His Promise, My Shattered World

Jax figured Savvy' s quiet disappearance from the bar was some kind of tactic.

He thought she was smart, playing hard to get after overhearing him.

He didn' t get it, not really.

He couldn' t imagine the depth of her hurt.

He was more annoyed that she' d almost ruined his pre-show buzz with Chloe.

"See? Total headcase," he muttered to his bandmates after she' d gone.

"Good thing Chloe's got that plan," their bassist, Mark, said, always eager to agree with Jax.

"Yeah, engagement, baby, the whole nine yards. That'll send her running for the hills," Jax said, trying to sound confident for Chloe' s benefit, who was now looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

Chloe just smiled, a cool, calculating curve of her lips. "It' s good PR, darling. Rockstar finds true love. Settles down. The labels eat that up."

Ben found me a few hours later, after their showcase.

I was huddled in my dorm room, tear-streaked and shivering, despite the heat blasting.

"Sav," he started, his voice hesitant. "Jax told me you were at the bar."

I didn't look at him.

"He' s an ass, Sav. What he said, what he' s planning… it' s messed up."

"You didn't stop him," I whispered, my voice raw.

"I tried to talk to him before, when he first mentioned this 'scare Savvy off' idea with Chloe. But he wouldn't listen."

He ran a hand through his already messy hair. "He's completely snowed by Chloe. She wants into the industry, bad. And Jax… Jax thinks she' s his ticket, and maybe something more."

I remembered Jax in the booth, his eyes on Chloe, a look I' d never seen him give anyone.

A look I' d always dreamed he' d give me.

"He' s really with her, isn't he?" I asked, needing to hear it, to make it real.

Ben nodded slowly. "Yeah, Sav. He is. For a while now, pretty serious."

The words were like another punch to the gut.

He tried to say more, something about Jax being an idiot, about how I deserved better.

But Chloe called Jax' s phone then, her voice audible even from across the room where Ben had set it.

Jax, who had apparently come with Ben but lingered outside my door, picked up instantly.

"Hey, babe. Yeah, showcase went great... Yeah, I'm just checking on something... No, no, almost done."

His voice, so different from the one he used with me, even when he was being kind.

He poked his head in. "You good, Savvy?" Not really looking at me, his attention already halfway back to Chloe.

I just stared at him.

"Right. Well. Ben, Chloe wants to go celebrate. You coming?"

He was gone before Ben could even answer.

Ben sighed. "See? He' s obsessed. I tried to tell him you weren' t some psycho fan, that you genuinely cared. But his buddies, Mark and Lee, they just egg him on. 'She's just a kid, Jax. Chloe's a woman.'"

It was clear. I was an inconvenience. A loose end.

The next day, I walked to the international student office.

My hands were steady as I filled out the application for the Florence study abroad program.

The scholarship I' d been offered earlier in the year, the one I' d almost dismissed because it meant being even further from Jax.

Now, it felt like an escape hatch.

Florence. A new city, a new life.

As far away from Austin and Jax Harding as I could get.

A few days later was Ben's twenty-fifth birthday.

A party at some friend's upscale SoHo loft.

I didn't want to go. The thought of seeing Jax, of seeing them, made me feel sick.

But Ben pleaded. "Please, Sav. It' s my birthday. Just for a little while."

So I went, trying to paste on a brave face, my artfully ripped jeans and band t-shirt feeling like a costume.

The loft was crowded, loud, filled with people trying too hard.

And then I saw them.

Jax, with Chloe Davenport draped on his arm.

She was beautiful, in a sharp, glossy way. Perfect hair, perfect clothes, a smile that didn' t quite reach her eyes.

They made a beeline for me. My stomach twisted.

"Savvy!" Jax said, a little too brightly. "So glad you could make it. There's someone I want you to meet."

He gestured to Chloe. "This is Chloe Davenport. My fiancée."

Fiancée. The word hit me harder than I expected, even though I knew it was part of the script.

Chloe extended a perfectly manicured hand. Her grip was firm, cool.

"Jax has told me all about you, sweetie," she said, her voice dripping with condescension.

"It's cute you had a little crush, but he's a grown man now. We're even thinking about starting a family soon."

She patted her flat stomach meaningfully.

"You'll find someone your own age, I'm sure."