Page 39 of Pastel Kisses

“Every day she gets more desperate,” Lennox says, pacing. “She’s using this baby to try and worm her way back into our lives.”

Jax exhales sharply, dragging a hand down his face. “I fuckinghopethis kid isn’t mine.”

The words hang heavy in the air, because the truth is—if that babyishis, we’re tied to Sarah forever. And it’s not the baby’s fault, but damn, it’s hard to think about anything other than the mess Sarah is making of this entire situation.

I glance at Jax. “Then we need to be ready. If the test proves it’s yours… We go for full custody.”

Jax’s head snaps up.

“You really think we can do that?” Kam asks, brows furrowed.

“She’s unstable,” I state simply. “She’s obsessed with us, with Jax. We all know it. You really think she’s gonna be a fit mother?”

“She won’t let that happen without a fight,” Lennox says, cracking his knuckles.

“Then we fight,” I say, voice steady. “Because if that kid is Jax’s, there’s no way in hell we’re letting Sarah use them as a pawn in whatever sick game she’s playing.”

Jax doesn’t say anything right away. He just looks at me—reallylooks at me. And I know what he’s thinking.

We’ve got his back.

That no matter what happens, we’reallin this together.

And that we’re not losing another person we love—not if we can help it.

Jaxton exhales, running a hand down his face. “I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.” His voice is rough, raw with exhaustion. “I mean it. This whole situation with Sarah… I fucked up, and now it’s not just my problem—it’s yours too. I hate that I dragged you all into this mess.”

I shake my head, stepping closer and clapping him on the shoulder. “You didn’t drag us into anything. We’re here because we want to be.”

Lennox nods. “Yeah, dumbass. You think we’re gonna let you deal with this shit alone? That’s not how this works.”

Jax lets out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head. “Doesn’t make me feel any less guilty.”

Kam crosses his arms, tilting his head as he studies Jax. “Look, you slept with SarahbeforeAvery. You didn’t do anything wrong. She’s the one trying to manipulate this whole situation. You’ve got nothing to be guilty for.”

Jax scoffs. “Yeah? Tell that to Avery when we finally get her back, and I have to explain why ourpsychoex is carrying my kid.”

Silence hangs between us.

Because none of us have an answer for that.

Becausenoneof us know how Avery’s going to react.

She’s been missing almost longer than we were together. That thought alone is enough to make me sick. And now, when we do find her—because wewillfind her—she’s going to come home tothis.

Kam breaks the silence first. “We’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

Jax lets out a heavy sigh. “Yeah. When the time comes.”

A beat passes before Lennox claps his hands together, shaking off the tension. “Alright, enough heavy shit for now. Liam, let’s get cleaned up before the conference. We need to at least look like we have our shit together.”

I nod, giving Jax one last reassuring pat before heading inside with Lennox.

The moment we step into Avery’s house, the weight of it settles over me.

It’s not a home without her.

The guys and I have done everything we can to take care of it, but it doesn’t matter. The place still feelsempty, like it’swaitingfor her.

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