Too Late to Back Out

Grace thought locking herself in her room would help, but it didn't. If anything, it made things worse. The silence only made her thoughts louder, and the weight of everything that had happened pressed down on her chest.

She was angry—angry at the paparazzi for twisting everything, angry at Victoria for throwing her into this situation, and most of all, angry at herself for letting it get this far. But beneath the anger, guilt burned through her.

Her hands trembled as she grabbed her phone, hoping for some kind of distraction. But the moment the screen lit up, a flood of notifications greeted her. Messages, articles, photos.

Her name was everywhere.

Her picture with Jax in the car was already circulating, along with headlines speculating about their "relationship." Some fans seemed excited. Others... not so much.

"Who is she?"

"Gold digger vibes."

"No way Jax Riot has a girlfriend. This has to be fake."

"She doesn't even look like his type."

Grace's stomach twisted as she scrolled through the comments. She knew this would happen the moment she agreed to Victoria's plan, but seeing it all unfold so quickly made her head spin.

A sharp knock on the door made her flinch. She barely had time to react before the door swung open.

"Are you seriously crying right now?" Jax's voice was sharp, but not entirely unkind. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, watching her like she was a problem he didn't have the patience to deal with.

Grace quickly wiped her eyes, embarrassed. "I—" She paused, unsure what to say. She didn't want him to see her like this.

Jax sighed, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. "Look, if you can't handle this, then maybe you shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place."

His words hit her like a slap.

Grace's jaw clenched as she stood up, her frustration boiling over. "Do you think this is easy for me?" she snapped. "I didn't ask for this, Jax. Your mother basically threw this at me, and I—" Her voice broke, and she swallowed hard.

Jax ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. "Yeah, well, welcome to my life."

There was something in his tone that made her pause. A bitterness, a weight behind his words that she hadn't noticed before.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Jax leaned against the wall, watching her carefully. "Look, I get it. This whole thing is a mess. But if we're gonna do this, you need to toughen up. The media? The fans? They don't care about how you feel. They'll eat you alive if you let them."

Grace's hands curled into fists. "That's easy for you to say. You're used to this. I'm not."

Jax let out a short, dry laugh. "Used to it? You think I like this? Every time I step outside, I have cameras shoved in my face. People waiting for me to mess up so they can tear me apart online."

Grace looked away, her anger simmering down just enough to let his words sink in.

"Yeah, well," she muttered, "that doesn't mean you have to be such a jerk about it."

Jax smirked, but there was no real amusement in it. "It's my natural charm."

Grace rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything else, her phone buzzed.

It was a message from Victoria.

Victoria: You need to fix this. Now. The way things are right now isn't good. Find a way to make it work.

Grace exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair.

"Who is it?" Jax asked, eyeing her phone.

"Victoria," she muttered. "Telling me to 'fix this.' Whatever that means."

Jax scoffed. "Of course she is." He pushed himself off the wall. "Well, you heard her. Guess that means we have to start acting like an actual couple now."

His words made her stomach twist.

She wasn't ready for this.

But it was too late to back out now.