All Chapters of Always Almost Married: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Today marked my fifth anniversary with Jaxon. It was also the fifteenth time we had scheduled a trip to City Hall to get officially married.We had agreed to meet at noon at his favorite restaurant, have lunch, then go together.I wrapped up my work and arrived on time. That was when I saw them. A crowd filled the space, loud and scattered across the dining room.I paused in the doorway. Something tightened in my chest.I looked at Jaxon and waited for an explanation."Anna, you're here." He spotted me and waved. "Lisa closed a big deal today. Everyone wanted to celebrate, but they couldn't get a reservation anywhere, so I brought them all here. More people, more fun, right?"The pressure in my chest deepened. I had spent half a month securing that reservation. The entire city of Avella had only one restaurant that served the Suverian-style dishes Jaxon loved, and I had wanted to give him the most perfect anniversary we had ever had.He did not seem to notice."Hey, Annabelle!"

Chapter 2

The next morning, I walked into my employer's office and submitted a transfer request to the head office.He looked up from the paperwork and frowned. "Why the sudden change of heart? You turned this down the last time I offered it to you."I paused.That offer had come three months after Jaxon and I held our engagement party. Lisa had not yet joined his company. Back then, Jaxon poured everything he had into us outside of work. We were inseparable.When the head office opportunity came up, I turned it down without hesitation. I did not even tell Jaxon. I did not want him to feel that he was holding me back.Then Lisa arrived, and his eyes stopped finding me in a room.I met my employer's gaze and let two seconds pass before I answered, "I just want to push myself while I'm still young. My career is what matters most right now."He leaned back in his chair. "The head office rotation is a minimum of five years. Have you talked this over with your fiancé? You won't be able to come

Chapter 3

The day before my flight to the head office, Jaxon came home carrying a raspberry cake."I picked this up specially for you in Chirona City," he said.I shook my head. "I can't eat that."A flicker of impatience crossed his face. "What now? Are you seriously upset again? I just went on one business trip with Lisa. Is that really such a big deal? You can't even—""I'm allergic to raspberries," I said.He stopped.There was a time when Jaxon tracked my cycle to the day. Now he could not remember a food allergy he had known about for years.My eyes burned. My chest felt heavy, as if something pressed down on it.He stared at me for a moment."What? Really?" A trace of guilt crossed his expression. "I'm sorry, Annabelle. I've just been so busy lately. It slipped my mind.""It's fine," I said, keeping my voice even.It was not the first time. I had long since stopped expecting anything different.He looked at me, then turned and dropped the cake straight into the trash. "If you

Chapter 4

At that same moment, across the city, Jaxon stood in Lisa's apartment. He had just finished fixing the pipe when he glanced down at his phone.His gaze froze."Farewell?" A ripple of unease moved through him.[What does that mean, Anna?]He typed the message and hit send. A red exclamation mark appeared in the chat window.Jaxon stared at it. It was the first time Annabelle had ever blocked him.He started calling. Each attempt met with the same recorded voice: "We're sorry. The number you have dialed cannot be reached."He hurled his phone at the wall. It cracked against the plaster.Lisa rushed in. "Jax, what happened?""Annabelle blocked me," he said flatly.Lisa's expression softened into a dismissive smile. "That's it? I thought something serious happened."She blocked you, so what? Just sweet-talk her a little and she'll unblock you in no time. Girls do this all the time. Block you, delete you, just to get a reaction."Jaxon did not respond.In all the years he had k

Chapter 5

Annabelle's employer looked up from his desk, clearly caught off guard. "You didn't know? Annabelle transferred to the head office."Jaxon blinked. "The head office?"Something in him loosened. "So she went on a work trip."Annabelle's employer gave him a careful, almost pitying look. "A work trip? Did she not explain it to you properly? She transferred. Full relocation. It'll be five years before she comes back.""What." The word left Jaxon as if the air had been knocked out of him.He stood there, unable to ground himself in the moment.This was real. Annabelle had actually left him.Sharp panic hit him.He was not going to lose Annabelle. He refused.He got the head office address and left Annabelle's company at a near run.The moment he reached home, he pulled out his phone and booked the next available flight to Nouveland.Jaxon had just started packing when the doorbell rang.His head snapped up, light flaring in his eyes. "Annabelle! It has to be Annabelle. She has c

Chapter 6

I froze.Jaxon looked wrecked. His hair was unkempt, his eyes bloodshot, and his shirt creased and rumpled.Shock and confusion surged through me before I could contain them. "How did you find me?"He did not answer. He crossed the distance and pulled me into a tight embrace."Anna. I finally found you." His voice caught, rough with emotion. His arms tightened around me with unrestrained force.I frowned and pushed against him. "Let go, Jaxon."He released me."Annabelle, how could you disappear without a word?" Pain tightened his expression, and something raw and longing filled his eyes. "Do you have any idea how close I came to losing my mind?"I stepped back, keeping my gaze fixed on him. "What are you doing here?""Annabelle." The word came out strained, as if my question had struck a nerve.Red crept into the corners of his eyes as he said, "Annabelle, I know I was wrong. I should never have let things with Lisa cross the line. I should never have hurt you. And I should

Chapter 7

I closed the door without hesitation. The slam echoed through the hallway.Jaxon stood on the other side, and I felt nothing.If he wanted to sleep on the street, then that was his business. We had no relationship left to speak of.I glanced out the window at the figure below. He had not moved."He can stay there," I muttered.…That evening, the rain came down hard. I could still see Jaxon through the glass. He had not shifted from his spot. He stood there, completely still, like something abandoned.I watched him for a moment and felt only a dull irritation.Did he really think this would work? That standing in the rain would move me?He was free to keep dreaming. It would not matter if he collapsed in front of me. That part of me was gone.I pulled the curtains closed and went to bed.I slept through the night without interruption. Jaxon's presence outside did not cost me a single hour of rest.The next morning, a sharp knock on my door woke me."Who is it?"I opened t

Chapter 8

The entire living room was covered in photographs. Large and small images of Annabelle and Jaxon filled every wall. They were pinned and hung in dense clusters, with more scattered across the sofa.Jaxon's voice came from behind her. "Beautiful, isn't it?"Lisa blinked and pulled herself back to the present. She turned to face him, her expression hardening. "You called me over here for this?""Not just for this." Jaxon paused. When he spoke again, his tone was deliberate and cold. "I called you here because I need you to help me beg Annabelle for forgiveness."Lisa stared at him."What did you just say? You want me to beg her? Are you out of your mind?" Her voice rose, her face tight with fury.Jaxon's eyes darkened. "You have some nerve, raising your voice at me. If it weren't for you, Annabelle would never have left. You're going to help me get her forgiveness. Or you will regret it."Lisa let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Because of me? Jaxon, I never once forced you to do a

Chapter 9

Lisa looked at Jaxon."Jax… Jax, she hung up." Her voice barely held together, and she made herself small, as if that might help."That's your fault." Jaxon had moved past anger into something colder. "If you hadn't pushed Annabelle to this point, she wouldn't have hung up."He swung his hand and struck her across the face. The blow sent her crashing to the floor. Blood filled her mouth.Jaxon looked down at her, unsatisfied. His gaze swept the room until it settled on the wooden rod he had set aside earlier.Lisa followed his line of sight and began to shake."No. Please, Jax. Please don't." Her voice broke as she begged.The man who had once indulged her every mood did not seem to hear her. He picked up the rod and brought it down.The screaming lasted a long time. When he finally stopped, Lisa lay on the floor, unable to move.Jaxon wiped the sweat from his forehead and dropped the rod.He looked down at her, his voice low and deliberate. "Starting today, I will find new w

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