Page 116 of Fallen Empire

The bruises had faded to yellow and green, but the scars were everywhere. Jagged reminders of everything I’d survived. The bullet wound in my chest. The angry, healing scrapes on my thigh. The tiny stitches beneath my collarbone.

I dropped the towel the rest of the way and my breath hitched.

Every insecurity I’d ever buried came roaring back at once.

Because my body wasn’t just a war zone anymore…

It was the aftermath.

Millie’s eyes stayed glued to the mirror, watching my reaction. Watching me take in the damage—at the hands of someone else—for the first time.

“He’ll never want me once he sees this.”

I hadn’t meant to say it out loud. But that didn’t make it any less true.

She didn’t flinch. “Savannah, Jaxson sees you the same way I do. You’re remarkable. And your body… it’s not wreckage. It’s a masterpiece. Each scar is a story, a chapter of survival. You’re more beautiful now than you’ve ever been.”

God, I wanted to believe her.

I wanted to hold on to those words more than anything.

But the truth was, my body felt ruined. Foreign. A version of me I didn’t ask for.

I turned away from the mirror. “Can you just… take them off? So I can get dressed?”

I couldn’t bring myself to remove the bandages. I didn’t want to see any more than I already had.

She didn’t argue. Just set the blow dryer down and gently peeled away each one, her hands steady and quiet.

When she was done, I dressed quickly and sat down. She picked the dryer up again and ran it through my hair, soft and slow.

It didn’t take long.

“All done,” she said, wrapping the cord around the handle and sliding it back under the sink.

She never brought up the scars again.

And I was grateful for that.

Millie and I stepped back into the living area, both of us freshly changed and pretending not to carry the weight of what had just happened in the bathroom.

“Took y’all long enough,” Jaxson said, glancing up from the couch. “I was about a minute away from going in there.”

Then his eyes landed on me—and softened.

“You look… beautiful.”

I smiled, barely. But I didn’t let the words settle. He hadn’t seen the same body I had. He hadn’t seen the damage.

“I’m going to grab coffee and breakfast,” Millie announced, heading toward the hallway. “Want anything?”

Jaxson hesitated. “Ben left for the office. He should be back in about thirty. Why don’t you wait for him?”

“Because Ben isn’t my babysitter,” she fired back, not missing a beat.

I made my way back to the sofa and noticed a new blanket already draped over it. He must’ve put it there while we were gone.

He really is amazing.