Chapter 20 Crazy

"Can you stay home today?" Callie murmured, cocooned in her blanket, as Axton emerged from the bathroom.

"I'm really sorry, Callie," Axton replied while fixing his hair in the vanity mirror. "I have to go to work. There's an important project meeting. But I'll try to come home earlier if you want me to."

He caught her reflection in the mirror—a soft figure under layers of fabric, her face tinged with weariness. Axton’s heart ached, but this morning was already chaotic, and staying home would only deepen the madness swirling in his mind.

"You said you'd explain everything to me. Did you forget?"

Axton froze mid-motion, then walked over to her. He kissed her forehead gently and brushed away the sweat on her brow. "Trust me, Callie. What you’re imagining isn’t as bad as it seems."

Her hesitant gaze made his chest tighten.

For a moment, even Axton doubted his own words. Was it true that the situation wasn’t as terrible as Callie believed? If so, how did he end up spending an entire night with Sierra, neglecting the fact that Callie might have lain awake in distress over the chaos he’d caused? Doubts clawed at his mind—doubts about whether he could navigate this tangled web of emotions and still salvage the situation.

"I’ll come home as soon as I can, and we’ll talk everything through. I think we should include Sierra in the conversation, too." Axton’s voice faltered as he uttered her name, a tremor running through him. "I know I made a big mistake, but believe me, this is just a misunderstanding from work. Some employees have been spreading rumors about her because she’s often seen commuting with me. Sierra didn’t want to escalate things, but I reprimanded them, and that upset her."

The images of everything he’d done with Sierra flashed in his mind as he mentioned her name, flooding him with guilt. Standing there with Callie, those thoughts clawed at him, driving him closer to insanity.

"No," Callie shook her head. "Don’t involve her in this. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable. I’m the one who was wrong for being angry with her. Maybe I misunderstood the situation." Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to continue. "I’m trying hard to trust you, but everything’s been so complicated lately, and I feel like I’m losing my mind."

"Callie, I don’t want you to feel uneasy. That’s why we should address this together. I don’t want there to be any more misunderstandings."

"Nope. I already know enough, and that’s enough for me," Callie said resolutely, her eyes steady. "I got mad at her and left her at the hospital. I ignored her, assuming the worst, while she sacrificed so much for me. I’ve destroyed Sierra’s life, yet she hasn’t tried to do the same to me."

Axton had no words. He could only nod and place another gentle kiss on Callie’s forehead. "Don’t let it happen again," he said softly. "And don’t force me to do something that might hurt you. I don’t like it."

Callie laughed faintly. "I just wanted to show you that I’m still your wife and that I can fulfill my role."

"That’s not a role, Callie," Axton warned her with a serious gaze. "Your health is more important than anything."

"I know." Callie nodded, her voice calm. "I love you."

Axton studied her carefully, diving deep into her dark eyes that had always brought him peace.

Usually, he’d echo her words the moment she said them, often even beating her to it. But now, the weight in his chest was so heavy it felt wrong to say it. It felt as though he didn’t deserve to utter those words after everything he’d done to hurt her.

"Tell me you love me, Axton," Callie pleaded, gripping his hand.

Axton nodded, kissed her hand, and whispered, "I love you too."

***

As Axton stepped out of Callie’s room, he closed the door behind him softly. He’d forgotten to ask Callie to tie his tie, and today, it seemed he’d be going to work without one.

To hell with the tie. He’d leave it in the car and not give it another thought. After all, he’d never learned how to tie a tie himself because Callie had always been there to do it for him.

He realized he was running late, having spent almost an hour with Callie. Today was crucial—he had a meeting with Mr. Smith, a key figure in an important project, after weeks of trying to secure an appointment. Somehow, Sierra managed to get Mr. Smith’s private contact information, which was likely obtained through Damian. But Axton still had no idea what was really going on.

Sierra...

A wave of realization crashed into Axton as he saw Sierra standing not far away, holding a lunchbox and a bag in each hand. Her blue eyes locked onto him as he emerged, rushing out of Callie’s room.

"Sierra," he managed to call, his voice hoarse as guilt weighed heavily on his heart.

Damn. He wanted to curse himself, even though he didn’t fully understand why the guilt was so overwhelming. All he knew was that, at this moment, he had no idea what to say to her.

Sierra waited for him there. She was waiting for him because Axton had asked her to wait.

Axton had asked her to wait, and like a jerk, he completely forgot about it because he spent his time with Callie.

“Let’s go. I don’t want us to be late and keep Mr. Smith waiting too long,” she said calmly.

That calmness only made Axton feel as if his heart had dropped to his feet—leaving him speechless as their eyes locked for a few moments.

Should he offer an explanation?

But what was the point of explaining when he was with his wife?

And did Sierra even need that explanation from him?

“I’m sorry for making you wait so long. There were some things I needed to discuss with Callie.”

“Is she no longer upset?” Sierra turned her head, and Axton cursed in his heart as he realized that only Callie’s name could provoke a reaction from Sierra.

“She’s fine. But she doesn’t want us to talk about what happened.”

Sierra didn’t respond right away. The silence stretched between them until the ringing of her phone broke it. She quickly pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen, then looked up to meet Axton’s gaze for a moment.

Axton didn’t know what was happening, so he stepped closer to Sierra.

“Yes, Callie?” Sierra’s voice struck Axton like a blow. Once again, he felt as though a massive stone had fallen on his head, and he didn’t even try to stop it.

“Where are you? Have you left for work yet?”

Sierra looked at him again. “I... left for work an hour ago. Is there a problem?”

Both of them knew there was a problem. But Sierra’s question was a mere formality, spoken just to fill the void. In truth, the problem stemmed from Axton himself.

“I’ll come to the office then. Do you have any free time?”

Sierra paused as if considering the response she wanted to give—something she perhaps shouldn’t say after her first lie. “I... I’m not at the office.”

“Really?”

“There’s a project far from the office, and I’m currently there. Is there something wrong, Callie?”

“Actually, I wanted to meet you and talk about everything.”

Sierra took a deep breath, and Axton cursed every second he spent, unable to do anything except listen to Callie’s faint voice through Sierra’s phone. It was as though she had deliberately raised the volume so he could hear it. He cursed himself internally, realizing he couldn’t bring himself to walk away.

Sierra bit her lower lip, and Axton clenched his hands into fists, resisting the urge to pull her lip away from her teeth. “About what happened yesterday, I really apologize. It was all just a misunderstanding, and—”

“Axton slept with me this morning.” Callie’s words cut Sierra off and left the air between them frozen.

Axton’s mind went blank. He couldn’t decide whether to stay there and hear it all or leave Sierra and walk to his car.

“I have to admit that I was jealous of you because my husband hasn’t touched me in months.” Callie’s voice echoed again, and the only thing Axton could do was stare into Sierra’s eyes. “I’ve been unwell and couldn’t do it properly. Axton didn’t want to hurt me, so he held back for months. But after being with you, I started losing my mind and feeling jealous about everything. I was afraid something was happening between the two of you, and it drove me crazy. I know I shouldn’t have listened to anything you two talked about because it would only mess things up, so I called you to apologize for what I did.”

Axton realized Sierra was now speechless, too.

This was all too difficult for the three of them, and the situation grew messier as time passed.

“You’re my best friend and the only one I can trust. I have many friends, but you’re my only best friend and the only one who understands my situation. So, please, don’t think about what I did yesterday, Sierra. I made a mistake by leaving you at the hospital and getting angry at you over something so trivial.”

“Callie, I think we should talk about this again after I get home. Maybe there are too many things we need to discuss, and I—”

“No,” Callie quickly interrupted. “Don’t bring it up when you get home. Pretend it never happened, and we can continue with our agreement. I just want you to have a baby soon so we can end all this discomfort.”

“Callie,” all Sierra could say was Callie’s name, and Axton understood that perfectly.

“He slept with me this morning, and that’s enough to prove he still wants me. I thought for a moment that he didn’t want me anymore, but I was wrong. I know he still wants me.”

Axton bowed his head as he heard Callie’s words. His emotions keep running in his mind as he recalls what he did to Sierra that morning and how he later slept with his wife as if nothing had happened between them. He had slept with his wife after spending the entire night having sex with Sierra.

“Oh, Callie, I’m glad to hear what you’re telling me, and... I hope you’ll always feel that way.”

Axton clenched his fists. He desperately wanted to end all of this but knew he couldn’t do anything.

“I know. He also told me he loves me. I tried to hold him back from leaving because I wanted... to always be with him. But he said he had an important work today and needed to go to work.”

Sierra nodded, the movement catching Axton’s attention. “We had to check the progress of a construction project with our business partners. It’s been difficult to meet him, so I guess that’s why Axton had to leave you.”

“No problem. I can be with him tonight... and in the other nights.”

“Yes, Callie, you can do that.”

Sierra stood still, and Axton did the same, staring at her. The silence persisted until Callie spoke again. “Sierra, promise me you’ll keep sleeping with him. Promise me you’ll do it even after I’ve told you all this. You know I can’t trust anyone else with my personal stories, don’t you?”

Sierra looked up and met Axton’s gaze as he stood before her.

If Callie walked out of the room and found the two of them still at home, everything would become chaotic. But Axton couldn’t think of anything else as his eyes focused on Sierra’s brilliant blue ones.

“I promise to keep sleeping with him, Callie. I’ll always do it whenever he comes to me,” Sierra said softly.

Axton must have gone mad when he snatched Sierra’s phone and ended Callie’s call. He grabbed Sierra’s hand and led her to the car, forcing her to run to keep up with him. Once inside, Axton trapped her in his arms and kissed her hard.

This was insane.

He knew exactly where this kiss would lead them. Especially when Sierra kissed him back fiercely—filled with a demanding intensity as though she felt the same. Their lips pressed together as his hand slipped under Sierra's low-cut blouse. He felt her bare stomach, and his body shivered as his fingertips deliberately brushed against her breast.

“Drive this car out of here,” Sierra said, pushing his lips away. “We can’t have sex in the car while we’re still here. So drive out of the house, and I’ll do whatever you want.”