Dhalia POV“Sometimes, I hate you,” I mutter.He laughs softly. “Just ask yourself, if you thought they were using you and planning to betray you, by telling the world your demons, what would you have done?”“I admit I would have run, locked them out,” I say, the truth settling uncomfortably in my chest. “But I wouldn’t have torn them down in public or ridiculed them.”“But you wouldn’t have spoken to them,” he points out gently. “So how can you hate them for acting and not speaking to you? If you want my advice, go see them. Don’t give in, don’t open yourself up completely. Don’t forgive them just yet. But listen. Give them time to explain, and then tell them how you felt—tell them everything. Then decide where to go from there. At least then, if you walk away, you’ll know you’re not going to regret it.”He smiles at me and leaves, giving me space to think. I really hate that man sometimes. We’ve talked a lot these past few days, especially after he saw the newspaper article and I en
Chase POVI’ve barely spoken. Jax and Blake have been doing most of the talking. Me? I’ve sat quietly, listening and watching everything unfold. I accept that I don’t deserve her, and I don’t deserve for her to even listen to me. I caused all of this. At first, I refused to believe she would do it, but then I reverted to my usual self and didn’t want to look any deeper.Jax and Blake had no idea how far I planned to go that day, and since then, neither of them has really spoken to me. I don’t blame them. The fact is, I locked myself down as soon as I saw the pictures. I built up the walls she had worked so hard to break down and switched everything off.I didn’t see Jax or Blake. I didn’t see how they were hurting. I just bulldozed in and screwed up everything. Only this time, I was wrong. This time, I hurt them more than the threat would have.So, I can’t speak because I have no idea where the hell to start. Other than to defend Blake and Jax, which she doesn’t want, but that’s my in
Chase POV“Liam, I didn’t know he worked for a newspaper. I didn’t know his boss was Wayne. He came in with a file about suing a company. The whole restaurant thing? That was because we didn’t have private space in the office.”“You didn’t tell us, though,” if she had, we would have known.“Shut up, Chase, let me speak,” she shouts, and I do as I’m fucking told because I already messed everything up once. “That night when Blake asked me where I had been, I was still a mess over what Keeley had said and done, along with Rose. I didn’t think. I couldn’t; my mind was fixed on that moment with Keeley, and I apologise for lying, but it wasn’t intentional.”At the time, I thought she was covering her back, lying to hide the truth. Knowing what happened that night, I quickly realised she was drowning and not thinking.“Keeley had kept ringing me. She asked if I was at the café we usually eat at, and I said I was on my way. When I got there, she wasn’t there. Liam was. He asked me to take hom
Dhalia POVI sit on the bed, considering my next steps. I can’t stay here while Chase hides everything and pretends like nothing happened, as if he’s untouched by it all. The thought of walking away from Jax and Blake, however, when they have so openly tried to make amends, has me debating whether I should stay.The sound of the door opening catches my attention, and I look up to see Chase standing by it. I roll my eyes and look back down at my phone. I can’t deal with the fight to get him to admit how he feels.I feel the bed shift, and I look up to see him sitting and facing me. “I’m sorry. You wanted us to be open and honest and hold nothing back, but I held everything back.” His words are quiet, and I can see he’s trying to open up. His jaw is clenched, and his breathing is quick.“Chase...”“No, you were right. They were right. I hate to admit it, but even my dad was right.” His words shock me. I open my mouth to speak, but he continues. “I hate myself. At the moment, all I wante
Dhalia POV“She was calling me and Jax assholes,” Blake explains as he steps into the room. “We got the point, Angel, message read loud and clear, and I’m sorry.” He smiles at me, and I nod.I feel like returning to the church and giving up on this would be less stressful. I was ready to come back and deal with rebuilding things between me and them. I didn’t expect the three of them to be totally destroyed and void as well.“I’m sorry, Chase. This whole week I treated you like crap, threatened you, and refused to let you in. I may still be here, but I pretty much ended our relationship, shut you out, and gave up listening to you.” Jax looks at him.“So it’s not just the relationship with me that needs fixing,” as clearly, they destroyed their relationship with Chase as well. It's like they have given up speaking to each other. Which makes no sense as when I arrived, they had good communication. They spoke about their issues a lot. Now? It's like they have given up and not willing to t
Jax’s POVI watched her throughout the movie, and even after she fell asleep, I couldn’t look away. It’s ridiculous, I know, but I keep waiting for the moment I wake up and she’s gone again.We should never have changed the casino’s name. It was perfect as Dhalia’s. This week has been rough—worse than any falling out we’ve had before.We were tearing everything apart because we lost her and couldn’t see clearly. I stand, walk over, and lift her gently. Chase is watching me in confusion.“She’s clearly exhausted and needs to sleep.” It’s only seven, but it’s obvious she hasn’t been sleeping. We need to talk and fix our problems, too. I don’t want Dhalia dragged into this mess.I place her in bed and stand by the door, watching her sleep. I roll my eyes as I hear Chase and Blake shouting. Walking over, I glare at them. “Now what?”“Nothing,” Blake shrugs.“Then why were you practically shouting?”They exchange glances. “Didn’t realise we were,” Chase mutters.“Well, if you wake her, I’m
Jax POVWe sit in silence as time passes, and finally, Cole steps back. I glance in the mirror. There, over my heart, is a tattoo of her lips in the bright red she always wears. “Dhalia” is written above them, and “Blake” below.It’s perfect. I watch as Chase tells Cole to add Blake’s name to his tattoo as well. In Blake’s mind, we’ll all have the same tattoo when we show her tomorrow. He has no clue about this.After Cole leaves, Chase sits opposite me. I don’t want to, but I need to apologise. “I’m sorry. I made everything worse by shutting you out.”“I did cause it, Jax. The reason I pushed back so hard was because I knew I caused it. I took your phone, then Blake’s. Yes, you two let it happen, but you believed I’d gotten confirmation it was her.”We did, and that’s why I was so confused and shocked when it wasn’t her name. “Either way, we all had a chance to stop it and didn’t. We should get some sleep. Something tells me Blake and Dhalia will be a handful tomorrow.”They seem to
Chase POVI watch as Jax walks off carrying Dhalia. Blake turns and walks to his room. He's still distant with me, and I know it's because I literally took charge of everything. Yes, he likes to submit, but what I did was control.Walking to his room, I step into the bathroom. He turns to face me as he showers. Stripping, I step into it with him. "Let me help wash the egg out," I laugh slightly.His eyes watch me with caution. I don't blame him; I'm not this person—not with him or Jax. I struggle to be caring in the way I am with Dhalia. I need to try, though. He doesn't speak as I pull the eggshell out of his hair and wash it. "All sorted." I smile at him, and he steps out of the shower and goes to his room.Sighing, I follow. As I get into the room, he's sitting on the bed, with the towel still wrapped around his waist. Climbing onto the bed, I smile at him."Don't." He snaps and I laugh. "Chase, I'm not in the mood. Not this time, I'm fucking exhausted both mentally and emotionally