Violet Charming is a member of the first family of Charming, California. When her parents are killed at sea, she comes home to take over the family dynasty. She finds that things are different at home and has a fight on her hands to hold onto her fa...
Violet checked her appearance in the mirror once more before sighing and turning to walk out of her dressing room. Tonight, she was going to dinner at the mayor's home to announce the candidates to take his place. She was wearing a beautiful off the shoulder black evening gown with fitted half sleeves and a lace overlay. She had paired it with a pair of black Louboutin stilettos and her hair was in an intricate updo that had taken Jessie two hours to complete. Her makeup was perfect although it did nothing to hide the circles under her eyes.
Jessie met her at the top of the stairs and smiled. "You look amazing, Violet."
Violet gave her a small smile and nodded. "Well, it took enough work to make that true." She sighed. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"
Jessie nodded and they walked downstairs, meeting Jerry at the front door. Jessie watched as Jerry helped Violet into the limo before shutting the front door and sighing to herself. The last two weeks since her falling out with Jax Teller had been hell on earth. Nothing anyone did could make Violet happy, and if she wasn't working, she was holed up in her bedroom refusing to talk to anyone. She'd refused every visit or call from Donna Winston and Gemma Teller and the one time that Jax had shown up on her doorstep, she'd instructed Jerry to have him removed from the property.
Jessie and Jerry both knew that she was miserable without Jax but they couldn't convince her to meet him halfway. Violet had never really had a relationship with a man and she didn't understand how to navigate one. Jessie knew that if something didn't break soon, Violet was going to become ill from working so much. She just hoped that tonight's dinner went well because she knew that Jacob Hale would be there and that tensions were running high between him and Violet.
She'd been watching a movie on Netflix after fixing herself some dinner, thinking that the dinner party would be breaking up at any time when her phone rang. She frowned at the unfamiliar number but answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Jessie?"
Jessie's frown deepened as she got a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Mrs. Teller?"
"Yeah, sweetheart. I need Violet. There's been an accident... "
Violet felt like her face would break if she had to smile for one more picture. She excused herself to use the ladies room, and when she came out, she found Jacob Hale leaning against the wall beside the door. He gave her a smile and nodded.
"I guess you're feeling pretty smug right about now. You've managed to block my land deal, and now you're running for mayor against me. You seem to have all of your ducks in a row."
Violet straightened her back and stared him down. "I'm just doing what I think is best for the town, Jacob. Surely you can understand that. I mean, your family goes back almost as far as mine does."
Jacob nodded as he leaned a little closer. "Yes, I understand all of that, but I think at some point, this became about you not liking me. You're trying to ruin me and I won't stand for that, not from some old money bitch that thinks she's better than everyone else. Just keep in mind that if you want a war, you need to be prepared to have casualties."
Violet just stared after him as he turned and walked back to the dining room. She was still standing there when Jerry came running toward her.
"We need to go. Now. It's Jax, Vi."
Violet shook her head. "Isn't it enough that I have to deal with Jacob tonight?"
Jerry took her arm and pulled her down the hall. "I don't have time for your bullshit, Vi. There's been an accident. Now, say your goodbyes. We need to leave now."
By the time the limo stopped in front of the St. Thomas E.R., Violet was a mess. She didn't wait for Jerry but bolted as soon as the car stopped. When she ran through the automatic doors, she saw Opie, Gemma, and a bunch of men dressed as Opie was. She almost broke down when Abel came running at her full force, causing her to pick him up as he wrapped his arms around her neck.
She cradled the little boy to her and tried to keep her tears at bay as she looked at all of the somber faces. Gemma stepped her way and Violet shook her head. "What happened?"
Gemma just shook her head as Opie stepped up beside her. "Jax was out for a ride by himself to clear his head. A car or truck clipped his back tire... he laid the bike down going about sixty miles an hour."
Violet closed her eyes as Jerry stopped behind her. "Oh, Jesus... Opie... why was he alone? Why wasn't someone with him?"
As Opie shook his head, a black-haired man looked at her and shook his head. "He was just going for a ride around the block. We thought it was fine."
Violet caught her breath on a sob as Gemma wiped her eyes and nodded to the man. "Tig? Can you take Abel for a little while?"
Tig nodded and stood up, reaching out to take Abel from Violet. "Come on, little man. Let's take a walk."
Gemma pulled Violet to her and hugged her tightly as she whispered in her ear. "I need you to keep your shit together, baby. He's alive, alright? He's beaten up but he's alive. When he wakes up, he's going to want to see you, and you have to get the tears under control."
Violet nodded as Opie stepped up to her, holding out a hand. "I'll take you back so you can see him."
She wiped the tears away and followed Opie through the double doors. When they stepped into one of the cubicles, Violet felt the tears start again. Jax looked horrible, bruises and road rash covering what parts of him she could see above the white sheet. She turned to Opie and sniffed.
"Can I have a minute?"
Opie nodded and smiled softly. "Sure. Take all the time you need. I'll be out front with the others."
Violet nodded and watched him pull the curtain after himself. She walked up to the bed and kicked her heels off before carefully climbing onto the bed to sit beside his hip. She took his hand in hers and took a deep breath before a horrible thought occurred to her. She closed her eyes and shook her head as she whispered in the quiet room.
