Chapter 144
The door shut behind Sage and Jason, sealing them away from the polite laughter and clinking cutlery of the dining hall below. The quiet that followed was thick, and it made Jason’s shoulders tighten even before Sage opened her mouth.
Sage spun to face him the moment the latch clicked. “Do you realize how embarrassing you were out there? What the hell did you think you were doing?”
Jason blinked, halfway to unbuttoning the collar of his shirt. “What?”
“Don’t you ‘what‘ me,” she snapped, her eyes flashing. “You were staring at her, Jason. At Faye. Like you’d never seen her before.”
Jason frowned, pretending to be confused, though the moment she said the name his pulse gave a small, guilty jump. “You’re imagining things again,” he said flatly, tossing his jacket over the arm of a chair. “I wasn’t staring at anyone in particular.”
“Oh, for Moon’s sake, stop it,” Sage shot back, her voice rising. “Do you think I’m blind? You could barely keep your eyes off her. It was humiliating! Not just for me, but for you. For us.”
Jason exhaled through his nose, trying for calm, but the irritation under his skin pulsed sharper. He was tired and didn’t have the strength to defend himself right now. “You’re overreacting,” he muttered. “I was just…”
“Looking at her,” Sage cut in. “Constantly. While she sat there with her mate–her mate, Jason -beside her, and you still couldn’t help yourself.”
Her voice trembled slightly on that last word, the anger underneath colored with something raw…hurt, maybe, or jealousy…but Jason was not in the mood to deal with it. He ran a hand through his hair and sat down on the edge of the bed. “It’s been a long day, Sage. I’m not doing this tonight.”
“Of course you’re not,” she hissed, following him. “Because it’s easier to act like I’m crazy than admit you were drooling over my sister in front of all those people.”
He stiffened at the word sister, jaw tightening. Drooling. He hadn’t thought it showed. He’d tried to be discreet, to just… look. To see how much she’d changed. Faye had walked into that hall like she owned it…graceful, calm, radiant in that understated way that made her impossible to ignore. He’d told himself it was simple curiosity, nostalgia maybe, but even he knew better. The way his chest had tightened, the flash of something dangerously close to regret–it wasn’t something he could hide completely.
Still, he wasn’t about to hand Sage the satisfaction of being right.
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“I don’t know what you think you saw,” he said finally, standing to face her, “but I wasn’t doing anything wrong. You just want to stress for no reason.”
Sage gave a sharp laugh that held no humor. “Gaslighting me now? You really think I didn’t notice? You think I didn’t see the way you looked at her when she walked in with him?”
Her tone dripped with disdain on him, and Jason’s brows furrowed. “Alexander,” he said shortly. “You can say his name.”
“I don’t care what his name is right now,” Sage fired back. “He’s your guest, Jason. And you disrespected him–and me–by acting like some love–sick pup the entire evening! You had your eyes all over Faye throughout dinner.”
Jason’s patience finally cracked. “You’re being ridiculous,” he snapped. “I was polite, that’s all. The rest of it is in your head.”
“In my head?” she repeated. “You barely heard a word anyone said unless it came from her direction! You couldn’t even look me in the eye!”
Her words landed like stones, but Jason refused to let them show. He turned away, tugging
at the buttons on his cuff. “I’m tired, Sage… I told you.”
Sage moved closer, her anger feeding on his calm. “You’re not tired–you’re guilty. You know exactly what you were doing.”
Jason sighed, long and sharp. “Believe whatever makes you sleep tonight.”
That only made it worse. Sage’s hands clenched at her sides. “You really think you can dismiss me like that?” she demanded, voice trembling now. “You think I’ll just keep pretending this doesn’t bother me?”
Jason turned back toward her, finally meeting her eyes. “What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to admit it!” she shouted. “Admit that you were staring at her! That you still want
her!”
Jason’s jaw worked silently for a moment. The truth sat heavy at the back of his throat, burning to get out, but he swallowed it down. There was no way to win here. “You’re making something out of nothing.”
Sage’s anger tipped over into something more aggressive. She shoved him hard against the chest. “Don’t lie to me, Jason! You were being disrespectful and everyone saw it! Even Alexander!”
Jason caught her wrists before she could push him again, his voice low and sharp. “Watch it.
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But Sage only glared at him, breath quick, eyes glistening. “Do you have any idea how pathetic you looked? Staring at a woman who doesn’t even care you exist anymore?”
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That one landed. Jason’s grip on her wrists tightened, just for a moment, before he let her go and stepped back. “Enough.”
“Not enough!” she threw back. “You’re still in love with her. Admit it.”
Jason’s temper finally flared, and when he spoke, his voice was like a blade. “You knew who she was to me before you ever came to my bed.”
Sage froze.
“You think it’s strange I looked at her?” he continued, voice harsh but quiet now. “She was my mate, Sage. My mate. You knew that. So don’t act surprised that seeing her again might stir something up.”
Sage’s face went pale, the fire in her eyes faltering for the first time. “You’re saying you still
love her?”
“I’m saying stop pretending this is some betrayal,” he bit out. “You knew what you were stepping into. You made your choice. We both did.”
For a second, the only sound was her breathing–shallow, uneven. Then she slapped him.
The crack of it echoed through the room. His head jerked slightly to the side from the force of it, but when his eyes found hers again, they were calm. Cold.
She stood there trembling, her hand still half–raised, as if shocked at her own reaction.
Jason didn’t say a word. A muscle in his jaw flexed, but he didn’t retaliate, didn’t even raise his voice. Instead, a faint, mocking smirk curved his lips, and that infuriated sage more than
anything.
“You done?” he asked quietly.
“Don’t you dare mock me,” she hissed.
“I’m not mocking you,” he said, stepping past her toward the dresser. “I’m trying not to say something I’ll regret.”
“Regret?” she echoed. “Like mating me instead of her?”
Jason stopped, his back to her. “Don’t twist my words.”
“I don’t need to,” she spat. “You do a fine job showing it.”
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He turned then, slowly, meeting her glare with a measured calm that was somehow worse than anger. “You think throwing tantrums will change what’s already done? You wanted me, Sage. You fought for me…you got me. So stop acting like the jealous lover you worked so
hard to become.”
Her breath caught, her voice breaking with disbelief. “You’re disgusting.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. But you knew that too.”
Sage stared at him, trembling–not from fear, but from rage she couldn’t contain. The man standing before her wasn’t the Jason she’d stolen from her sister, the charming, impulsive alpha who’d once whispered promises into her hair. This man was colder, harder. Or maybe he’d always been this way, and she’d just refused to see it.
Jason brushed past her toward the door that led to the balcony, muttering under his breath,”
I’m done with this.”
She turned after him, shouting, “Don’t you dare walk away from me!”
But he didn’t stop. He opened the door and stepped out into the night air.
Sage stood there, breathing hard, staring at the empty doorway. Anger still burned in her chest. She pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, the sting of tears threatening, but she
swallowed them back.
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