Cassandra’s POV“Do I look like an assistant?” I asked.It was three days later and Stella and I were standing outside Jordyn’s office. We were about to meet with him to sign the contracts but I, of course, had to keep posing as a personal assistant.“What the hell does that even mean?” Stella laughed.“I don’t know,” I said defensively. “I mean, like, am I dressed okay?”Ever since I’d almost let my true identity slip at the hospital, I’d become a little paranoid. I really didn’t want Jordyn to discover who I really was until the divorce papers were signed.“Yes,” Stella huffed. “You’re fine. Stop worrying so much. He already thinks you’re an assistant. He had no reason to think otherwise. Now come on, we’re gonna be late.”Stella and I met the receptionist, and then we were led into a large conference room. Jordyn and his team were already waiting for us.“Miss Sinclair,” Jordyn said, standing to address Stella. “I hope traffic wasn’t too bad.” He extended his hand and Stella shook i
Cassandra’s POVThe revised divorce papers sat on the table. The room was completely silent.Ellie’s eyes flew open. Jordyn stared at the papers in stunned silence.“Jordyn,” Ellie started, but he waved his hand dismissively at her. “Leave, please” he said. “All of you.”Everyone stood and awkwardly filed out of the room, Stella included. But as Stella left, she winked at me, gave me a little thumbs up, and mouthed:‘Good luck’.“What are these?” Jordyn asked, his eyes fixed on the papers on the table.“You know what those are,” I said firmly. I was done with playing games. He agreed to sign the papers after his meeting with my company’s CEO. And I was holding him to it.“The divorce papers?” He looked up at me and I saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes. But I couldn’t let myself care. I reminded myself of our marriage and the way he had treated me all those years. His feeble apologies now didn’t make up for the years of neglect.“Yes, Jordyn,” I replied, lifting my chin. “Sign them.
Cassandra’s POVI arranged all the papers back exactly the way I’d found them.My heart beat quickly in my chest. I resisted the urge to read through all the files. Surely, Jordyn was waiting for me and he’d wonder what I was doing if I took too long. The last thing I wanted was for him to catch me snooping around on his desk.I racked my brain, trying to think. But I couldn’t reconcile my memory of that night with the picture. I hadn’t been there, the night of the accident. I didn’t remember being anywhere near the scene.Yet, I was in that picture, clear as day.I wasn’t sure what was going on, nor why I was in a picture at the scene of Ellie’s accident. I couldn’t dwell on it though. I had to file those thoughts away for the time being.I had more pressing matters to attend to.I’d come here determined to have Jordyn sign the divorce papers. Enough stalling. Enough beating around the bush. He apologized that night at the hospital, as though his weak apology could somehow wash away
Cassandra’s POVI texted Stella as I left the boardroom. I wanted to find her ASAP so we could finally get the heck out of there.‘Where are you?’ I texted her.‘Parking lot,’ she replied.Oh. She’d already left? Good.I hurried out of the building, my heart racing. I scuttled across the parking lot as quickly as my high heels would allow. Sure enough, Stella was waiting, her back leaning up against the driver’s door. She saw me and shot me an expectant look.I couldn’t contain myself. I broke out into a run, almost tripping several times. I waved the divorce papers proudly in my hand as I approached the car.“No!” she said, practically bouncing with anticipation. “Is that what I think it is? Did it…did it ACTUALLY work this time?”I held out the divorce papers to her with a flourish.“Take a look for yourself!” I said. She scanned them, a big smile on her face.“He signed?” she asked, her eyes bright.“He signed!!!” I practically shouted.“Holy shit, Cassandra! I don’t believe it.
Cassandra’s POVStella and I pulled up in front of the Vicious Circle.“Remember this place?” Stella asked, a mischievous look on her face.“Of course,” I said. It just also happened to be the same building where Dillon and I had our ‘business’ dinner. My mind flashed back to that wonderful dinner. All the amazing food. The easy conversation. The look in Dillon’s eyes…“Earth to Cassandra,” Stella said, waving her hand in front of my face.“Sorry,” I mumbled.“You really ARE a mess,” she said. “Well, it’s nothing that a few martinis can’t fix.”Just then, I remembered something.“Wait. I have this…” I reached into my wallet and pulled out a Vicious Circle VIP card.Stella’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit, Cass! Where did you get that?”“Dillon gave it to me,” I shrugged. He’d given it to me during our dinner. I tried to refuse but he was adamant. He said I should use it whenever I wanted.Stella snatched the card from my hands. She flipped it over.“Cassandra,” she said, “it’s a diamond-le
Cassandra’s POV“Seriously? Don’t be such an asshole,” I snapped at him. I assumed he was just playing dumb and I was SO over all his bullshit.“Everything okay here?” Stella asked, appearing at my side.“Yup,” I said. We both put our hands on our hips. Jordyn looked beseechingly at me. I didn’t get it. What did he want? The papers were signed. He was here with Ellie. She was glaring at him from across the room. It was time to move on! “I was just directing Jordyn here back to his beloved fiancé. He seems to have gotten lost.”“That way, fuck wad,” Stella said, pointing at Ellie. “Cassandra,” Jordyn started, but I waved my hand dismissively at him and walked away.“What a jerk,” Stella said. “Sorry, I didn’t see him pull you away. Next time, I clock him if you want me to. I have a good right hook. I even took boxing lessons. For cardio, of course. But I can throw a punch.”“Thanks. But I think that would only add fuel to the fire. Let’s just ignore him.”“Back to the bar?”“You know
Cassandra’s POVI took a step back to admire the dress. Finally, after what seemed like countless hours of work, Ellie’s dress was finished. I’d followed her list of instructions to a fault. I double-checked the stitching to ensure there weren’t any flaws. I inspected the silk to ensure it hadn’t bunched or unraveled anywhere. And of course, I scanned the hand-stitched embroidery to make sure it was perfect.I had to admit, although I’d been initially annoyed by Ellie’s long list of instructions and demands for the dress, the end product was superb. It was a glamorous gown, in a soft, cream-colored silk with a fitted, halter-style bodice covered in hand-embroidered, delicate designs in a rose gold.The skirt was floor-length and full with several stiff crinoline, hand sewn to perfection. On the skirt, there was more embroidery cascading from the waist to the knee. It had an open back that scooped to the small of the back.Needless to say, it wasn’t your average wedding dress. It had a
Cassandra’s POV“Holy crap!”I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Had I just caught Ellie cheating? For a moment, I stood there like a stunned idiot. Then I snapped back to my senses.I wanted to get back to my car without being noticed, so I slowly turned around to skulk my way back to my car.“Cassandra?”Shit. That was Ellie’s voice. She’d seen me. I turned around. Ellie glanced at me then pushed the man away. He stumbled a few steps, then scratched his head. He cast Ellie a look that I couldn’t quite see from my position at the bottom of the stairs. Ellie held the door open for him and he slinked through.“What the hell are you doing here?” Ellie asked, turning to me, her hands on her hips. If she’d just been caught cheating, she sure wasn’t acting like it. She was acting like her normal, bitchy self.I held up the garment bag. Ellie glanced at it, then saw the Hot House Flower logo.“Oh my god,” she said, her expression changing. “Is that my dress?” Her face broke out into a smi
Cassandra’s POV “What’s the address?” Cam asked as I stared at my phone in utter disbelief. I still couldn’t believe this was happening. Who would kidnap Stella? And why?“You can’t come,” I said, looking up at him, my eyes wide with shock.“What do you mean I can’t come?” he asked.“The person on the phone said I have to go alone.”The instructions had been very clear.Ping.A text came through the assigned meeting place. I scanned it.“I can’t let you go alone,” Cameron told me. “It’s not safe. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”I shook my head. “Then what will you have me do? Stella’s life is on the line, Cam. You saw the texts. I have to follow their directions perfectly or they’ll kill Stella.”Cameron sighed deeply and began to pace. It was coming on rush hour and the street was becoming jam-packed with cars as people left their jobs for the day. I had to go now, otherwise I risked being stuck in traffic.“I’m sorry,” Cameron finally said. “But I’m coming with you.”“No,
Cassandra’s POV Kidnapped? Stella was kidnapped? Who would do this? Who would kidnap Stella?The world around me lilted and I felt dizzy. I couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be.It felt surreal.“Holy shit,” Cameron said, his eyes scanning the text. Then sighed, taking a step back from the text on my phone. He wrung his hands through his hair before he looked up at me. “Let me see that again,” he said. I thrusted the phone at him so he could get a closer look. “I’m calling the police,” he told me after he’d read the text. He whipped out his phone.“No,” I pushed his arm, sending his phone flying through the air. It landed with a crash on the cement. It didn’t break though, thanks to his protective case.He went over and picked it up.“What the hell, Cass?” Cameron asked.“Sorry,” I said. “But look. It says, ‘instructions to follow.” Sure enough, my phone pinged with another text message.“If you want to save your friend,” the text said. “You must come alone. If yo
Cassandra’s POV Dillon followed me around like a hawk for the next few days. He drove me into work every day and even personally escorted me to the elevator. He texted me every hour on the hour and at the end of the day, he was always waiting out front, leaning on his car. I didn’t mind though. I was actually pretty rattled by everything. Knowing that Ellie wasn’t in jail any more didn’t sit well with me.I laid awake at night, convinced that I heard someone outside the spare bedroom window at Dillon’s house. Of course, it was always just the wind, but still…I was constantly glancing over my shoulder, convinced that, at any moment, Ellie would appear and attack me. I was becoming paranoid and I hated it.Every night Jordyn phoned us but he couldn’t find hide nor hair of Ellie. It was like she’d just vanished into thin air. Jordyn had gone to her house and let himself in with his key. She wasn’t there though. Her toiletries were gone and her dresser drawers had been wide open. One o
Cassandra’s POV“I’m surprised,” Dillon said. “I thought for sure Jordyn had bailed Ellie out. But I guess I was wrong. He seems really…” Dillon’s voice trailed off as he searched for the right word.“Worried?” I offered.“Yeah. I mean, he actually told me to look after you. That says a lot. I guess he’s finally realizing how awful Ellie is.”“Awful and dangerous,” I said.“So I guess we wait?” Dillon replied.“I guess we do,” I agreed. We turned our show back on but neither of us had the capacity to watch it. We were both tense and anxious. Hopefully, Jordyn could track down Ellie. In the meantime, there really wasn’t anything we could do.Roughly fifteen minutes later, my phone rang.“It’s Jordyn,” I said, answering it.“Her phone’s been disconnected,” Jordyn said as soon as I answered.“What?” I asked, stunned.“I tried everything. Her phone, her social media accounts, everything. But she’s blocked me on all her social media. I have no way to contact her.”“Why would she do that?”
Cassandra’s POV What?!Ellie wasn’t in jail anymore? My stomach dropped. Knowing that Ellie was safely behind bars had been one of the only things bringing me comfort over the past week. Ellie was unhinged and there was no way of knowing what she’d do next. Surely, she was furious with me and looking to retaliate. But since she’d been in jail, I hadn’t been overly concerned. She was free now though?“Are you sure?” I asked.“Yes,” Dillon nodded. “Martin made a call to the jail to get some more details on her arrest and to see if she had any prior arrests. But the jail informed him that Ellie was released earlier this afternoon on bail.”“I didn’t even know she had her bail hearing,” I said quietly. “Who bailed her out?”Dillon shrugged. “Martin doesn’t know. It’s confidential information. But he’s trying to find out. Cassandra, I really think you should stay here tonight.”I agreed. With Ellie on the loose, I didn’t feel safe going back to my house alone. She already tried to kill me
Cassandra’s POV I stopped by the liquor store and picked a bottle of Pinot Noir, Dillon’s favorite red wine. Then I drove straight to his house. I knocked, but I heard him call out through the house:“It’s open!”So I let myself in. The moment I stepped inside his house, I felt comfortable and warm. There was something about Dillon’s house that made me feel at ease. Or maybe it was Dillon himself. I wasn’t sure. But in any case, I was glad to be there, even if it was so I could ask him for help.I went to the kitchen, wine in hand, and was met with the tantalizing scent of lasagna.“That smells amazing,” I told him, setting the wine down on the counter.“I’m glad you called,” he said, uncorking the wine. “I have enough lasagna to feed a small army. So, what’s up?”He poured the wine and passed me a glass.“It’s about Jordyn’s grandfather,” I stared, but I watched as Dillon’s face fell. “No, it’s not like that,” I explained in a rush. “He’s a very good friend of mine. This honestly has
Cassandra’s POV I drove home and let myself in. It was very quiet and for a moment, I missed being at Dillon’s. After the cruise, I’d decided it was time to go back to my own house. I was all better now and there was no good reason for me to stay at Dillon’s. But I’d gotten used to our little routine, and I missed Dillon’s dinners and our after dinner board games and Netflix binges.I thought about calling Dillon and casually inviting myself to his place for dinner. But he’d been so busy lately as the newly appointed CEO of his family’s company. Besides, I couldn’t keep leaning on him so hard. He’d already done more than enough for me.I took out my phone and dialed up Dillon’s friend, Sam, the doctor who had checked in on me while I was at Dillon’s.“Hello?” he asked.“Yes, hi there. It’s Cassandra, Dillon’s friend? You visited me while I was at his house?”“Oh yes,” he said, his tone registering recognition. “Is everything okay?”“Yes, yes,” I assured him. “I’m perfectly fine. I’m a
Cassandra’s POV I pulled into Stanley’s estate and grabbed the bouquet of flowers and caramels. I hadn’t seen Jordyn’s grandfather, Stanley, in a while and I was excited to see him. It had been a few days since our celebration at Dillon’s bar and when I called Stanley to ask for a visit, he assured me that Jordyn wouldn’t be there.I knocked on the front door and the maid answered. She brought me to the living room where Stanley was sitting, looking quite dapper in a polo shirt and pressed pants. He’d been home for a bit now and I was happy to see the color back in his cheeks. He smiled as soon as he saw me and went to get up, but I motioned for him to stay seated. He was doing well but he was still recovering.“Don’t get up on my account,” I told him, rushing towards him. I leaned down and he kissed my cheek.“Are those for me?” he asked, reaching for the flowers. “Oh Cassandra, orchids, my favorite. How lovely and thoughtful of you.”“And these are for later,” I said, handing him th
Cassandra’s POV Stella and I walked into the party beaming from ear to ear. The fashion competition had been a huge success. I defended our designs and the show continued. The judges named the winners of the contests and we personally congratulated them after the show. They were all young and they reminded me of a younger version of myself and Stella when we were just starting out. They had that awkwardness and lacked confidence. But with our help, I knew they would all be very successful one day.I didn’t talk to Jordyn at all that night. Once the show was over, Jordyn left. I did, however, see the look of shock on his face when I finally revealed my true identity on the runway. I couldn’t keep a secret anymore. Our company was being attacked and hiding my identity from Jordyn wasn’t worth risking our company. So it was all out in the open now.I figured he was probably pissed at me for lying, but I didn’t care. I had much more important things to focus on.Stella and I planned a cel