Under the Spotlight

The drive back to Jax's house was tense.

Grace sat in the passenger seat, arms crossed, nails digging into her skin. Every time she closed her eyes, she could still see the guy's smirk as he filmed her at the gas station. The ugly, hateful comments from that article were already burned into her brain.

And worst of all? Jax acted like this was normal.

Like she should just deal with it.

The second they pulled up to his house, Jax killed the engine and ran a hand down his face. "Well," he muttered. "That was fun."

Grace snapped her head toward him. "Fun?"

Jax groaned. "Jesus, I was being sarcastic, princess. Relax."

Her irritation spiked. "Stop calling me that."

Jax turned to her with a lazy smirk. "Why? You like it too much?"

Grace let out a sharp laugh. "God, you're so—"

"Charming? Handsome? Talented?"

"—Infuriating!" she finished, throwing her hands in the air.

Jax grinned. "Aw, don't get all worked up, sweetheart."

She glared at him. "You seriously don't care that the whole world thinks I'm some money-hungry girl using you for fame?"

Jax's smile dropped.

A flicker of something crossed his face—guilt, maybe?—but it was gone in an instant. "Look, I get it. You're not used to this shit. But trust me, the more you react, the worse it gets."

"That's easy for you to say," Grace shot back. "You've had years to get used to it. I've had one day."

Jax sighed and leaned his head back against the seat. "I'm telling you, Grace. It doesn't matter what they think."

She exhaled sharply. "It matters to me."

Silence.

For the first time since they met, Jax actually looked... lost for words.

Grace shook her head and unbuckled her seatbelt. "I need some air."

She threw the door open and stepped out before he could say anything else.

Inside the Mansion – And the Storm Keeps Coming

Grace barely made it two steps before her phone buzzed in her pocket.

A message from Finn.

"OH MY GOD. ARE YOU SEEING THIS?"

Her stomach dropped.

Before she could even open it, the front door of the house flew open.

Victoria.

And she did not look happy.

"Inside. Now."

Grace didn't even have time to react before Victoria grabbed her arm and dragged her inside.

Jax groaned from behind them. "Oh, great. Here we go."

The door slammed shut.

Victoria turned on her heels, arms crossed. "Care to explain what the hell happened?"

Grace blinked. "Uh—"

"Not you," Victoria snapped. Her sharp gaze cut to Jax. "You."

Jax sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Paparazzi caught her dropping me off."

"And?"

"And they started asking questions."

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "And you decided that instead of ignoring it, like any rational person, you'd just—what? Confirm everything?"

Jax shrugged. "It shut them up, didn't it?"

Victoria let out a slow, measured breath. "Jax, you don't shut them up. You feed them. And now that they've had a taste, they're not going to stop."

Grace shifted uncomfortably. "I mean... he's right. They probably would've kept pushing no matter what he said."

Victoria turned her sharp gaze on her. "And you. What were you thinking, going to a gas station in the middle of everything?"

Grace's jaw dropped. "I was thirsty."

Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose. "God. This is already a disaster."

Jax scoffed. "Relax, Mom. It's not that deep."

Victoria shot him a look. "Not that deep? Have you checked your phone, Jax? Because the internet is losing its mind."

Jax rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone.

He tapped the screen. Froze.

His jaw clenched.

Grace frowned. "What?"

Jax exhaled sharply, then turned the phone so she could see.

Her stomach plummeted.

The headline read: "ROCKSTAR JAX RIOT'S NEW GIRLFRIEND? FANS AREN'T HAPPY."

And beneath it—dozens of screenshots of her.

Her getting out of her car. Her standing beside Jax. Her looking confused as people shouted at her.

And the comments.

She's such a gold digger.

God, another fake-ass girlfriend storyline.

She's not even that pretty.

This is so staged, LMAO.

Grace's heart pounded.

Her hands clenched at her sides.

Jax's voice was oddly calm. "See? Doesn't matter what we do. They'll talk anyway."

Grace turned to him, eyes blazing. "But it's my face they're talking about."

Something flickered across Jax's face.

Victoria sighed. "This is exactly why I told you to keep a low profile, Grace. The second people started noticing you, this was inevitable."

Grace's throat felt tight. "So what? I just—stay inside forever?"

Victoria didn't answer.

Jax suddenly tossed his phone onto the couch. "Alright, we're done here."

Grace blinked. "Excuse me?"

Jax ran a hand through his hair. "You're pissed. My mom's pissed. Everyone's pissed. But it's done. We can't change it."

Grace stared at him. "That's your solution? Just—just ignore it?"

Jax shrugged. "Yeah. Kinda."

Grace let out a bitter laugh. "Wow. You really don't care, do you?"

Jax's jaw tightened. "I care. I just don't waste my energy on shit that doesn't matter."

Grace felt her nails dig into her palm. "It does matter."

Jax sighed and turned away. "Jesus, you're exhausting."

Her stomach twisted.

He said it so easily. Like she was just—some inconvenience.

Victoria watched them both for a moment, then clapped her hands together. "Okay. We're all very emotional right now. So why don't we all take a minute to—"

"I'm going to my room," Grace muttered.

She turned on her heels before either of them could say anything.

As soon as Grace shut the door behind her, she collapsed onto the bed.

Her hands were shaking.

She forced herself to take a deep breath, then grabbed her phone.

A new message from Finn.

"Hey. Call me when you can, okay?"

Grace hesitated.

Then—

She clicked his name.

And waited.