Love's Shadow, A Billionaire's Tears

Eliana POV:

I found an empty back room, the bass from the club thrumming dully through the walls. I wouldn't let myself break. Not here.

My only goal was to get out of this city, to breathe air that wasn't tainted by his memory.

I braced myself, my hands flat on a cool, wooden table. I just needed to make it home.

As I walked down the quiet hallway toward the exit, I passed an adjacent room, the door slightly ajar. I heard his voice-Jax. He was talking to Mason, his second-in-command.

"She needed to be taught a lesson," Jax was saying, his tone smug. "She needs to remember who's in control."

My blood ran cold. I froze, flattening myself against the cool drywall, listening.

"So, what's the plan with the new girl?" Mason asked.

"Catalina?" Jax scoffed. "I'll keep her around long enough to make Ellie jealous. Give it a few weeks. She'll come crawling back, begging me to take her back. She always does."

The world tilted on its axis. My love, my pain, my heartbreak-it was all just a game to him. A tool to manipulate me, to keep me in my place.

The last vestiges of warmth in my soul turned to ash and blew away.

I slipped out of the club without a sound. I walked aimlessly through the dark Chicago streets, the city lights blurring through the unshed tears.

The "forever" he had promised me was a toxic lie, a cage I had willingly lived in. My devotion hadn't been love; it had become a dangerous obsession, and I had allowed him to exploit every part of it.

When I finally made it back to my family's estate, the wrought iron gates were closed. And standing in front of them, under the single dim lamp, was Jax.

He wasn't alone. He was intercepting a courier, and in his hand, he held a large manila envelope. My envelope.

The courier looked nervous. "Sir, my instructions are to deliver this directly to Miss Gallo."

Jax's smile was predatory. "I'll make sure she gets it."

My acceptance package. My travel documents for New York. My escape.

I strode forward, my heels clicking sharply on the pavement, never breaking my pace. I walked right up to him, snatched the documents from his hand, and turned to the stunned courier.

"Thank you," I said, my voice clear and steady as I signed the delivery confirmation myself. "I have it now."