Chapter 7: Aunt Millicent Can Go To Hell

JAX

You must be wondering... Who the fuck is Millicent Grant?

I met her when I was six, and even at that age, I hated her guts. She is my aunt—my father's spoiled youngest sister. When I was six, she was twelve, and a living nightmare.

Back then, my father raised her like his own daughter. And how did that bitch return the favor? By making my life an absolute hell.

She destroyed my school projects. She threw away my lunch. But the worst was when she brought her friends home, backed me into a corner, and forced me to strip down to my underwear just so they could all point and laugh at me.

Thankfully, the old butler saw it. He told my father, and my father didn't hesitate. He packed her bags and shipped her off to my older aunt’s house. She did all of that just to prove my father loved her more, but she was dead wrong.

And now, years later, she was coming back.

"You handle the welcoming," I growled, storming past the butler in the hallway. "I want no part of it."

I walked into my bedroom and slammed the heavy door shut. Leaning my back against the wood, I let out a long, frustrated breath. Officer Marcus Grant had been invading my thoughts all evening. All I wanted to do was lock my door, collapse on my bed, and touch myself while imagining those heavy, rough hands pinning me down.

Instead, the news of my aunt completely killed my mood.

***

The next morning, I woke up at dawn. I needed to get to campus before she even opened her eyes.

I threw on a tight black sleeveless shirt and ripped jeans, leaving my platinum silver hair dripping wet against my neck. I rushed downstairs, grabbing my bag.

But I was too late.

She was sitting on the living room couch, dressed in designer clothes, talking loudly on her phone. A maid stood perfectly still right next to her, forced to hold a plate of sliced fruit just so Millicent could blindly reach out and pick at it.

There it was. That same disgusting, entitled attitude toward anyone she viewed as beneath her.

My stomach twisted in pure disgust. My nails dug so hard into my palms that the pain snapped me back to reality.

"I'll call you back, sweetheart," Millicent purred into her phone, dropping it onto the cushions. "Of course, I can't wait for the shoot."

She stood up and slowly walked toward me. Her fake smile made my skin crawl.

"Oh, my sweet nephew. I waited all morning for you to wake up."

"Why?" I asked, my voice like ice. "You could have rested after your long flight."

"First class is very relaxing, darling. I had plenty of time to rest..." She stepped into my space. Suddenly, her hand shot out, wrapping tightly around my bare arm. Her manicured nails dug sharply into my skin. Her sweet smile didn't reach her cold eyes. "I just need to spend time with you, like I promised my brother. So don't make this difficult for me, you little..."

"Little?" I ripped my arm out of her grip, stepping back. "I'm not the six-year-old Jaxon anymore. Stay the fuck away from me."

I didn't wait for her response. I grabbed the nearest set of keys off the entry table, sprinted to the underground garage, and peeled out in the green Tesla, heading straight for campus.

When I pulled into the school parking lot, I hit the brakes.

Standing right next to my usual parking spot, leaning against his cruiser with his arms crossed over his broad chest, was Officer Marcus Grant.

My breath hitched. My eyes immediately dragged up and down his body, drinking in the way his tight black uniform gripped his thick thighs and wide shoulders. He was obviously waiting for me. Probably expecting a thank you... or an apology—for the library stunt with Eugene yesterday.

A cocky smirk stretched across my lips. I stepped out of the car, ready to push his buttons.

But before I could even open my mouth, a shadow stepped up right beside me.

Millicent.

My blood ran cold. "Are you fucking stalking me?" I yelled, glaring at her.

She immediately flipped a switch. Her cold eyes widened, her lip quivered, and she put a hand over her chest like a wounded angel.

"Jaxon, please!" she gasped softly. "I only followed you to make sure you got to school safely! I'm just worried about you, as your aunt!"

Marcus’s stern face instantly softened. The harsh glare he had prepared for me melted away as he looked at her. He actually bought her innocent, sweet aunt act.

Before I could expose her, Millicent stepped right past me. She walked up to Marcus, tilting her head, batting her eyelashes, and smiling up at him with pure charm.

"I'm so sorry if my nephew is causing trouble, Officer," she purred, her voice dripping with honey. "He can be such a handful."

To my absolute horror, Marcus smiled back. A genuine, polite smile. He looked down at her, clearly interested in the beautiful, caring woman standing in front of him.

A violent, burning spike of jealousy stabbed straight through my chest. My hands balled into fists, my knuckles turning white. My blood boiled so hot I could hear it rushing in my ears.

She wanted to ruin my life again? Fine.

But she was not getting her claws into the only man I wanted. I would fucking destroy her first.