Chapter Thirty-Five Jaxson

T hree weeks. It's been three fucking weeks, and no matter how many times I call Madison, she refuses to talk to me. Hell, I even tried to reach out to her mom after she left to make sure she was okay, and her mother kept it brief and wouldn't go any further. I'd never expected Caitlin to show up at the New Year's Eve bash like she did. I was told she didn't have an invite to the party, a private function. But I should have known better.

I should have known that she would show up, especially if I was there.

The problem is, whatever she said to Madison changed everything between us. It didn't matter how much I begged her to stop as she ran off from the party. Or how much I yelled at Caitlin for once again trying to insert herself into my life. Madison left. And by the time I got back to the apartment, she was gone. All her stuff packed as if she'd never been there.

I'd felt heartbreak in the past, but it took Madison walking out of my life that day to realize how much I care for her. The fact that she so quickly jumped to believing Caitlin, to leave me after everything we've been through…

I will never want Caitlin again. Not now, not ever. And Madison should know that.

“Honestly, I don't know what to tell you,” Knox says with a sigh over the phone. “I've tried talking to her for you, Jaxson, but she doesn't want to hear it.”

“There's got to be some way for me to get through to her. It's been weeks.”

“Yeah, and she can hold a grudge better than anyone.” He laughs softly. ”You, of all people, should know that by now. I mean, look how long she held a grudge against you for eating her burger on the sixth-grade field trip.”

My mind drifts to that day and how red her face had turned when she came back to see I'd taken three big bites of her burger. It was an honest mistake that day, my food being placed in the wrong spot, and I'd mistaken hers for mine. But she didn't let it go. She reminded me for months until I finally made it up to her and brought her six burgers as a replacement.

“I remember. But this is different. She didn't even give me a chance to talk to her about what was really going on. She jumped at the first chance at fucking leaving as if everything that happened between us meant nothing at all.”

Moving about my home office, I stack the paperwork away for another day. It took weeks to get everything in order for the reopening of one place and the event setups for the others. But overall, I couldn't be prouder of myself for being able to make a grand comeback after a hellish year.

Now, if only I could fix things with Madison, things would be perfect.

“Have you tried coming back to Willowcreek? Talk to her in person.”

I stop in my tracks, my mind playing over in my head like it has the past few days. I'd thought about going back, but things were so hectic that I wasn't able to go. And honestly, I was worried that if I did, I'd only make things worse. Plus, she was the one who left me. I didn't even do anything wrong. She didn't give me a chance to explain.

“Do you think that's a good idea?” I ask him, caving in on the idea.

He's quiet for a moment, but I can hear the tinkering in the background, followed by muffled voices, before he returns to the line. “Yes. I think you should.”

“Callum told you that, didn't he?”

“No,” he answers, but there is a bit of uncertainty in his voice that lets me know he is lying.

“Knox…”

“Okay, fine. He is here and he is up to date with pretty much everything going on. Can you blame me though? He's my partner. Of course I tell him everything.”

Something in what he says hits home with me. I want to have someone with whom I can share everything, someone who is willing to let me vent all my problems, too. It's something that I've wanted for so long, and while Madison was here, she was that person.

She was the person I'd laugh over breakfast with while talking about random bullshit. The woman I'd lay wrapped up in bed with who would help me figure out how to deal with tough situations at work that I didn't want to deal with. Everyone always wanted me to be strong. To be in charge and well put together, but I'm not. Not all the time, at least.

I mean fuck… I'm only human.

“Okay, I'll get on the first flight out,” I finally reply as I make my way to my room, grabbing my suitcase from the closet. “Thanks for always being there, Knox. I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime, man. Make sure you come see me after you take care of business.”

***

The moment I make it to Willowcreek, my heart races with anticipation in seeing Madison. Every part of me is saying that this is a bad idea. That showing up like this is only going to make things worse, and in the end I’m going to regret it. Madison and I have always had a tendency to argue more than talk things through properly. Most of our high school years were rocked between heated debates and bouts of laughter. Giving her space and time was often the only solution. But if Knox thinks it’s a good idea, then fuck it.

I don’t bother checking into my hotel right away. Instead, pulling off the bandaid seems like a better route to go. So, Madison’s apartment is my first stop.

Pulling up to the bakery, I take a moment to sit in the car and prepare myself for the conversation to come. My eyes scan up towards the lit windows of Madison’s apartment wondering what she’s doing, and if she will be okay seeing me.

It’s almost seven at night and though I know she’s up… she’s probably exhausted and getting ready for bed soon. The early morning hours of the bakery are a responsibility she never ignores.

“Get it together, man.” I mutter to myself as I step out of the car and make my way towards the side door. There isn't a direct way to her apartment without going through the bakery itself, even form the back. So I opt for the only means of getting her attention by pressing the buzzer next to the door waiting for her voice to come through the intercom.

“Hello?” she says after a moment passes.

“Madison…it’s me.”

She pauses again before a sigh comes through. “Jaxson?”

“Yeah… can we talk?”

“About what?” she replies flatly. “There isn’t anything to talk about. What the fuck are you even doing here after three weeks of nothing.”

I groan internally at her reply. There’s a lot to talk about, but it’s clear that she’s still not willing to hear me out. “First of all… I’ve been trying to call you. You’ve been ignoring me. Please, Madison. Just ten minutes… and then if you don’t want to see me again, I won’t bother you.”

The line goes silent, my heart in my throat as I push the button again. “Madison? Are you there?” But, nothing.

“Fuck!” I shout, running my hand through my hair.

All I want is ten minutes to talk to her and she won’t even give me that.

Turning to make my way back to the car, I stop short the moment I hear the lock on the door click before the door slowly opens. Standing there on the other side is Madison. Dark hair falling loosely over her black robe covered shoulders as she pulls it tighter around her.

“This better be good…” she says softly, her eyes refusing to meet mine. “You have ten minutes.”

“I’ll make it work… thank you.”

Following behind her, she leads me up the stairs to her apartment. Every step feels like I’m getting closer and closer to her again, but at the same time I feel like we’re so far away.

No longer am I graced with the happy smiles she would provide when she saw me. No longer do I get to feel her arms wrapped around my neck as her body presses against mine. Instead, I’m met with nothing but cold remorse. A feeling that I want to vanquish just to see her smile again.

As soon as we’re inside her apartment I can’t help but look around and notice the slight disorganization within. The fact that her usually clean and well organized home is now littered with dirty cups here and there, as well as to-go boxes, makes me wonder what’s going through her mind.

This isn’t Madison.

“So, what is so important that you flew back to Willowcreek to come and talk to me at seven at night?” she says, after taking a seat upon her sofa, pulling the white throw blanket over her lap. Her eyes finally meet mine, and for some reason there is a dullness to them that fills me with guilt and renders me speechless for a moment.

“I—I wanted to clear the air between us. I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks. But you won’t return my calls or anything.”

She stares at me, a brow slightly raising as she sighs. “That’s because I didn’t think there was anything to talk about. It’s clear that you had another agenda and I’m not trying to stand in between you and the woman you want to marry. I just wish you would have been honest with me.”

I’m stunned by her admission. I can’t believe that she thinks any of that is true, because it's the farthest thing from. “Madison… I’m not with Caitlin, nor have I been in a very long time. She only said that shit to piss you off.”

Laughter erupts from her as she shakes her head, “are you serious right now? Do you honestly expect me to believe that? ”

The hell?

“Yes,” I gasp, shaking my head. “It’s the truth. And if you hadn't run off like you did, I would have explained everything to you in New York, but you didn’t even give me a chance.”

She hesitates for a moment, her lips parting slightly as if taking in my words unsure of what to reply with next. I never meant for it to be like this between us. To have her upset, or angry… Yet, regardless of that I did hurt her, even if unintentional. “I don’t want to fight with you Madison. I came here to grovel if that’s what it takes…”

“Grovel?” she questions softly. “Isn’t that usually done on your knees?”

The sarcasm that flows from her words cracks a smile on my face. I don’t bother to hide my amusement as I drop to my knees before her and shuffle forward slightly. If she wants me to grovel then I will. “Does this make you happy?”

She scoffs softly with laughter, her hands wiping at the corners of her eyes as she blinks back emotion that threatens to fall. “You always did look good on your knees.”

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say to you?” Leaning forward, my hand brushes against the side of her face. The soft feeling of her skin within my grasp makes my heart leap at the chance of having her once more within my arms.

The last few weeks have been agonizing and right now, I’ll do anything to have her again.

“I don’t know—” she starts to say, shaking her head.

“Shh–please… don’t say anything yet. Can I kiss you?”

Nodding slowly, she gives me the approval I seek. My lips capture hers with heated hunger as I pull her into my arms. Desperate for every inch of her.

“Jaxson…” she mutters softly against my lips. “This doesn’t change—how pissed I am at you.”

“You can be pissed at me later.”

My quick reply only cuts her off once more as my lips capture hers again, while my hands slide up underneath the thin night gown she’s wearing. The soft touch of her skin makes my cock throb within the confines of my pants, as the urge to take her overthrows me .

“I need you…” I mutter, her hands becoming as frantic as mine as we strip each other from the confines of our clothing.

The moment my aching cock sinks into her slick wet cunt, we both groan with ecstacy. Our bodies entwined together as she straddles me on my knees. One arm wrapped around her waist as the other lifts up so that my fingers wrap within the thick locks of her hair.

Over and over she slides across my cock, our thrusts matched in pace as I fuck her hard and fast, savouring every moment while punishing her at the same time. Her punishment, because she didn’t give me a chance to explain. While mine had been the silence she gave me over the past three weeks.

All of it leading up to this particular moment.

“Oh my god,” she gasps. Her eyes closed, lips parted as her cries of pleasure grow and grow.

As much as I wish this moment can last forever, my balls ache with the desire of my release, unable to continue as the two of us moan out our release. One last thrust pushing everything I have to offer deep inside her before we still.

Every single moment I’m like this with her, it reminds me just how much I want her. How much I can’t live without her, and how I’ll do just about anything to keep her.

***

The ability to spend another night with Madison is a blessing in my eyes. We spent the night talking, catching up on everything since we last spoke to each other as well as talked about the situation with Caitlin. A topic I didn’t want to discuss, but from what I could see Madison needed the closure.

Slipping from bed before dawn, I dressed and made my way downstairs towards the bakery. The doors finally opened and I decided to grab coffee and breakfast for the two of us. Technically, she’s supposed to be working, but who am I to wake her when she’s sleeping so peacefully ?

“Jaxson?” Allison’s surprised voice catches my attention the moment I attempt to sneak out the back door. Like a kid with their hand in the cookie jar, I turn to face her with wide eyes.

“I can explain…”

A smug expression crosses her lips as she tosses a tea towel over her shoulder and raises a brow in my direction. “Can you now?”

“Yeah—we got caught talking.”

“I see.” She quickly replies, not giving me time to finish. “Well, you better stop trying to sneak through the back and go through the kitchen to get coffee and breakfast. I assume that’s what you were planning to do?”

The woman is more perceptive than I would like, but there’s no point in lying to her. Allison has known me most of my life, and hiding things from her feels wrong. Nodding, I make my way through the kitchen to grab what I came for. Allison doesn’t bother to say anything more as she moves towards the front to deal with customers, her eyes brightening as she speaks with the people she’d grown used to serving over the years.

It’s the same spark that I saw in Madison’s eyes when she got the news about the mayor's daughter being thrilled with the cake she made.

By the time I make it upstairs, the television is on, signalling that Madison’s awake. Quickly closing the door, I set the coffee and muffins upon the kitchen island and make my way towards the bedroom only to see an extremely pissed off Madison staring at me.

“Is everything okay?”

Letting out a sigh, her eyes rimmed red with tears, she wipes her hand across her eyes once more and sits up a little straighter. “Were you serious when you said Caitlin didn’t mean anything to you?”

Are we really going over this again?

“Of course,” I sigh, taking a step towards her. “I thought we discussed this last night and everything was okay. The woman means nothing to me… you know that.”

“Right," she scoffs with a smile that quickly falls. “Then why is your fiancé on the network we just got done filming for, talking about your upcoming wedding.”

What?

“What the hell are you talking about? ”

Leaning forward, she picks up the remote and clicks through the channels until she finds the recorded episode of World of Foods that aired last night. Turning it on, she fast forwards to a particular section and sure enough, there’s Caitlin.

“So, what’s the news with you and Jaxson Rivers?” The host asks Caitlin. Her smile widening as she fiddles for a moment before flashing her ring finger to show off the massive diamond engagement ring on her hand.

“Well, we were planning on keeping it a secret. But I guess you guys can be the first to know! We’re finally getting married!” She squeals with excitement as people clap. “Now, I can’t say that our relationship hasn’t come with its issues. It’s taken so long for us to get back to this point after he was involved in a scandal with a girl from his hometown… but I love him and I’m willing to stand by his side through anything. Now, I know what you’re going to say. But it's been a long time coming, and I can’t be happier to soon call him my husband. Every relationship has its difficulties.”

As soon as the clip finishes, Madison pauses the TV and turns to me with a pointed glare. Her eyes filling with tears once more as she begins laughing. “I can’t believe you would come here telling me those things… hell, fucking me…after planning to marry her. I mean…what were you looking for Jaxson? Here for one more tumble in the sheets before marrying this woman? Here to ask me to keep quiet so I don’t ruin your image? God… I’m such a fucking idiot.”

A rollercoaster of emotions flows through me as I let what I just watched sink in. Caitlin went on national television, on the network Madison and I filmed for… to what—lie about a wedding that is never going to happen?

What the hell is her plan? To trap me into marriage ?

The entire situation is a PR nightmare, and one that my team is going to have a field day with trying to unravel. Nothing will ever be able to make me marry that woman and by the sadness on Madison’s face, it’s going to take a hell of a lot for me to convince her of that.

But what hurts the most is that she thinks I would be one of those kinds of men.

The kind to cheat on the person they love, and then try to cover it up .

Fuck, I’m in love with Madison.

“Madison—”

“No," she snaps, shaking her head. “Just stop Jaxson. What’s done is done…please don’t make any of this worse than it already is.”

Stepping forward, I stare at her with frustration. “No, you listen to me. None of this is true. And I can’t for the life of me understand why you think that I would be one of those types of men to cheat. Caitlin is lying so that I will cave into her demands. And right now, you’re giving her what she wants…you out of the picture. I don’t want her, Madison… I only want you.”

“Jaxson, I’m done…” She says, trying to hold back the sob in her throat that fills my ears as she sniffs. “…just please go.”

She stands to her feet and attempts to walk past me, but I quickly grab her arms, stopping her in her tracks. There’s no way in hell I’m going to give up on her without a fight. She means too much to me to just give up. I love her… even if I can’t admit it… at least not right now.

“Madison, I’m telling you the truth.”

Ripping her arm from my grasp, she turns to me with tear-filled eyes. “Enough, Jaxson. You have no idea what I’ve been through over the last few weeks.”

“Yeah, and you don’t know what I’ve been through…”

“Oh really?” She gasps, staring at me with disbelief. “Did you find out you were late on your period too? Did you think for two weeks that you were pregnant by a man who didn’t want you only to go to the doctor and find out that you're not and instead the stress of everything you're going through is the reason why you're late…”

The moment she says she thought she was pregnant, my heart sinks into my stomach. I’d always imagined having kids one day, but not anytime soon. Though the fact that she could have been and isn’t hurts more than comprehensible. Part of me would have been over the moon if she had been because she means more to me than I know how to explain.

“I’m sorry… I should have been here. But I’m here now. I’m here fighting for you.”

Laughter leaves her once more as she steps back from me. “Maybe you're right… but why would you be? You were busy in New York, Jaxson. That’s where your life is. That’s where you have everything you’ve ever wanted. So, how can we both ever imagine that things would work out between us… huh? I mean, you couldn’t even admit to anyone you were with me while you were there.”

She wasn’t wrong on the last part. But it wasn’t because I didn’t care about her that I had a hard time admitting it. Part of me was scared too.

“You didn’t go on your own, did you?” Something about the thought of her having to go through that alone eats away at me. She should never have to do anything like that on her own.

“No, Jaxson.” She snorts. “Fortunately, Sam and Knox love me. They both went, but Sam went into the exam room with me. At least she was here to make sure I didn’t have to go through finding out alone. And don’t even start by saying I could have told you… because you obviously weren’t available.”

To hear that Knox had known about this the entire time and didn’t tell me, hurts. He and I were friends long before I met Madison and though we are like brothers, he kept this secret from me. Though it could be the reason why he and Callum suggested I come back.

Walking to the door, she stops and opens it. Her eyes drifting to me for a moment before she wipes a stray tear away with the back of her hand. I don’t want to leave things as is. With her angry at me and everything else a mess. I want her to believe me. To trust me that I’m not lying to her.

But with that interview, it makes it ten times harder.

Stepping forward towards the door, I stop and turn to face her. “What will it take for you to believe me Madison? I’ll do anything.”

She’s quiet as she stares at me. Her eyes, unwilling to move before a heavy breath finally escapes her lips. As if the thoughts running through her mind are too much to control.

“Prove that you’re not lying… and get rid of that woman. Maybe then I’ll listen.”

And just like that… she gave me a new mission.