Chapter 3

That trending topic brought me an avalanche of unwanted trouble.

Not only did Jax's rabid fanbase hunt down my socials to shower me with hate, but the debt collection agencies also caught wind of the news. Assuming I had bagged a billionaire sugar daddy, their threatening calls and aggressive tactics escalated drastically.

While I was drowning in stress, Jax showed up again, completely unfazed.

God knows how he tracked down my phone number and address, but there he was, carrying a massive bag of snacks, standing brazenly outside the door of my cramped, rundown studio apartment.

"Hey gorgeous, I'm here to settle my debt to you." He grinned like a cunning fox. "This place looks pretty rough. How about I rent you a luxury condo?"

"I don't need your charity." I stood in the doorway, blocking his way in.

"Come on, don't be a stranger."

He slipped past me into the room, casually looking around like he owned the place. "I heard about your family going bankrupt. And your ex-fiancé is Julian from the Vance Corporation? What a colossal scumbag, dumping you when you hit rock bottom."

He dumped the snacks onto the table and plopped down onto my creaky sofa.

"Tell me, what do you need? As long as it's within my power, consider it done."

Looking at his carefree, slacker attitude, irritation flared in my chest. "I need you to stay far away from me."

"Can't do that." He held his hands up playfully. "I still owe you a favor. Or... how about I go beat the crap out of Julian for you?"

I scoffed, exasperated. "Who do you think you are? You think you can assault someone without facing consequences?"

"Sure I can," he said matter-of-factly. "My family has endless money to clean up my messes. My older brother's practically an expert at it."

I realized trying to reason with this completely unhinged boy was an exercise in futility.

Ignoring him, I sat down and continued sorting through the towering mountain of debt notices and legal documents.

He stopped talking too. He just leaned back on the sofa, watching me quietly. The tiny room fell dead silent, broken only by the rustling of papers.

After a long while, he spoke up again, his tone unusually subdued. "Hey... hurts like hell, doesn't it?"

I didn't look up.

"When my grandmother passed away, I acted just like you. Pretending to be tough, pretending nothing was wrong, while everything inside me was rotting to pieces."

He paused. "You know, if you want to cry, just cry. It's really no big deal."

My hands froze. Tears spilled without warning, splashing onto the documents and smudging the black ink.

Ever since my father died, everyone had looked at me with pity, condescension, or disgust. Only him—a stranger I had known for barely two days—saw straight through my armor.

I couldn't hold it back anymore. Burying my face in my arms, the sobs I had choked down for weeks tore out of my chest.

Jax didn't come over to smother me with empty reassurances. He simply reached out and placed a pack of tissues quietly beside my elbow.

When I finally cried myself out, he spoke softly. "Done? Good. Now let's figure out how to fix this mess. You can't carry this alone. Do you trust me?"

I lifted my red, swollen eyes to look at him.

He broke into a bright grin, showing off two sharp little canines. "From today on, I'm your guy. Not a boyfriend, but an ally. You do the scheming, and I'll be your muscle and your bankroll. Deal?"

At that moment, the afternoon sun filtered through the small, dusty window, catching the warm light in his eyes. They sparkled like stars.

Under a strange spell, I nodded.