When Love Turns to Ash by Gavin

My world revolved around Jax Harding, my older brother's captivating rockstar friend.

From sixteen, I adored him; at eighteen, I clung to his casual promise: "When you're 22, maybe I'll settle down."

That offhand comment became my life's beacon, guiding every choice, meticulously planning my twenty-second birthday as our destiny.

But on that pivotal day in a Lower East Side bar, clutching my gift, my dream exploded.

I overheard Jax' s cold voice: "Can't believe Savvy's showing up. She' s still hung up on that stupid thing I said."

Then the crushing plot: "We' re gonna tell Savvy I' m engaged to Chloe, maybe even hint she' s pregnant. That should scare her off."

My gift, my future, slipped from my numb fingers.

I fled into the cold New York rain, devastated by betrayal.

Later, Jax introduced Chloe as his "fiancée" while his bandmates mocked my "adorable crush"-he did nothing.