Chapter 4From His Shadow To A Blackwood

Jackson wanted me to serve tea to Isabelle as a formal apology.

I let out a sharp, incredulous laugh.

"Why don't you just break this wrist too, Jackie?"

"I could die from the pain right here, tonight, and I would still never apologize for something I didn't do."

A heavy silence descended on the room. We stood in a standoff, neither willing to back down.

It was Isabelle who broke the tension.

She leaned weakly against Jackson’s arm, her eyes brimming with tears. "Jackie, please, let it go… I'm sure Olivia didn't mean to…"

Her words were gasoline on a fire.

Jackson's expression darkened further. "You're still as stubborn as ever, Liv."

He walked over to Sophie, nodding to his men to restrain her.

My blood ran cold.

Sophie was my only true friend, my sister in all but blood.

Jackson knew my weak spot, and he was pressing on it with surgical precision. He wouldn't even investigate, wouldn't ask a single question. He had already declared me guilty.

He was giving me a choice.

Apologize, or watch Sophie suffer. For every minute I refused, it would get worse for her.

I knew he wasn't bluffing. I knew the man behind the polished, charming CEO persona. He was ruthless.

"Time's up," Jackson said, his voice quiet but echoing with menace.

Waves of pain pulsed from my wrist.

I watched his men move toward Sophie, and finally, I broke.

"I'll apologize."

Sophie, her mouth covered, was struggling, muffled cries escaping.

I bowed my head.

The humiliation was a physical weight, crushing me. My throat felt like it was lined with sandpaper.

"Jackson," I croaked. "I apologize."

I walked towards Isabelle, my eyes fixing on the massive floor-to-ceiling window behind her. Outside, the lights of the city glittered, a dazzling, indifferent dreamscape.

I couldn't remember how long ago it was. Right after my parents died, when I first came to the Croft estate. I was homesick but too scared to cry where anyone could see me. I would sneak out to a hidden corner of the garden to let my tears fall in silence.

One night, under a starless sky, Jackson found me.

He piggybacked me all the way back to the warm, glowing mansion.

He'd told me, "Next time you want to cry, you come find me. I'll always have a shoulder for you."

He'd told me, "Anyone who makes my Liv cry, I'll make sure they never smile again."

The promises of a boy, still echoing in my ears, while the man stood before me, a stranger.

The tears I’d been holding back finally broke free.

I had been so foolish.

I thought that even if we didn't have love, we had history. We had fifteen years of shared memories.

I choked on a sob, forcing the words out, severing the last tie between us.

"You never believed me."

"In your heart, I'm always the villain. I'm always the one hurting Isabelle."

"Fine. I accept it."

"But from this moment on, you, Jackson Croft, are not my brother anymore."

Not my lover.

Not my family.

"We're done. There is nothing left between us."

As I stood there, shaking with sobs, I saw something flicker in Jackson's eyes. A moment of hesitation.

I ignored it.

I bent my waist, preparing to utter the lie, to give him the apology he demanded.

But a deep, magnetic voice cut through the tension.

"It seems I've come at a bad time."