Page 149 of The Jaded Notes

I glance away, heat creeping up my neck. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“The guy you’ve been seeing. Guns mentioned him.” Callum’s jaw ticks with tension. “Are you happy?”

I sink onto the seat; the fight draining out of me. “It’s...hard to explain.”

“How so?”

“He’s gone.” My filter is obviously muted. “He left for business and doesn’t know when he’s coming back.”

“He left you?” Something shifts in Callum’s expression, relief mixed with something fiercer. “Stupid man.”

“It’s not like that.” But even as I say it, it sounds hollow. “His work is important.”

“More important than you?”

I want to defend Jax, to explain about his intense world and impossible choices. But sitting here, buzzed and heartbroken, the words won’t come. I lower my head and try not to let Callum see my devastation.

“Livianna, I made that mistake before, and I’ll never do it again.” Callum sinks to his knees in front of me, his hands finding mine. “Lily, look at me.”

Against my better judgment, I do. His face is earnest, desperate in a way that makes my insides twist.

“I know I fucked up. I know I hurt you more times than Ican count.” His thumbs run over mine. “But I’ve changed. I’m clean, really clean this time. I’ve been working with a therapist, dealing with all the shit that made me so toxic.”

I study his face, and he’s right. Something is different. The shadows under his eyes are gone. His skin has a healthy glow, rather than the paleness I remember. Even his hands feel steadier.

“Callum…”

“Please.” He presses his forehead against our joined hands. “I know I don’t deserve another chance. I know you have every right to tell me to go to hell. But I’m begging you, Lily. Let me prove I’m not that broken boy anymore. Let me prove to you that you’re the only thing that matters.”

My chest tightens with conflicting emotions. Part of me wants to run and protect the fragile peace I’ve built.

But another part, the part that knows how it felt to be loved by him when he was whole, whispers that maybe people really can change. I know I have.

“Callum, I don’t know if I have it in me to be hurt by you again.”

“Then don’t let me.” He lifts his head, eyes blazing. “Come watch the concert tonight. From the side of the stage. Just...be there. See who I am now.”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like a good decision.”

“I’m not asking you to decide anything tonight. I’m just asking you to let me show you.” His voice drops to that gravelly register that used to undo me. “One night, Lily. Just watch me perform for you the way I should’ve been doing all along.”

The alcohol in my system makes everything feel heightened: the intensity of his gaze, the warmth of his hands, and the way my name sounds like it’s full of love when he says it.

My shoulders roll forward. “The media will have a field day if they see us together.”

“Let ’em.” His grip tightens. “I’m not ashamed of lovingyou. I never was, never have been. The shame was in how badly I handled the shit that happened.”

I close my eyes, trying to think clearly through the haze of vodka and complicated emotions. Jax is thousands of miles away, buried in business that’s more important than whatever this is between us.

And Callum is here, kneeling at my feet, offering me everything I once wanted from him.

I’m so done with the heaviness of making decisions. I just want to be free from it for one night.

It’s just a concert, Livianna. Nothing more.

I open my eyes. “Okay, I’ll watch from the side of the stage, but that’s it.”

His face transforms, hope lighting up his features like the sunrise. “That’s all I could ever dream of.”