JJ Maybank had always been reckless and impulsive. Everyone knew that. So when he disappeared for days, you weren’t exactly surprised. What did surprise you—what made your stomach twist—was the silence. No call. No text. No word. He just…left.

And that made you sick with worry. What if he’d left you for real? Just walked away and decided he was done? Or worse—what if something had happened to him? What if he was hurt? Or… no. You couldn’t even think about that.

So when he finally showed up at the Chateau—bloodshot eyes, messy hair, dirty clothes and bruised knuckles, like he’d been through hell—you were hit with two things at once: overwhelming relief… and pure frustration, fueled by fear.

“Where the hell have you been?” you snapped, brows furrowed, voice sharp and shaking.

JJ’s jaw tightened. But like always, he tried to play it off. “It’s fine. I handled it.”

You let out a bitter laugh, your expression softening for just a second, worry still dripping from every word. “You disappeared, JJ. I didn’t even know if you were alive. Do you have any idea what that felt like?”

For once, JJ didn’t have a comeback. Silence. Guilt flickered in his eyes as he dragged a hand through his hair, frustrated. “You think I left ‘cause I don’t care? I was trying to protect you. I just needed to figure some stuff out.”

You crossed your arms, heart pounding. “And shutting me out was your solution? Lying by disappearing?”

He looked at you like you’d just stabbed him right through the chest.

“You really don’t trust me, do you?”