When Love Turns to Ash Novel – Chapter 11
Chloe winced, pain shooting up her arm from Jax’s grip, but her eyes sparkled with something darker—defiance. Her lips twisted into a cruel smile.
“What’s wrong, Jax?” she hissed, voice low and venomous. “Afraid to raise another man’s child? You, the great rockstar, cuckolded?”
The words struck harder than any slap. Jax flinched, the heat draining from his face, leaving behind only disbelief and the heavy thud of realization.
“What did you say?” he asked, his voice hollow.
“You heard me,” Chloe said, her laughter brittle and sharp. “You think I’d actually want your baby? Please. You were just a means to an end. A stepping stone.”
The betrayal washed over him like ice water. Every moment he’d questioned, every red flag he’d ignored—it all clicked now. The tight knot in his gut twisted tighter.
And then, as if summoned by fate itself, Julian Vance pushed through the crowd, his expensive suit rumpled, concern painted across his carefully composed face.
“Chloe!” he called. “My God, what happened? Are you alright, darling?”
Darling.
Jax’s head jerked up. The word sliced through the fog.
He stared at Julian. Then at Chloe. And back again.
Whispers. Laughs. Julian’s sudden rise as their new manager. Chloe insisting Julian handle all the band’s negotiations. The way their eyes lingered on each other when they thought no one noticed.
It all fell into place.
“You,” Jax growled. The word carried weight.
He turned, rage exploding in his chest. “It’s yours, isn’t it?”
Jax lunged, fists clenched, rage blinding. The crowd gasped as Julian stumbled back, hands raised, already stammering denials.
“Jax, what are you talking about? I don’t understand—”
“Don’t lie to me!” Jax shouted, grabbing Julian by the collar.
Chloe shrieked, struggling upright in her fallen gown. “Stop it, Jax! Yes, it’s Julian’s! And he’s going to marry me! He promised! Not like you—dragging things out for PR!”
Her words hung in the air like a slap. The full truth, laid bare.
Jax froze, Julian’s shirt bunched in his hands. The world tilted beneath him.
Chloe’s voice kept going, a knife twisting deeper. “You were never going to leave Savvy alone. She was always in your shadow, always your backup plan. But Julian… Julian had a real future.”
Julian straightened his jacket, brushing invisible lint off his sleeve with deliberate calm. Then he smirked.
“She’s right, Harding. We’ve been together for a while. The record deal? The engagement? All part of the setup. We needed to secure control. And you were—what do the suits call it? A volatile asset. If you turned, we’d spin it: a tragic love triangle, a cheated man… very sympathetic. Very profitable.”
He leaned in closer, his voice dropping. “You really are a fool, Jax. You treated that girl—Savvy—like she was disposable. Did you think karma wouldn’t catch up to you?”
Chloe, flushed and furious, grabbed a champagne flute from a nearby table and flung it at him. The glass shattered inches from Jax’s feet.
“Go back to your little fan girl, Jax!” she screamed. “Oh wait—you can’t, can you? She’s gone! And she wouldn’t take you back even if you begged!”
Her laugh rang out, shrill and bitter, echoing through the hushed crowd.
Jax stood frozen.
Betrayed. Broken.
Alone.