Cassandra’s POVJordyn’s voice had daggers in it. I took a moment to collect myself. Why was he being like this? He had no right to interrogate as to my whereabouts!Cameron and Dillon were talking. I really wanted to join them. It was time to cut this phone call short.“I’m with my family and friends,” I told him. “We’re just having a nice family evening.”“Is that so,” he replied sardonically.“Not that it’s any of your concern,” I added. “You’re about to marry Ellie. So why should you care about what I do?”Jordyn fell silent. I could hear him breathing but he didn’t say anything. This was ridiculous. Why was I still on the phone with him defending my actions? I could spend my time with whomever I wanted. I didn’t have to justify it to him. Maybe he should spend more time asking Ellie who SHE was with, I thought to myself snidely.I heard him inhale, then…click. He abruptly disconnected the call.I stared at my phone for a moment. He just…he hung up on me? Well fine then. Whatever.
Cassandra’s POVOn the weekend, I went to visit Stella and her mom, Julia. I stopped by the flower shop on the way to pick up some orchids, since I knew they were Julia’s favorite flower. I also put together a little gift basket with some bath bombs and scented lotions, as well as a lavender candle.“You shouldn’t have,” Julia said when I gave her the gift. “Really, Cassandra, that’s so thoughtful.”“Don’t mention it,” I waved my hand dismissively. Stella mouthed ‘thank you’ as she served us tea. I was happy to see that Julia looked well. A little pale and fragile, but she was clearly on the mend. I’d always been really fond of Julia. Stella’s parents divorced when she was very young and her dad took off, never to be heard from again. So Julia had been a single mother most of Stella’s life.We chatted well into the afternoon and ordered Chinese take-out for dinner. Shortly after dinner, Julia began to doze off, so Stella covered her in a blanket and Stella and I went upstairs to her be
Cassandra’s POVI woke up early, just as the sun was rising. Waking up early was something I did out of habit. During my marriage to Jordyn, I always got up before him. I’d carefully crawl out of bed so as not to disturb him, and creep into the kitchen to make him breakfast. I’d put on the coffee and cook him up something I knew he enjoyed: waffles with extra crispy bacon, omelets with extra cheese and mushrooms, oatmeal with raisins and chocolate chips. I did it out of love. He worked long days and I enjoyed having a nice, hot breakfast waiting for him when he woke up.Stella was fast asleep beside me, snoring and occasionally smacking her lips. I knew it was insanely early and I didn’t want to wake her, so I pulled back the covers and stretched my arms over my head. But as I crept out of bed, Stella rolled over and peeked at me with one open eye.“Are you nuts?” she mumbled. “It’s not even 6 am. What are you doing up this early?”I shrugged. She was right. What WAS I doing up that
Cassandra’s POV Stella and I pulled up to the office building and parked in the underground parking. Since it was Sunday, there were tons of open parking spaces so we parked close to the elevator. Stella frantically pressed the button, and for a brief moment, I was seized with panic. Memories of being trapped in the elevator at Jordyn’s office flashed through my mind. The confined space, the feeling of suffocating, the intense squeezing in my chest. But I took a long, calming breath. It had been an accident, being trapped that day. A one-off. ‘You’ve ridden the elevator thousands of times and HAVEN’T been stuck,’ I told myself. Besides, what was I going to do? Never ride in an elevator again? “Come on,” Stella urged the elevator, pressing the button like a mad woman. “That won’t make it come any faster,” I told her. “Yeah, well, it won’t make it come any slower, either,” she quipped back. We were both on edge. Seei
Cassandra’s POV I whipped out my phone. “Who are you calling?” Stella asked, as I searched my contacts. “Jordyn,” I replied. “What? Why?” Stella asked, concern in her eyes. I knew what she was thinking. She thought I had reverted to calling Jordyn because I was upset and seeking comfort. But that wasn’t the case at all. “We need to let him know that our designs have been stolen,” I told her. “This could impact our collaboration and the entire fashion competition. He has a right to know.” Stella frowned. “I suppose,” she said reluctantly, but I heard the hesitation in her voice. “Just remember, he still thinks you’re a personal assistant.” Right. For a brief moment, I’d almost forgotten that as far as Jordyn was concerned, I was just a low-level employee who was overseeing some of the project while our chief designer was away. “Okay,” I said as I hit the call button. “I’ll tell him you called me in
Cassandra’s POV By mid-afternoon, our team had assembled in our vandalized office. They all had the same reaction when they saw the mess: wide-eyes, a gasp, then a sad, sympathetic look. “We’ve hired a cleaning company,” Stella told them. “But Cassandra and I cleaned out the boardroom and studio as best we could. It’s not ideal, working under these conditions, but it’s the best we can do right now.” Once everyone was there, we told them the bad news – that the draft designs had been stolen. “We don’t know who stole them or why,” I told the staff, “but we can assume they intend to use our designs. As such, we can’t wait for the fashion competition to reveal our concept. We need to get some of our designs out to market as quickly as humanly possible.” Everyone nodded, although they looked apprehensive. “Not ALL the designs,” Stella interjected. “Just a few. So the first step is to decide which designs we can re-draft and p
Cassandra’s POV My eyes fluttered open but it was too bright so I closed them. Where was I? The room smelled of disinfectant. Confused, I opened my eyes again. I was shocked to find myself lying in a hospital bed. Disoriented, I struggled to understand. But then the memory flooded back to me. I’d been in the studio, sleep-deprived and exhausted when suddenly, I’d become very dizzy. ‘You must have fainted,’ I thought to myself. “Cass?” I turned to see Stella sitting on a chair at my bedside. She stood up and came to me when she saw that my eyes were open. There was someone standing behind her. I quickly realized that it was my brother, Cameron. “Jesus, Cassandra,” Cameron said. “You gave us quite a scare.” “What happened?” I asked. How did I get from the studio floor to a hospital? I looked at my wrist. I was hooked up to an IV. Stella saw the shocked look on my face. “It’s okay
Cassandra’s POV “Familiar how?” I asked Cameron. He shrugged. “I can’t explain it,” he said. “But the whole thing just felt off. I mean, they’re good designs. Fabulous, actually. Very creative. As I looked through them, though, something just wasn’t sitting right. So I went to your office to show them to you.” “Do you have the designs with you?” I asked. “Of course,” Cameron said. He opened his briefcase and pulled out a large folder. Cameron handed me a folder just as Stella let out a huge yawn. “Excuse me,” Stella said, covering her mouth. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked a little woozy.“Stella, please,” I told her. “You need to get some rest.” Stella hadn’t worked for three days consecutively like I had, but she was close. She’d pulled some really long days too. I was worried about her. I’d made a huge mistake, one that had landed me in the hospital. I didn’t want the same for her. Stella yawned again. “Maybe you’re rig
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