, I didn't book it on time because I didn't think you were fit enough to travel,” Troy said, letting out a deep sigh as his gaze shifted away from mine.
“But then… I got a call from Isadora last night.”
The mention of Isa's name immediately pulled my attention away from the laptop. I waited for him to continue, but he suddenly went quiet.
“What about her?” I asked when he didn't say anything else. The small frown sitting on his face already told me something was wrong.
“She said your father is in the hospital. Apparently, the witch smashed a bottle over his head after an argument broke out between them.”
I would've liked to say I wasn't shocked by what Troy had just told me.
But I was.
I found myself rubbing my temple in pure distress.
“She broke a bottle over his head?”
Troy nodded.
“And Isa… did she witness it happen?” I asked, already feeling a sickening knot forming in my stomach.
“Yes. And she called the police on her. Apparently, the news is already out, but she already has his people covering it up as an accident,” Troy replied.
A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I ran a hand through my hair, fighting the sudden urge to rip the bandage wrapped around my head clean off.
I knew the moment I woke up this morning that reality would come crashing back down on me.
“This is getting out of hand. From the way Isa sounded, I don't think everything ended with the witch getting dragged away by the police or anything. Knowing Isadora well, she might have confronted her, and despite being her daughter, I don't think the witch would take it lightly with Isa dragging her name through the mud.
“Isa has already appeared before the press and is willing to do more interviews, but I don't think we should let her go out there alone. She might have helped us turn the tables, shifting the heat from you to her mother, but you and I both know the witch wouldn't think twice about destroying anyone standing in the way of her taking the company.”
Troy's words settled heavily in my mind.
Isa might have actually saved me from losing the hotel chains… even though keeping them was still going to require dragging Ravyn Vale's ass — and Falcone's — into court.
I doubted the board members would want anything to do with a wife who seemed mentally unstable enough to smash a bottle over her husband's head.
“So far, whose side is winning?” I asked Troy.
His brows furrowed in confusion.
“Between Isa's claims that her mother is mentally unstable and the witch insisting it was an unfortunate accident… whose side is winning?” I repeated, making my question clearer this time.
“Well, if you're asking whether everything is falling in our favour… not really. Some news outlets think the mental instability might run in the family.
Others think the witch might actually be telling the truth. But seriously… who accidentally hits their husband over the head with a bottle while claiming they were struggling over it?”
As Troy spoke, I searched up the incident on my laptop, and article after article flooded my screen.
One particular headline caught my attention.
“Isadora Lennox releases another video allegedly showing her mother's mental instability, calls for psychiatric evaluation.”
The headline immediately had me clicking on the video.
The footage opened with Isa tearfully addressing her social media followers in what looked like Dad's hospital room. I could've sworn the patient lying in the private hospital bed behind her was him.
“It has been so hard watching my brother get dragged across the internet… and then seeing my mum lash out and hurt my dad.
It took a lot for me to come forward with this, but I think my mum still needs therapy. Ever since she came back and started running the Lennox Lux main branch here in Brookleigh, she has been different.
She breaks things whenever she's angry and puts anyone within arm's reach in danger.”
She immediately backed up her statement with video footage of the witch violently trashing the balcony of our house.
A smile slowly crept onto my face.
I had never been more proud.
This was exactly the spark I needed to set the internet on fire.
I didn't care if the backlash dragged me down too.
I just needed people to become curious about her.
Because curiosity meant digging.
And maybe… just maybe… someone would finally uncover something about the stranger who stole a life that was never hers.