Chapter 8

When I got home, my mom still wasn’t back. I went into the bathroom and stared blankly at my reflection in the mirror, then began scrubbing viciously at the spots Jax had touched.

So dirty, too dirty.

I didn’t stop until my skin was raw and broken. Only then did I feel a sense of relief.

Jax was the ‘Blade’ Caleb had mentioned. He was just a petty thug from our old village. After our family moved here, he followed, and he only got deeper into the underworld, becoming a small-time loan shark in this area.

But no one knew that Jax had liked me for many years.

A few years ago, when I met Jax again here, he saw with his own eyes how Caleb was beating me. He scared Caleb away, but I stopped him from retaliating. After Caleb fled in a panic, for the first time, I didn't resist Jax's touch. Instead, I weakly collapsed into his arms, crying and telling him how much I hurt.

Jax was startled and immediately wanted to take me to the hospital. But I told him all I needed was for him to hold me and stay with me. From then on, this unspoken relationship was established.

Although I never let Jax directly confront Caleb, every time I showed him my injuries, I knew Caleb would suffer a brutal beating. In fact, Caleb’s frequent visits to underground casinos and his reliance on high-interest loans since junior high were all Jax’s doing.

It’s quite laughable. Jax wasn’t a good person, yet he fell for someone like me, who only pretended to be good for him.