With all the disappointment and hate she felt right now, Tara stared at her fiance, trying to wrap her head around the things she had seen when she pulled up with her car. It wouldn't be the first time Jax would cheat. But the way he looked at the brunette she had never seen before, or at least never paid attention to, told her there was more.

In her mind she was already assuming an affair between the two, causing the blood in her veins to turn cold. She gave up so much for this man and he had nothing better to do. She should've known. God, she felt so stupid.

"What the hell was that, Jax?! I've seen Juice jump up in panic just to get between you and that..slut!" That girl was probably nothing else but a Croweater; a new one she assumed because she had never noticed her in the club before. "Is she the reason why you're never home?"

"She's not a slut", he told her quickly, his voice raised. Tara had a right to be angry, yes, but she had no right to call Cleo a slut; because she simply wasn't. "Nothing happened between her and me, believe it or not. I told you already that it would be better for both of us if we go different ways, Tara."

The doctor snorted and scoffed a bitter laugh, her arms crossed before her chest as she looked at him judgemental. "You're actually replacing me with a girl without any experience in life? Is she that good in giving head or what was it that made you fall for her?"

Jax' ocean blue eyes turned dark, they were almost in a dark blue now as he stepped closer to the doctor, making her take a step back again just like in the morning. She was pushing his boundaries with her attitude and she definitely needed to get down from her high horse.

Tara and him had a short conversation a few hours ago and Tara had asked if they could talk again because of their kids. She loved this man, but not what came with him. The club was pure poison in her eyes, ruining everything the two ever had. That's why Jax told Cleo to bring the kids to the club so him or Tara could pick them up.

There was no way he would want to share another night with Tara in the house but after her threat, he wouldn't leave the boys alone with her. But he also knew they couldn't stay at the clubhouse all the time, that's why he gave his okay that he would stay at the house until they clarified things. But he told her right away that he would sleep on the couch.

"I told you nothing happened. Insult her one more time and the boys won't stay at the house, Tara", he threatened. This was something he hated to do, it caused so much more unnecessarily drama. "This between us── that's over. We had our time, let's end it here before it gets even dirtier."

A little unexpected, Tara slapped him across the face and stormed outside without another word, leaving him standing there. Man, he was angry but managed to calm himself down with a few deep breaths. He could handle a slap in the face but Tara's lack of respect was what bothered him so much.

Once outside, the doctor looked around if any kids were running around before she stormed towards Cleo and got in her face.

"I'm sick of you whores trying to get in my fiance's pants. You think you're something special? Then you're wrong. You better back off or I'll handle it", Tara spat angrily. Inwardly, she was jealous at the beauty in front of her but wouldn't admit that.

"Tara, come on", Tig tried to get between the girls but Cleo didn't let him. She pushed the doctor away from her and against the next wall, leaving only a few inches between them. The other guys got up, just in case they needed to break shit up.

"You better watch your mouth, doc. If you ever call me a whore or threaten me again you better look over your shoulder twice when you leave your house. I'm not someone you can push around, remember that." Cleo's voice was surprisingly calm and soothing, yet it sounded threatening enough to send a shiver down Tara's spine.

Because of her father's and brother's ties to many criminals and greedy whores, she had learned to speak up for herself and wouldn't allow anyone to push her around.

The brunette stepped away when Jax came out of the clubhouse. They shared a brief look, somehow she was worried he wouldn't accept her talking to his girlfriend like that but Tara had it coming. When he gave her the slightest smile, she knew he wasn't mad.

Tara cleared her throat, trying to hide how embarrassed she felt. No one had dared to talk back to her except for Gemma; and Tara had made sure to keep the matriarch away from her family. And she was planning to do the same with Cleo.

The doctor took all the courage she had left and got in Cleo's face once more. "He's mine", the brunette said dead serious before she casually walked over to her car, got in and left the lot with an aggressive turn of her car and squeaky tires.

"Can anyone explain what that was?", Tig asked, his voice laced with curiosity. He was dying to know what was going on even though everyone here had their ideas.

Jax snaked both his arms around Cleo's waist from behind, smiling to himself as she didn't hesitate and leaned against him.

"Over the last few months Tara and I have grown apart. Each of us wants a different life and before it gets dirty, I needed to end things. I met Cleo a while ago and──", he paused for a moment. It was hard to say what they were, because they weren't a thing yet but it was definitely more than friendship, a lot more. "And I fell for her. Get used to see her around more often. She's off limits by the way."

Cleo smiled briefly while listening to Jax' little speech. She assumed he had finally broken up with the doctor, which explained her little tantrum only a few minutes ago.

"I can't wait to get to know all of you", Cleo added to Jax' words and put her hands over his. She was excited about this new period of her life. Would it work out? How would they react finding out about her brother? And most importantly, how would her own brother react?

That was something they still needed to talk about. About how they would handle those things and if they would tell them soon or wait with it. Jax was the club's President, it was important his brothers would have his back.

It was weird to see none of the guys super surprised, a few of them were even cheering at Jax' statement.

"I swear I wasn't flirting with her before", Tig defended himself with raised hands. "I was just being nice."

"You were totally flirting, man", Juice smirked, earning a slap on the back of his head from Tig that caused the others to laugh.

"You better keep your hands to yourself, Tiggy, or you won't have them anymore", Jax looked at him in all seriousness, the scowl on his face replaced by a smirk. "You couldn't know, bro, it's all good."

Tig let out a relived sigh, making the brunette snort a laugh. "I said I wasn't interested anyway."

"Good, because I won't accept you flirting with my brothers", he said with a teasing grin, pressing his lips down on her temple. "You wanna give me a chance now, darlin'? I'm a free man."

Cleo turned her head so she could look into his eyes. She nodded with a soft smile and felt honestly relived that she could finally do what she wanted since a while.

Almost gently, she crashed her lips on his and snaked her arms around his neck while his hands rested on her hips, keeping her close to him. His tongue slipped past her lips and a soft whimper came from her as they just stood there and kissed.

She had no idea if they would actually work out but for now, it felt right. Her feelings told her Jax was the right one, the one that could become the love of her life.

Still, Tara's words were lingering in the back of her mind. She had seen the disappointment in the doctors eyes and could imagine how hurt she was. If Jax would leave her one day for someone else, she would be just as angry; but their relationship was already a loosing game, it wasn't only her fault they had broken up now.

After Cleo had pulled away, Jax smiled at her and pecked her lips once more. He hadn't felt this much during of a kiss in months, which showed him once again that it was the right decision to end things with Tara.

"Welcome to our family, lass", a man with a thick scottish accent spoke up, embracing the brunette in a hug just like everyone else did afterwards. It was weird how comfortable she already felt around here the first time already.

They were all caught up in talking that no one noticed Gemma walk up, pushing her sunglasses on the top of her head looking wasted as fuck. She was still trying to get back to her family. Nero was the only one giving her comfort at the moment but that wasn't enough; she needed her son and grandsons, the club, being part of their everyday life.

The moment she saw her son and the, to her, unknown girl kiss, she couldn't believe her eyes. What about Tara and her grandsons? Did they break up and most importantly, who had the kids? Would this be the new girl keeping her son away from her or was it finally a woman who could accept his life and everything that came with it?

──

authors note; I know this was a shorter chapter, next one will be longer again! Hope you enjoyed it. Oh, another thing; I won't dig deeper into the storyline with Clay. He betrayed the club like in the show, yes, but Jax took over as Pres quickly and Clay ended up in jail, just to clarify that. Feel free to leave a comment. 🖤