Jaxon listens to Luna’s muffled sobs as she locks herself in a room after Abel leaves. Though he shows a pragmatic exterior, he is aware of the emotional pain that everyone eventually adapts to. Jaxon reflects on the secret house he built while in prison, a place away from his family’s mansion and its suffocating atmosphere. He recalls Abel’s visit and the agreement that brought Luna under his roof, but Luna’s crying reveals the underlying tension and unresolved emotions.
While preparing to move, Jaxon unexpectedly encounters Arden, who confronts him about the family’s false allegations against Abel and Cade. Arden reminds him that she doesn’t regret their past despite the hardships, and she believes that life isn’t over for him yet. She sees a glimmer of goodness still buried inside Jaxon, similar to what Luna seems to sense. Her words linger in Jaxon’s mind as he drives back to the family estate, where chaos awaits.
At the estate, Jaxon finds his family in turmoil—his father angry, his mother distraught, and his aunt trembling over bad news. Their accounts have been frozen, and the family is being removed from the United Factions. Jaxon calmly reveals that he withdrew complaints and gave up his claim to the title, letting Abel become the uncontested True Alpha. This decision shocks and enrages his family, especially Damon, who struggles to understand why Jaxon would simply give up.
The tension escalates when Jaxon’s father strikes him in anger, demanding that he fix the situation and restore the family’s honor. Jaxon, however, remains defiant and distant, telling them to take their grievances to Abel. Despite his mother’s pleas, Jaxon leaves the estate, slamming the door behind him. He drives away with a bitter smirk, feeling defeated and unable to even retrieve the belongings he came for, signaling a painful severance from his family and past.
Jaxon listens to Luna’s muffled sobs as she locks herself in a room after Abel leaves. Though he shows a pragmatic exterior, he is aware of the emotional pain that everyone eventually adapts to. Jaxon reflects on the secret house he built while in prison, a place away from his family’s mansion and its suffocating atmosphere. He recalls Abel’s visit and the agreement that brought Luna under his roof, but Luna’s crying reveals the underlying tension and unresolved emotions.
While preparing to move, Jaxon unexpectedly encounters Arden, who confronts him about the family’s false allegations against Abel and Cade. Arden reminds him that she doesn’t regret their past despite the hardships, and she believes that life isn’t over for him yet. She sees a glimmer of goodness still buried inside Jaxon, similar to what Luna seems to sense. Her words linger in Jaxon’s mind as he drives back to the family estate, where chaos awaits.
At the estate, Jaxon finds his family in turmoil—his father angry, his mother distraught, and his aunt trembling over bad news. Their accounts have been frozen, and the family is being removed from the United Factions. Jaxon calmly reveals that he withdrew complaints and gave up his claim to the title, letting Abel become the uncontested True Alpha. This decision shocks and enrages his family, especially Damon, who struggles to understand why Jaxon would simply give up.
The tension escalates when Jaxon’s father strikes him in anger, demanding that he fix the situation and restore the family’s honor. Jaxon, however, remains defiant and distant, telling them to take their grievances to Abel. Despite his mother’s pleas, Jaxon leaves the estate, slamming the door behind him. He drives away with a bitter smirk, feeling defeated and unable to even retrieve the belongings he came for, signaling a painful severance from his family and past.
Chapter 389 Adios
JAXON
The sound of muffled crying seeped through the thick wooden walls.
Luna had been at it for hours now–trembling sobs left her lips that even I couldn’t tune out. I clicked my tongue, more out of habit than irritation. I wasn’t heartless, just… pragmatic.
She locked herself inside the room the moment Abel drove away. I gave her the room with the largest window, though I made sure it didn’t open. I wasn’t stupid. I had already locked everything else, too. There was no escaping this place.
“She’ll get used to it,” I muttered under my breath. Everyone does, eventually. Time had a way of dulling pain, sanding down the rough edges of emotion until only numbness remained.
I brushed off the thought and checked the list I’d written earlier that day. There were still some things I needed to bring from the old house. I had this place built while I was still in prison. Every single coin I saved went into this property. It wasn’t as big as the family mansion, but at least here, I didn’t have to eat bloody roast beef every night. No one knew about it except me, and well, Abel and Luna. I grimaced at the thought.
Abel came by a few days ago to see the place before everything commenced. We had an agreement–one that ended with Luna being here, under my roof. It was just fair after I gave up the title. However, her cries were telling me otherwise.
I sighed and grabbed my keys. It was time to head back to the main house and face my family again. I hadn’t been there since the whole mess started. I had withdrawn all of the complaints that they threw toward Abel. It was funny, how life turned out like that. One minute, you’re holding all the cards; the next, you’re the discarded joker.
I would have left Abel alone. I should have just withdrawn my own complaints, but for some reason, someone talked me into doing such things a few days ago when I just moved into this new house.
It was five days ago when I was loading my things, preparing to move. I didn’t expect anyone to find me. However, when I turned around and saw Arden standing there, I froze.
I knew she was different now. She felt even stronger than the last time I saw her.
I forced a smile, my old reflex kicking in. “How come you know I was here?”
Her gaze didn’t waver. “You always said you wanted to live in this area.”
I swallowed hard. She remembered. After all this time, she still remembered. For a moment, I thought that maybe the bond hadn’t completely disappeared. But as I stood there, watching her, I realized it wasn’t there anymore. The string that once pulled us together was gone- snapped, healed, or maybe just forgotten.
“The house is very much like you,” she said suddenly, looking around with a faint smirk.
“How so?” I asked, already regretting the question.
“Empty.”
I frowned, trying to keep my composure. “You came all this way to insult my house?”
She didn’t retaliate. Instead, she looked at me with a steady gaze.
“I know your family is behind all the other allegations concerning Abel and Cade,” she said calmly. “And I’m sure you know those allegations are wrong.”
I sighed and crossed my arms, trying to sound bored. “I don’t have control over what they do, Arden. They’ve been like that for years. You should know that better than anyone. They even insulted you
face–to–face when I revealed we were mates.”
“Yeah,” she muttered. “And you didn’t fight for us.”
I turned to face her, but she wasn’t done.
“I don’t regret any of the things that happened,” she continued. “It wouldn’t have led me to Cade.”
“I believe everything happens for a reason,” she went on, “whether to teach us something or to punish us. It’s unreasonable when we’re in the middle of it, but when we look back, we realize it wasn’t as bad as we thought. We wouldn’t want to go through it again, but… it happened. And there’s no time machine in this world.”
I stayed silent.
Then she smiled–a small, sad smile that felt like closure.
“So I want you to know that it isn’t over yet, Jaxon.”
“What do you mean?”
“Life,” she said simply. “It isn’t over yet.”
She looked at me like she could still see something good buried somewhere deep inside–the
same thing Luna seemed to see.
“I just wanted to visit you to tell you that,” she whispered. Then she took a step back. “I might not forgive you, but I don’t regret the time I spent with you. You were a good man… at times. And I know you can be a good man again.”
And just like that, she left.
I stood there for a long time after she was gone, staring at the empty space she once occupied.
You can be a good man again.
I glanced at the house once as I reached the door. Luna was still crying.
Like hell, I could be.
I entered the car and began driving to the estate. All throughout the drive, Arden’s words replayed in my mind.
Me? A good man? I laughed under my breath, shaking my head. Arden really was something else.
The moment I arrived at the estate, I could already hear the chaos inside.
Screaming. Plates shattering. Someone crying in the background–probably my aunt. The smell of expensive perfume mixed with panic hit me like a wave.
Ah, I thought, stepping forward, so the circus finally started without me.
When I walked through the doors, the sight was everything I hoped for. My father stood in the middle of the grand hall, his face crimson and his suit wrinkled. My mother was on the floor, papers scattered around her like fallen leaves. My aunt clutched a letter with trembling hands, while Damon was pacing back and forth, his phone glued to his ear.
“What do you mean the accounts are frozen?!” he barked into the receiver. “Do you know who we are–hello?!”
The line must’ve died, because he threw the phone across the room. It shattered against the marble, right beside a framed family portrait–now cracked down the middle. I smirked. Nice symbolism.
“WHAT IS HAPPENING?!” my mother screamed, clutching the summons in her hands. “What are these letters?!”
I looked around lazily, taking in the destruction with a small grin. “Oh,” I said casually, “so you
finally got them.”
Every head turned.
For a brief, glorious moment, silence fell. Then, as though someone had hit play on a broken record, everything started again.
“JAXON!” my mother shricked, running toward me. “What did you do?! Why are we being removed from the United Factions?!”
“You were removed?” I asked, feigning surprise. “Wow. That’s a shame.”
She dropped to her knees in front of me, grabbing my sleeves. “Why is Abel the uncontended True Alpha now?!” she cried. “You were supposed to have the title. Did you back down?”
“Yeah, I did,” I answered.
The room fell quiet again.
I let out a breath, shrugged. “It was getting tiring, you know? All that politics and posturing. Let Abel have it.”
“Tiring?” Damon repeated, his eyes wild. “You’re just tired?”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “Aren’t you?”
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing faster. “We’re all tired, but you don’t just give it up!”
“What about the business I set up?” he exclaimed. “My permit was completely obliterated! Jaxon, they’re threatening to shut everything down!”
“And your uncle,” my aunt added shakily. “He’s in jail for prostitution now. That cannot be. We swept it under the rug. We had people and connections.”
I sighed. “You should’ve swept harder,” I muttered.
“What did you say?” my father demanded.
“I said,” I repeated, rubbing the back of my neck, “you should’ve swept harder. Look, I don’t know what you all expect from me. I made my decision.”
My mother started sobbing again. My aunt sank onto the couch.
I ran a hand through my hair. My head was pounding now. I wanted to go back to my new house. Luna’s crying was better than this.
That’s when I felt it.
A sudden sting on my cheek. My head snapped to the side.
For a second, I thought someone had thrown something. However, my father’s fist was still in the air.
I paused, tasting blood. Then slowly, almost curiously, I touched my cheek and looked back at him.
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