ꕥ 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒 ꕥ

• CHAPTER 14 •

JACKSON'S POV

I stand in my office, staring back at the garden.

why? how?

There are so many questions in my head. It's almost suffocating.

I feel...

I feel...

I don't know what I feel.

hate?

hurt?

relief?

betrayal?

I'm fucking confused and in pain.

"Jackson, everything is going to be alright." Leila gets closer and massages my shoulders.

I step back a bit to give her and me some space.

"d-don't" I tell her; she may be divorced from my brother, but it's so wrong in so many parts that she wants to be with me.

She knows so little about respect and morals.

"Jackson," before she could finish, I cut her off. "Could you please leave? I need to be alone with my thoughts," I tell her.

I walk over to the door and open it for her.

She hesitantly leaves and closes the door after herself.

I walk back to where I was.

that garden. It's haunting me now. It's a reminder of the pain I've suffered after her 'fake death' and a reminder that she's still here, alive and well.

I sigh. I can't feel much hate; just hurt and anger. She decided to tell Giovanni over me, her husband⏤

we're divorced.

But hell, I need her to understand that what she did hurt me, and hell, it's tearing me apart, not knowing how to identify my feelings over this.

I know, and I don't know what I feel.

I'm going to lose my mind.

RAVEN'S POV

I walk up to his office.

No one is here; expect some staff.

I knock and wait.

My heart is beating so fast against my chest that it feels like it's nearly going to come out of my chest.

I still love him, even though he caused me pain⏤I've caused him pain.

I forgave him long ago, but that won't help now.

"I told you to leave me alone." Jackson aggressively opens the door and looks down at me with a puzzled look.

"I don't want to talk to you; please do us both a favor and go back to wherever it is you came from," he says, his voice laced with anger and authority.

I have to admit, that hurt because my leaving was not my choice; I didn't want to leave him or our children.

I hate the place I was kept, so I'd rather go to actual hell than go back there.

He goes to close the door, but I step closer and stop the door from closing.

He glares at me as I step inside the office and close the door behind me.

We're so close.

I stare into those beautiful green-blue eyes. I see all the hurt and anger in them.

I don't see...