Semua Bab Mommy, I found us a Daddy for Christmas : Bab 41 - Bab 50

The press conference was bedlam, as if a thousand different reporters had all had the same idea to storm into the same room at the exact same time. Flashbulbs went off in my face, and it felt as if the weight of their questions in general was bearing down on me from every possible direction."Isabel, is it true that you've been complicit in this scandal?""Did you know about the fake documents?""Why are you still standing by Jaxon after everything that's happened?"I wanted to disappear-finally, just vanish into thin air-but I couldn't. Not now. Not when everything was falling apart around us.The questions kept coming, one after another, relentless. I felt the heat of their gazes, the tension thick in the air. There was no escape from this mess I'd somehow found myself in.Jaxon stood beside me, cool as always on the surface, but I could see it all-the clenched jaw, the tension strung in his shoulders. All that confidence in him now turned masklike, barely concealing the cracks.I l

It had been a long exhausting evening, yet the moment I stepped inside the door, for some reason, I felt wide awake. The quiet hum of the city clung to my skin like a second layer, but here, everything felt different, closer and warmer, real. The silence in the room, however, wasn't soothing. It felt like something was waiting to happen, something inevitable.And then, there was Jaxon.Hey," he said, standing near the entrance, his hands in his pockets, his gaze steady, like trying to read me. There was this tension in the air, a sort of electricity humming through the space between us. We'd been avoiding this-this thing between us-for too long, pretending it wasn't there, but I could feel it in the way he looked at me, in the way his eyes flickered between hesitation and longing.I crossed the room, the steady beat of my heart pounding in my chest as if it was trying to get out. "Hey," I said softly, trying to keep my voice even, calm. I knew it wasn't going to work. I knew this mome

"You ready?"The voice barely registered. My reflection in the mirror was all I could focus on. The ivory dress clung to my body like a second skin, the lace sleeves delicate against my arms. My hair was curled, pinned, perfect. I looked every bit the part of a bride. But I didn't feel like one."Isabel?"I blinked, turning to find Hazel standing in the doorway, her eyes filled with something I couldn't quite put a name to: worry, hope, desperation-perhaps all three."You, okay?" she asked, coming inside.No, I wasn't okay.I forced a smile. "Yeah. Just… nervous."Hazel studied me a long moment before closing the space between us. "Are you sure about this?" The words came out soft, cautious.My stomach twisted."You don't have to do this," she carried on, tone softer now. "If you don't want to, I mean."I let out one of those half-shaky laughs. "Kinda late for second thoughts, isn't it?""Not really," she said. "You can still walk away."Walk away.It was as though the words caved in

The sheets felt too heavy. Too warm. Too…wrong.I blinked up at the ceiling, my heartbeat thudding in my ears. The room was still dim, morning light barely filtering through the curtains.Jaxon stirred beside me.Panic shot through me so fast I almost couldn't breathe.This was a mistake.I slipped out of bed as quietly as I could, my legs still unsteady. My dress lay on the floor, tangled in a mess of forgotten choices. I snatched it up, slipping into it hastily, my fingers fumbling with the zipper.I needed to go.Now."Running already?"His voice was groggy, rough with sleep. But it held something else too. Amusement.I froze."I'm not-" I swallowed. "I just have things to do."Jaxon shifted, propping himself up on one elbow. The sheets pooled around his waist, and it took every ounce of self-control not to look. Not to remember how his hands had felt on me just hours ago."You're lying."I sucked in a sharp breath. "I'm not."He let out a low laugh. "You always do this, you know t

The room was filled with chatter, murmurs of excitement echoing around me. It was supposed to be casual—just a meet-and-greet, some interviews, maybe a few photos. Then I heard it."Isabel, some people say you're nothing but a gold-digger, that you're just after Jaxon's money. How do you respond to that?"The question cut through the air like a knife, and my heart was immediately beelining across my chest. I had expected some awkward questions, but not anything this difficult. It tightened in my throat, my palms grew damp, and my mind was racing to find a response, any response. Nothing came. I couldn't speak.I turned to my right and Jaxon stood off to the side, talking to a few reporters. His eyes met mine, and in that second, a recognition was fired in his eyes as to what had just been said. A flicker of disbelief crossed his features before setting in something more determined.The smirk on the journalist's face indicated he must have thought he had caught me in some scandalous mo