23
“Marrying Zane made me realize something, Cassian,” I said, my voice steady, deliberate. I met his eyes, watching them darken, knowing exactly where to strike.
“You in bed?” I let out a slow, cold smile. “You are nothing special.”
I knew exactly what would hurt him the most.
For so long, I had been shackled by guilt, by the weight of everything he had done for me. But not anymore. I was done being manipulated by the debt he thought I owed him.
Cassian’s expression twisted. His face darkened, then–just as suddenly–went pale. His hands trembled at his
sides.
*Pixie, you…” Horror on his eyes.
“Listen to me–that was just a slip of the tongue! I didn’t mean it!”
“You and Zane–you haven’t actually slept together, right?” His voice turned frantic. “You’re just saying this to hurt me…right?”
I let out a quiet, humorless laugh.
“Stop lying to yourself, Cassian.”
I met his gaze, letting the weight of my next words sink into him like poison.
“You’re not mad because you love me. You’re mad because you can’t control me anymore.”
“NO!” His voice snapped, raw with rage.
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His breathing turned ragged, his pupils blown wide like a predator whose prey had just slipped from its grasp. Then he lunged
His hands clawed at my collar, fingers digging into my shoulders like a vice.
“You slept with him?” he growled, his voice feral. His grip tightened, his body trembling violently.
“How could you betray me?”
Before I could react, he bit down on my
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sweat
“Cassian, are you insane?!” I thrashed against him, my heartbeat hammering in terror.
“Let me go-
Just as his fingers tugged at the waistband of my pants, just as I was about to be swallowed by despair the door burst open with a deafening crash.
In the next second, the crushing weight on me vanished and I was pulled into a familiar embrace. The second registered his familiar scent–cedarwood, relief came crashing down like a tidal wave, overwhelming the lingering
terror and I couldn’t hold back the sobs that tore from my throat.
“It’s okay, honey. It’s over,” Zane whispered into my hair, his voice trembling with restrain fury. “I’ve got you. You’re safe,”
Cassian lay sprawled on the floor, groaning in pain, Zane’s men pinning him down. Blood dripped from the
corner of his mouth where Zane had hit him.
But I didn’t care.
I just pressed myself closer to Zane, as if that alone would be enough to erase the last five minutes. It took a long time for my sobs to die down. And when I finally lifted my head, my voice came out raw, wrecked.
“How did you find me?”
Zane cupped my face, his thumb brushing away the tears I hadn’t even realized were falling.
“The moment your plane took off, Mrs. Montclair called me,” he said softly
“She said Cassian left his everything behind and flew to Italy. She was worried about what he might do to you.”
My relationship with Mrs. Montclair had always been complicated
She had manipulated me in the past, using me to keep Cassian in check, but at the same time, she was the only
one who had taken me in when I had nothing.
After all, I had been orphaned before I even turned fifteen. Without Mrs. Montclair taking me in and raising me, my life wouldn’t have turned out the way it did.
I knew she hadn’t called Zane out of pure concern for me. She probably predicted that Cassian would cross a line and she wanted to use this as a chance to make Zane show mercy–to stop him from completely destroying
Cassian.
But I wasn’t going to let Cassian walk away unscathed.
He had gone too far. Mrs. Montclair could hate me for it later if she wanted. This time, I’d be the villain.
“Call the police.” Cassian was still pinned to the floor by Zane’s bodyguards, his face bloody, his breath ragged.
“Liv…” He flinched at my words, his expression cracking with something close to despair. “It’s time for you to face the consequences of your actions, Brother.
At the word “brother,” tears streamed down his face. He looked utterly broken, “You’re really not going to forgive
me?”
I didn’t answer. I just let the silence say it for me.
I simply looked at him one last time–at the boy who had once saved me. Then, without another word, I tur
away
Goodbye, Cassian. Goodbye to the innocence of our youth.
Zane ended up staying in Italy for a full two months before finally deciding to return home to handle business.
During that time, he was insatiable–constantly clinging to me, making it nearly impossible to focus on my
studies
“I’m not coming back,” I huffed, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. “Not unless you tell me why you were sulking before. Otherwise, don’t even dream of seeing me again.”
“I’m not coming back,” I huffed, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. “Not unless you tell me why you were sulking. before. Otherwise, don’t even dream of seeing me again.
I meant it as a bluff, but his grip on my waist only tightened, his breath warm against my ear.
The problem was, at this point, I couldn’t even look directly at any of his accessories–ties, rings, cufflinks. Because every time I did, all I could think about was the very inappropriate things he had done with them.
