The Fiancé He Severely Underestimated

nstant reminder of the near-fatal crash, but the real agony was a deeper, colder wound. I had

urgent and desperate. He was behind me,

ut a small, choked cry. "Jax! My head...

Ember! What's wrong?" He scooped her into his arms, his

er. My injuries, my near-death, meant nothing compared to her delicate fragilit

ards his waiting car. "Just get me out of here," I mur

eping of machines. My arm was set, my head wound stitched. I refused pain medication. I wa

of worry. Ember lay in the bed, looking pale and fragile, her hand clutched in

re with, the man who had seen me as an equal, a partner

defiance. As I turned to leave, Jax spotted me.

I... I was so worried." He started

. I didn't flinch, didn't move

s..." he began, his

for him, my gaze colder than the wi

f Ember's delicate condition. His eyes, filled with a desperate plea, met mine for a final, agonizi

e, but I couldn't stay there. It felt too big, too empty, too full of ghosts. I directed him

re key I still carried, a relic from a different life. The air inside was thick with the scent

young and reckless, laughing on the fire escape, our arms around eac

face etched with worry. "I haven't seen you here in ages. Jax... he told me you wo

iguez." My gaze fell to the date scribbled on the back of th

augh bubbling in my throat. And he f

lied, the photo still clutched in my hand.

who had just been in the emergency room, her eyes narrowed as she took in the photo in my hand. "

e." I leaned in, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper. "You should be careful, little girl. Some foundations are built on solid r

waltz back in here and ruin everything? Jax chose me! He loves me! He wants to start a family with me, a real family, not some

dream. One we had spoken about in whispered tones, planned for a future that now se

ctors' appointments, the quiet tears I cried in the bathroom when they told me it might never happe

A baby?" I repeated, the word tast

in their depths. "He loves me," she insisted, her voice t

d full of hope. The contrast was stark, brutal. The pain was so profound it almost felt like peace. It str

er, yet infused with an unmistakable threat. "And keep h

a fitting mirror for the wreckage she had caused. I turned, walking out of the apartment, out of that building, and out of t