𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒 | SPINOFF

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

JAXON
CRIST

"How are you going to tell Stella?" I asked, voice steady and laced with a warning. "She's going to hate you even more, and there's no way in hell she'll take up that offer." I got approving nods from Alessio and Damon, their silence making the air feel heavier.

"She can't say no to your father. It's a project of two, and we're heading to France to scour the museums and complete the work. Three weeks, max." Grayson grinned, a grin that was all teeth, almost predatory. "Of course, I made your father assign her as my assistant. She's going to despise me more with every second. She'll have to follow me around like a shadow, caged in the role of a dog. It'll drive her mad."

"Don't call her a dog; that's low," I snapped. "We don't call girls that—if anything, it's the boys acting like dogs these days. Liliana, for one, has been giving me the silent treatment. It's like we're together, but she's constantly twisting the signals. I don't think I'll ever understand girls," I sighed, sending another text that would likely go unanswered.

JAXON:
Can we meet up?

LILIANA:
Can't.

"Can't relate," Grayson sneered, tossing a chip into his mouth with casual arrogance. "I make the girls beg. Top student, smartest in the room. They can't help themselves." The words came out with a mix of smug pride and cold dismissal, like he relished the effect he had on others but felt no need to care.

"Me too," Alessio tried to chime in, his voice barely hiding his insecurities. It was laughable, coming from him—the one whose mind wandered to other women even while claiming loyalty to one. He was a man pulled in two directions, a hypocrite shackled to his own deceit.

I rolled my eyes, leaning back, my tone sharp and cutting. "At least I can keep a girl. I'm loyal, and, unlike some people here, my girl didn't walk out on me." A smirk twisted at the corner of my lips, a barb that I knew would dig deep.

Alessio's face hardened, lips curling in a snarl. "It took you twelve years for Liliana to finally notice you. At least Avery saw me before I even looked her way."

Damon chuckled darkly, grinning like a wolf who'd cornered his prey. "I'm the real winner here. Smart, single, top of my game, and the leader—doesn't that say it all?" His grin widened, a wicked glint in his eye as he threw a wink my way.

I shot him a narrow-eyed glare. "Sure, you might have the looks, the body, the grades, and the girls. But your reputation? That's down in the gutter."

Damon shrugged, unbothered, pulling out a cigarette and setting it between his teeth with a devil-may-care smirk. "Girls don't care about that. They're drawn to the dark ones—the ones with edges, not the good little boys playing by the rules." He tapped ash from the tip, his gaze defiant, daring anyone to contradict him.

"He's not wrong," Alessio nodded in agreement, his voice low, almost conspiratorial.

Damon flicked his gaze towards me, changing the subject. "Think Avery and Stella patched things up yet? With tomorrow being Stella's first day back, we'll need to watch out for her. Astor's going to be all over her, though."

I let out a long, frustrated sigh, running a hand down my face, a weight pressing heavy on my shoulders. "My mom's pushing me to make amends with Astor so we can stay close to Avery. But I don't want to. I just want things to go back to how they were." My voice was bitter, filled with a resentment that tasted metallic on my tongue. "This whole mess...it's exhausting."

Silence fell over the cabin, thick as smoke. I broke it, adding with a hollow conviction, "Avery's a forgiver. She'll let Stella back in, eventually."

Grayson cut in, his tone defensive. "I love Avery, but Stella only told her the truth. She's got nothing to apologize for."