Page 99 of Trustfall

Jaxon picks up the glass again, refilling it with the brown liquid, and takes a long swig. Guess he’s moved on to whiskey now instead of his usual Grey Goose.

“How do you even know her?” I ask. Not that it matters, but I am sort of curious.

“I had a business deal with her son, Declan, about six months ago. He invited me to have lunch at his house, and Victoria was there. She and I… hit it off. More than once, actually. In the bathroom. In the pool house. On the kitchen counter after I snuck back that night while everyone was asleep.”

I try to remember a time when Jaxon detailing his sexual escapades would have made me feel small and worthless, but right now, all I feel is pity for him.

“And when you came back to town a few weeks ago?”

“That time was actually in her bed.” He smirks as if remembering something. “I fucked her where she and her husband sleep while he was out of town on business.”

“But he wasn’t out of town this time. And he caught you. How could you be so reckless? At a fundraising gala with her husband downstairs?”

Jaxon’s mouth gnarls with irritation, and he throws back the rest of his drink. There’s an unused glass on the other side of the carafe. I take it and pour myself a drink. I’m not going to drink it. I know it’s not drugged because Jaxon has been drinking it this whole time, but I want to keep my wits about me all the same. I just need something to do with my hands.

“That son of a bitch—” he says, balling his hands into fists, but he doesn’t finish his thought. He must realize that he’s given too much away already.

“What happened to her? Your mom?” I ask, steering us in a complete one-eighty.

He pours himself another drink and lifts it to his lips but doesn’t drink. He appears deep in thought for a few moments before he places the still-full glass back on the table. “She left.”

It all clicks into place. Him wanting to spend every second with me. Always needing to know where I was and who I was with. The manipulation. The guilt. He has a textbook fear of abandonment.

“It wasn’t your fault?—”

“I don’t need your pity, Emory. She had to leave. She couldn’t stand up to him. She was weak. Victoria is weak. All women are fucking weak,” he snarls.

“And me?”

His lips turn up into a grin. “I have to admit you were stronger than I would have thought. In the beginning anyway. But I made you weak.”

“You didn’t make me anything,” I reply. “I am what I am, in spite of you. Not because of you.”

He scoffs. “Those are pretty little words you tell yourself to feel better. They mean nothing. You’re just as weak as the rest of them.” He tosses back his drink, slamming the glass onto the table. It tips over, and the remaining liquid trickles down the glass, dripping onto the wood. “You needed your big, bad brother to save you from me. You may hate him for it, but if he hadn’t stepped in, you would have left with me. You would have been my wife. I had you wrapped around my fucking finger.”

Fuck you.I feel like screaming it, but I don’t. That’s exactly what he wants. He’s clearly intoxicated now, and I don’t know if him being drunk is going to make this next part better or worse.

“I’m going to cut to the chase here, Jaxon,” I finally say. “Marshall Astor is going to tell your father about your affair with his wife. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what that would mean for you. But…my dad is close with Marshall and thinks he can talk him out of it.”

Jaxon snickers. “Oh, I see. And you would do this for me? Out of what? The kindness of your heart?”

I shoot him a glare, and he chuckles again.

“Blackmail, Em? I didn’t think you had it in you. I’m almost proud.”

“It’s not blackmail. We’d be helping each other out.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Princess. So, let me get this straight. All I have to do is drop the charges against your boyfriend and Daddy will help me out of the sticky little situation I’ve gotten myself into?”

I could have done without his gross wording, but I nod my head anyway. “Yes.”

He pretends to think for a moment. “Hmmm….pass.”

“Jaxon—”

“Really, Em?Thatwas the ace in your pocket? How do you know I don’t already have a plan in place to deal with Marshall myself?”

“I don’t.”

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