*He's not just laughing with her, Mia. Look at the file folder you just handed him. The last page.*
I stared at the glowing screen of my phone. My thumb hovered over the delete button, but I couldn't press it. Who sent this?
I scanned the crowded ballroom. Hundreds of faces blurred together under the crystal chandeliers. None of them looked my way.
My gaze snapped back to Jax. He stood near the towering ice sculpture, the black leather folder resting on a high-top table right beside him.
I had to see that final page.
I pushed through a group of laughing executives and approached his circle.
Julian Reynolds, one of the key investors, spotted me first. He raised his half-empty glass in my direction.
"Ah, the woman of the hour," Julian boomed, grinning widely. "Mia, come join us."
Jax’s spine went rigid. He didn't turn around.
Marcus, Julian’s twin brother, nodded in agreement. "We were just talking about you, Mia. Jax here is a lucky man."
"Truly a match made in heaven," Julian added, slapping Jax on the shoulder. "To stand by a guy through bankruptcy and build him back up from scratch? That is deep, enduring love."
I forced a polite smile, stopping at the edge of the circle. My eyes darted to the black folder on the table.
"Thank you, Julian," I said softly.
Vanessa stepped closer to Jax. Her arm brushed against his sleeve. "Oh, we were just marveling at it. Mia’s devotion is simply legendary in this city."
Her voice carried a heavy, fake sweetness. "She organizes his meals, his ties, his files. She even plays courier in the middle of the night. It’s so traditional."
Jax shifted his weight. His jaw muscles feathered.
Vanessa wasn't done. She tilted her head, locking eyes with me. "A love so intense it leaves no room for anything else. Right, Jax? It must be wonderful having someone so utterly attached to you."
The trap was perfectly laid. Vanessa knew exactly how much Jax hated feeling controlled. He despised being viewed as a man who needed help.
"It's not like that," Jax said, his voice entirely flat.
Julian chuckled, oblivious to the tension. "Don't be modest, son. A woman that dedicated is rare. You two are practically one entity."
"We are highly separable, Julian," Jax snapped.
The immediate silence was deafening. The jovial mood evaporated.
I froze. My fingers curled into fists at my sides. "Jax."
He refused to meet my gaze. He kept his attention fixed on the investors. "People exaggerate. Mia helped out during a rough patch years ago. That’s it. Let’s not romanticize a basic arrangement."
A hot flush crept up my neck. "A basic arrangement?"
"Exactly," Vanessa chimed in, swirling the champagne in her flute. "Business is business. But you have to admit, Jax, she is very... attentive."
"Attentive is one word for it," Jax replied, his tone dropping into something icy. "Suffocating is another."
Murmurs rippled through the surrounding guests. Marcus exchanged a wide-eyed look with his brother.
"Jax, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?" Marcus asked, shifting uncomfortably.
"It's the truth," Jax replied, not missing a beat. "I’m tired of playing along with this charade. She acts like my keeper. I can't even have a business dinner without her showing up uninvited to check on me."
"I brought you your contracts!" I yelled, abandoning my quiet tone.
"You brought yourself an excuse to hover!" he shot back. "You want everyone to think I'm helpless without you. It feeds your ego."
"My ego? I drained my savings for you!"
"And I wrote you a check for double that amount last month. We are even, Mia. More than even."
"Jax, please," I whispered, the humiliation burning the back of my throat.
"Please what, Mia?" He finally turned to face me. His eyes held zero warmth. "You want me to stand here and pretend we have some epic romance? You want me to validate this narrative?"
"I want you to show some basic respect," I fired back, my voice trembling.
"Respect is earned," he countered loudly.
Heads from nearby tables turned toward us. The music seemed to fade into the background.
"I earned it!" I said. "I gave you everything."
"You clung to me," he corrected, raising his chin. We were becoming a public spectacle, and he didn't care.
"I never asked for a shadow," he continued, his words slicing through the quiet air. "I don't need a docile, clingy partner who tracks my every move and uses my success to justify her own empty life."
The cruelty in his voice pinned me in place. He was putting on a show for Vanessa. He was proving his dominance by tearing me apart in front of the most powerful people in the city.
"You're lying to them," I managed to say. "And to yourself."
"No, Mia. You lied to yourself." Jax picked up his glass, his expression bored. "Your so-called devotion is just dependency. It's cheap. And frankly, it's pathetic."
Someone in the back of the crowd let out a low snicker. Then another person whispered behind their hand.
The sound of their amusement hit me like physical blows. My cheeks burned.
Vanessa smiled, taking a slow sip of her drink. She had won, and she wanted me to know it.
I stood completely still. The glittering chandelier above seemed to lose its light. I was the punchline to a joke I hadn't known we were telling.
"Now, if you don't mind," Jax said, turning his back to me completely. "We have real business to discuss. Julian, about the equity split..."
They closed ranks. The circle tightened, physically shutting me out of the conversation.
I was nothing. A discarded tool.
But the black folder still sat on the edge of the cocktail table, just outside their tight huddle.
*Look at the last page.*
My hands shook as I reached out. Nobody paid attention to me anymore. They were too busy laughing at whatever joke Jax had just made to smooth over the awkwardness.
I slid the folder toward me and flipped it open.
I bypassed the standard merger clauses. I ignored the financial projections. I turned directly to the final sheet of paper.
It wasn't a business contract.
It was a transfer of assets.
And the signature at the bottom made my blood run entirely cold.
