Page 52 of Reed

“He’s not yours!” she screams back at me. “He’s Jaxon’s son. Not yours!” She shakes her head, her chest rising.

Pain stills my heart as her words sear deep, slicing through me and twisting my emotions, and I stare back at her, motionless.

And there it is. The confirmation I needed. He’s Jaxon’s and not mine. He’s another man’s child and will never be mine. Despite everything I’m trying to do, I’ll never be enough.

My eyes lock on to the photograph on the sideboard of them as a family. It’s almost as if he’s taunting me from beyond the grave. I drop my head forward to block out the image of the three of them, a happy family unit without me, and swallow back the lump of hurt gathered in my throat.

“He’s not going anywhere near my children, Reed.” Her voice wobbles, and I snap my gaze back up to hers.

Tears flow down her pretty face, but there’s more than that; it’s determination too.

I knew Gia was strong, but this side of her is like fire, and I’ve gotten burned. Her flames devour me and scar me deep, and in this moment, the sheer brutality of them threatens to extinguish every thought and feeling I have toward her.

My strength is my own, and I’ve let my emotions take over. I’ve allowed her the strength to possess me, granted it wholeheartedly, but not anymore.

“We’ll see about that, Gia,” I snipe back. Then I do what I promised I would never do. I turn and walk out the door.

The sound of her cry wavers my footing, but I replay her words in my head as I stride down the stone steps.“He’s not yours! He’s Jaxon’s son. Not yours!”And that thought gives me the strength I need to walk away.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

REED

“Let me get this straight.You left her?” Emi asks, staring at me with an open mouth. I throw the drink back, slam it on the table, then motion for Shaw to pour me another.

“She said Bryce was Jaxon’s son,” I grind out. “Not mine.”

“Hate to break it to you, but he is,” Tate grunts, earning a glare from Owen.

“If someone said Romeo belonged to that cunt, I’d slice the fucker up,” Owen states, and who can blame him? He took on his wife’s baby and adopted him when he was merely weeks old.

Emi shakes her head. “That’s different. Jaxon was nothing like Romeo’s sperm donor.” She’s not lying. On all accounts, Jaxon was a good man, and as much as I’m grateful Gia never suffered at his hands the way Laya did at her husband’s, it’s also impossible to live up to him.

“Why does she hate her father so much?” Mase asks as I swirl my glass while staring aimlessly at the amber liquid.

I clear my throat. “He didn’t like Jaxon.”

Mase scrunches up his nose. “Got to be more to it than that.”

“He’s trying to sell off the land and demolish the buildings Gia is working to keep open to spite her,” Shaw tacks on, and I’m grateful my friend listens to my moans of contempt.

“Why would he do that?” Mase asks.

“’Cause he’s a dick.” Owen shrugs. “Everyone is aware of what a dick he is. He speaks to people like shit, and his reputation precedes him.”

Mase winces at Owen’s words, then asks, “Did you research him?”

Owen lifts his shoulder and shakes his head. “People talk.” He drags his hand over his head and exhales. “Do you want me to look into him?”

“I think you should. There’s more to this,” Emi instructs, shocking the shit out of us all. “Besides the fact you know he’s an ass and can be difficult, he also has a vendetta against Gia. I mean, the girl fell in love with a good guy, refuses to spend Fanzio’s money, and wants to be left alone to raise her kids. She needs commending, not hurt. There’s more to this, Reed.”

A sliver of nausea runs through me, along with guilt I hadn’t asked more about her relationship with her father, too concerned with discussing anything remotely to do with Fanzio. It was easier to not discuss him at all.

“You need to make this right. That poor girl has nobody. She’s pregnant while raising her son who doesn’t even have a father, and now, he, alongside her, will think you’ve left them, Reed.” Her eyes implore mine, but it’s her words that lance through me like a bolt of sickening dread. She’s right. Bryce and Gia deserve better. They deserve a man to stand by them, not one who walks away when things get difficult.

“She won’t be alone; it sounds like she has help. Right, Reed?” Tate’s lip quirks, and I want to punch him in the throat so badly as he references Tyson, but my mind keeps replaying the fact that I left her, left them all. Pushing back in the armchair, I finish my drink.

“You need me to take you?” Mase asks.

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