I felt everyone’s eyes fall on me. None of them recognized me because I never accompanied Jordyn to any events. As such, I’d been completely out of the public eye during our marriage. I’d never really been identified as his wife.
Ellie’s eyes narrowed and looked at me, a malicious expression on her face.
“Oh, I…um…beg your pardon,” the woman said, withdrawing her hand from Ellie.
I saw the looks of confusion pass through them. If I was his wife, then why had he entered with Ellie on his arm?
“I wouldn’t really call myself his wife,” I smiled politely. “Not anymore. We’re in the midst of a divorce.” I shot Jordyn a look that said ‘how dare you do that to me?’
Everyone nodded, relieved that the mistaken identity had been a minor mishap. Jordyn, however, was angry.
“Why are you here, Cassandra?” he asked, his eyes fixed on me.
I balked.
Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to make a scene in front of all these people? The group of people uncomfortably averted their eyes.
“Why, for the appetizers, of course,” I smiled brightly. “Isn’t that why we’re all here?” I winked at the group. When they realized I was telling a joke, they all began laughing, grateful that Jordyn and I weren’t about to have a go at it after all.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” I said to the group. “I work for a fashion design company called Hot House Flower. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”
“Oh yes,” one of the women gushed.
I was being modest, of course. Hot House Flower was very popular and I knew it.
“Are you the CEO?” someone asked.
“Afraid not,” I said, reaching into my purse for some business cards. “But I work directly for one of the founders, Stella LeBlanc.”
“Really?” a man asked, stepping forward.
I passed him a business card. Stella and I had discussed this beforehand. We were both co-founders of Hot House Flower, but only her information was public. I’d kept my information and identity private, on account of my marriage to Jordyn. I didn’t feel like tonight was the right time to reveal that I was a co-founder, and Stella respected my opinion.
“I’ll take a card,” one of the women said. “I LOVE Hot House Flower designs. So creative.”
“I’ll take one, too,” someone else said.
Before I knew it, I had an even larger group gathered. Word had spread that a representative from Hot House Flower was here, and now people were asking for my business card.
I was tickled pink by how popular I was!
Jordyn, on the other hand, was green with envy.
He was never one to share the spotlight. Especially not with me, his soon to be -ex-wife.
“Cassandra,” Jordyn called out, angrily, as I became absorbed by the crowd. But before he could say anything else, Ellie exclaimed:
“It’s Mr. Cameron Stoneworth!”
A few gasps and all heads turned to the door. Sure enough, Cameron had just entered, looking dapper as usual.
I was surprised to see him, but come to think of it, I shouldn’t have been. Of course he was here. He had a very high position in our family company, almost the CEO, actually. Although he'd been waiting for me to take over our family company. So that he could concentrate fully on his overseas business.
Jordyn’s expression changed instantly when he heard that Mr. Stoneworth had arrived. From where we were standing, we couldn’t see him clearly.
“I’ll talk to YOU later,” he said, pointing at me. Then he scurried off in the direction of Cameron.
I smiled bemusingly. Mr. Stoneworth was, of cousre, my brother Cameron.
Jordyn didn’t know that, though. I’d hidden the truth about my family and our family. I even fabricated a fake last name until I took Jordyn’s when we got married.
So imagine my surprise when, two months into our marriage, I learned that Jordyn was OBSESSED with MY family’s business. He basically stocked them through articles in the newspaper. He told me time and time again how much he wanted to make a deal with Cameron. But Cameron (agreeing to keep the fact that he was my brother a secret from Jordyn) rejected Jordyn’s business offers.
Cameron didn’t like Jordyn. He never had. But the main reason was that our family company didn't need to work with Jordyn's company for now.
So no projects from Jordyn had ever moved forward.
Cameron saw me and moved towards me. He greeted me warmly, reaching out for a hug. But I stopped him.
“Please, don’t tell people you’re my brother,” I whispered into his ear. He stopped, and with a puzzled look, said:
“Okay.”
I looked over and saw Jordyn glaring at me.
“Have you seen the CEO of Finch Fox Holdings?” I asked Cameron, as we sauntered over the appetizer table. “Or his son?”
Cameron popped an appetizer into his mouth and shook his head.
Strange. I was pretty sure he was here somewhere. But I hadn’t bumped into him yet. “I’m going to go freshen up,” I told Cameron.
“Yeah, you should do something about that lipstick,” he teased. I nudged him in the ribs and told him to stop it. Always a joker, that one. Then I weaved my way through the crowd to the Ladies Room.
I was applying my lipstick when I saw Jordyn behind me in the mirror.
“Seriously?” I asked. “You followed me in here?”
I was getting tired of this. Why couldn’t he just leave me alone?
“Expecting someone?” he asked, staring at me in the mirror. “Like maybe your sugar daddy out there?”
“My what?” I asked, turning around to face him. “You mean….Cameron?”
“That’s exactly who I mean,” Jordyn said, narrowing his eyes. “I saw you two together out there. Flaunting your relationship.”
This made me chuckle. Jordyn thought I was having an affair with my brother, even though he didn’t know Cam was my brother.
“What are you laughing at?” I noticed that his expression had turned dark, his eyes, dangerous.
I wanted to leave. There was something about the way he was looking at me that I didn’t like.
I tried to brush past him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about?”
But he stopped me as I tried to pass. He grabbed my shoulders, holding me in place. “Don’t I?” he asked, his face only inches from mine. “Because from where I stand, it looks like I know exactly what I’m talking about. MY wife is cheating on me with another man.”“Stop it,” I said, trying to get away. But he was too strong. His breath was hot on my face.
I let out a holler for help.
But he leaned in and silenced me…
By pressing his lips onto mine for a forceful kiss.
Cassandra’s POVI struggled.At first, I really did.His lips pressed into mine and I struggled against him.But then…His lips were warm. Warm and familiar. The lips that I’d kissed so many times before. And despite all my anger, I felt myself unwillingly wanting his kiss.My mind screamed at me: Push him away! My mind knew better, knew that I shouldn’t let this happen. My mind wanted me to run, far away. To stop this kiss immediately.But my body?My body still wanted him. My body always had. So many nights, I’d lay awake in bed, longing for him to touch me, for his lips to kiss my hot flesh. My body wanted this kiss.My mind and my body fought hard.But my body won.I parted my lips and the kiss deepened. I tilted back my head, allowing him to kiss me passionately.It was ironic. I’d always longed for Jordyn to kiss me like this. I’d longed for it our entire marriage. Our kisses had been lifeless. Cordial. The kind of kiss you give a friend.He had passion, all right. But this pas
Cassandra’s POVI whipped my head toward the voice at the door.Dillon?My jaw fell open.Dillon was the last person I expected to see here!Luckily, Jordyn was surprised, too. Surprised enough to let go of my hand. This gave me the chance to step away from him.Dillon stepped in front of me, blocking Jordyn.Jordyn was pissed off. He glared at Dillon.“Who the hell do you think you are?” Jordyn seethed.“She doesn’t want to be in here with you,” Dillon snapped back.“She’s my WIFE! Mind your own fucking business,” Jordyn said, his voice rising.I saw them both clench their fists.Shit. They were going to fight. That was the last thing I wanted.“Let’s just go,” I said, touching Dillon lightly on the shoulder. “Come on. It’s not worth it.”Dillon didn’t respond, but I could see that he was breathing heavy. He was clearly very agitated. They both were.My hand on Dillon’s shoulder must have really pushed Jordyn over the edge. His face contorted with rage. “It’s HIM, isn’t it
Cassandra’s POVI laid out the suit one last time on the desk. Then I inspected it with a scrupulous eye. I wanted to ensure that every single detail was perfect, right down to the last stitch.It was a gift for Stanley Smith, Jordyn’s grandfather. I had been working on it for months. I hoped it would show him just how much I respected him, and how much I’d enjoyed our time together.I carefully placed it in a garment bag, realizing that it was probably the last gift I would ever give the old man.Once Stanley heard that Jordyn and I were getting divorced, he’d want nothing to do with me. At least, that’s what I assumed. So this birthday tonight was going to be bittersweet. I still had no idea how I was going to tell Mr. Smith that we were divorcing. But I had to face the music some time. And tonight seemed as good a time as any.Just then, there was a light knock on my office door.“Come in,” I said, and Stella entered.“Cass, we have a bit of a problem,” Stella confessed, holding ou
Cassandra’s POVImmediately, the room broke out into whispers and murmurs.“A fake?” I heard people gasp.Various expressions plagued the faces of the guests. Some were perplexed, some were shocked, some were skeptical, and then there was Ellie.She was smug.She was smug as shit. And my blood boiled with her accusation.However, I didn’t want to make any more of a scene. And I knew there was no point in arguing with her. So I calmly said:“It’s not a fake. I assure you. In fact, I can prove it. May I?”I reached for the suit jacket and pulled down the lip of the chest pocket. Everyone watched with wide eyes.“See? Right here?” I asked, pointing to a small logo. It was a white orchid. “This is how I know it’s not a fake.”“That doesn’t prove anything,” Ellie scoffed.“Oh, but it does,” I smiled triumphantly at Ellie. “Each designer at Hot House Flowers has their own, unique logo. This one here is an orchid, as you can see. They sew their logos into discreet places on every piece of clo
Jordyn’s POVI was shocked. Shocked and embarrassed.What had she just said?I couldn’t believe it. Cassandra had just told everyone that we were getting a divorce!How dare she?I was caught between my anger and utter humiliation.I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. My parents were staring at me, a scrupulous look on their faces. And my grandfather? His jaw was hanging wide open.Not cool, Cassandra, I thought to myself. Not cool at all.I had to say something. I had to regain my composure. Everyone was gawking. This was awful.I put down my fork and cleared my throat. My cheeks were flushed from humiliation.“Is this true?” my mother asked.“Not entirely. I haven’t agreed to the divorce,” I said, my eyes focused on my plate. I felt Cassandra’s eyes boring into me. She was clearly very, very angry at my mother. But this? This was crossing the line.I looked up and locked eyes with Cassandra. “This is a personal matter, Cassandra,” I said, each word slow and enunciated. “Plea
Cassandra’s POVI said good-bye to Stanley and thanked him for our talk. But when I left the study, I was surprised to see Jordyn standing up against the wall, right outside the study door!Our eyes met and I looked at him suspiciously.“Were you eavesdropping?” I asked.Had he been standing outside the door the entire time? And if so, how much had he heard? It was supposed to be a private conversation between me and Stanley!Jordyn stared at me, his gaze intense.“Did you just tell Grandpa about the divorce? Why? It’s our personal business,” he said, ignoring my question.I was flummoxed. Jordyn continued to stare at me. He had a strange look on his face. Surprise? Concern? Hurt? And I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I heard a touch of desperation in his voice.“What do you care? I asked. “It’s not a secret, Jordyn.” I kept my voice calm and controlled. “At least, it shouldn’t be. Your family has a right to know. The divorce is already decided. All you have to do is sign the papers an
Cassandra’s POV“Cassandra!” Jordyn called out. He rushed to my side and knelt beside me. This surprised me. I thought for sure he’d go to Ellie first. “What happened? Are you okay?”No. Not really. My body hurt in places I didn’t even know could hurt. But before I could reply…“Arghhhhh.” Ellie moaned loudly.His gaze turned from me to Ellie and he quickly stood up and went to her.We had both screamed as we fell down the stairs. Luckily, though, most of the guests had already left. So it was only a small group that assembled in the foyer at the foot of the stairs.Stanley came down the stairs, and Velma rushed in alongside her sister, Victoria, Jordyn’s aunt.The shock of the fall had worn off, and I was able to sit up. In my peripheral vision, I saw Jordyn help Ellie up to a sitting position.“Ladies,” Velma gasped. “How did this happen?”“Can you stand?” Jordyn asked. She had her arm around his shoulder for support.“Ow. No. Stop. I can’t. It hurts too much,” Ellie whined.“Oh hone
Cassandra’s POVJordyn’s face darkened. He pressed his lips together.“You sent your sugar daddy to pick you up?” he asked angrily. “From a party at my family's estate?”Wait. What?My who?Jordyn reached out and forcefully grabbed my arm.“That’s in really poor taste, Cassandra, even for you,” he seethed.But he had it all wrong.“It’s not my sugar daddy,” I explained. “I’ve already told you. I don’t have a sugar daddy.”“Then who the fuck is in that limo?” There was danger in his eyes.“Sir, remove your hands from the lady.” We both looked up to see the limo driver standing by the passenger door. He must have heard Jordyn and saw him aggressively grab my arm. Now he was trying to intervene.Still worried that Jordyn would find out who I was, the extremely successful co-owner of one of the hottest fashion design firms in the world, I waved off the driver.“It’s okay,” I reassured the driver. “I won’t be needing your services tonight after all.”If Jordyn wanted to think that some rich
Cassandra’s POV“Come on! It’s staring!” Stella squealed, motioning for us all to join her. We were at Dillon’s, eagerly awaiting the start of the televised red carpet event for the launch of Lucinda Starke’s new movie. True to her word, Lucinda had ordered a custom dress from Hot House Design to wear to the event. I’d worked tirelessly on the dress myself, making sure that it was perfect. Now it was time to watch her prance down the red carpet in it.It was a Saturday night, and we were only a couple weeks away from our vacation now. Dillon was back to his old self and had been given the green light from the doctor to go on a holiday. I hadn’t told Stella about my strange phone call with Jordyn regarding the fashion show bill. The phone call had been almost a week ago, and despite his promise to pay the bill, I kept getting calls from the venue.I tried to push the stress aside so I could really enjoy the evening. Dillon had cooked us all his famous lasagna, and we’d eaten outside, si
Cassandra’s POVI asked the person on the phone to clarify. What did she mean Jordyn hadn’t paid the bill! I asked for the amount of the bill and balked. It was a massive amount of money, since the venue included décor, food, lighting, and drinks. Jordyn had arranged everything, promising to foot the bill, as per our collaboration. And clearly, he’d spared no expense.Don’t get me wrong, the venue had been magnificent and Jordyn had really outdone himself. But I never, in a million years, would have made some of the choices he had if I’d known we might have to pay for it.I thanked her and told her that I would take care of it. I hung, feeling upset. Hot House Flower didn’t have that sort of money just sitting around. But as co-signers of the event, we were on the hook for the bill if Jordyn’s company reneged on the payment.Which it looked like they were.My mind spun. Sure, we had a company account, but paying off a bill that large would put a massive dent in our company funds, and w
Cassandra’s POVLisa! Of course!“Come in,” I said, smiling. She was the wife of the man Ellie had been cheating with. I’d sat with her and consoled her while we talked about men and how awful they could be. I’d given her my number, hoping that we could become friends, but I’d never heard from her.What was she doing here in my office though? I told her to come in.She came and sat at my desk, a troubled look on her face.“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear.“It’s no bother,” I said kindly, my curiosity piqued.“I thought about doing this over the phone, but I figured it was best to do it in person.”She reached into a briefcase at her feet and pulled out some papers. She placed them on my desk, spread out, and then shook her head.I stared at the papers, shocked. They were…my sketches. The design sketches that had been stolen the night of our office robbery.“Where did you get these?” I asked, my eyes fixed on the sketches.“I found them. In his drawer
Cassandra’s POVI closed down my computer for the day, happy to be done work for the day. I was bringing Dillon dinner at his house, even though he was more than capable of cooking again. He’d been home for over two weeks now, and he was back into his old routine, with a few modifications. He still had to take it easy when it came to physical exercise, and he wasn’t supposed to work too much, but he was getting better day by day.I brought him supper every day after work. It was the least I could do, since he’d looked after me when I was ill. Besides, I liked being at Dillon’s house, and I looked forward to it every day. Honestly, I think he liked being taken care of, which was why he hadn’t offered to cook dinner yet. He was milking it a bit, the whole ‘me looking after him’ thing. I was happy to do it though. It felt nice, taking care of Dillon after everything he’d done for me.We’d talked about having me stay with him, at his house, while he recovered. But I ultimately thought it w
Dillon’s POV“Vacation?” Cassandra asked, an amused look on her face. I blushed. What the hell had I just said? Of all the things I could say to her, right in that moment, I asked her to go on vacation?I felt like an idiot. I’d made a promise to myself when I’d found out she was kidnapped. I promised to tell Cassandra how I really felt. This whole business with Laura had stirred up some unexpected emotions in me, bringing me back to a time I wanted to forget. Plus I was emotional from the medication.But none of that changed how I felt about Cassandra. My feelings for her were so strong, so real, and so all-consuming.I loved her. I’d always loved her. And I always would.The night I met Laura at the law school mixer was the night I’d found out that Cassandra was engaged. I pretty much NEVER had one-night stands. I was more of a relationship type guy. But seeing Cassandra’s engagement splashed all over Facebook, well. It hurt. I felt like I’d lost her, forever. She was getting married
Dillon’s POVShe was so cute when she ate soup, Cassandra. I watched her from my bed as she tried to delicately slurp the soup from the spoon, dripping some onto her chin. I’d been bracing myself for the conversation we just had for days, ever since I learned that it was Laura who had swooped in and given me the blood I needed for my transfusion.I hadn’t even seen her, though, Laura. She left long before I was awake that night. She just sort of slipped in and slipped out, just like she had all those years ago. Or at least, that’s what it felt like.I rarely thought about those days. Sometimes it felt like it hadn’t even happened. One minute, I was flirting with a pretty woman at a law school mixer. And the next? I was sitting in a café being told I was going to be a father. I’d been so caught off guard, so overwhelmed. And then I’d been overjoyed.That was the part I left out while I told Cassandra the story.The news that Laura was pregnant had hit me like a bolt of lightning, but on
Cassandra’s POVI felt my jaw drop wide open.What did he just say?Laura had been…pregnant? That wasn’t the reason I’d been expecting. Dillon fell silent, staring out the window. My thoughts whirled.“And the baby was…” my voice trailed off.“Mine,” Dillon finished, a finality in his tone.“Oh my god, Dillon,” I said, reaching for his hand. “What happened? To the baby, I mean?”For a brief moment I wondered if Dillon had a child. I mean, it was possible, I supposed. I wasn’t naïve enough to think he’d never been with a woman before. And accidents happen. So it was plausible that Dillon had a little kid out there, running around somewhere in the world.But then why wasn’t he with his child? No. I shook my head. Dillon would NEVER abandon his own child. He was loyal to a fault. I chastised myself for even thinking that way.“It was an accident,” Dillon told me. “I barely even knew Laura. We just…we hooked up one night at a college party and then bam, out of nowhere, she called me up to
Cassandra’s POVIt wasn’t until a week later that I finally got up the nerve to ask Dillon about his ex-wife, Laura. Dillon had been recovering for the better part of the week, and I didn’t want to disrupt his progress. He was mostly asleep anyway, drifting in and out of dreams, seeming a bit dazed and confused. So I waited until I felt like he could handle the emotional weight of the conversation.“Hello beautiful,” Dillon smiled at me as I came into his room. Cameron and I had been taking shifts at the hospital, making sure that at least one of us was always there for him, although, in all honesty, I was there the most.He was sitting in his bed, looking quite good. The color had come back to his face and he was no longer hooked up to the machines. He wasn’t quite well enough to go home yet, but he’d been transferred out of intensive care and now had a room with a window. He’d still need to stay another week or so in the hospital so he could be monitored, but he looked more like hims
Cassandra’s POV“There she is. My beautiful wife,” Dillon teased from his hospital bed, winking at me. He was trying to make a joke about the fact that I was pretending to be his wife, but hearing him say the word ‘wife’ cut my heart like a knife.He was looking much better though. The color had returned to his cheeks a bit and his complexion was less gray and pasty. He was sitting up, still hooked up to an assortment of machines. But he was awake and lucid.I paused at the door. Part of me wanted to run to him and take his hand in mine. I wanted to rest my head on his chest and have him stroke my hair.The other part of me?It wanted to slap him hard across the face.“What’s wrong?” he asked, furrowing his brow. “I was shot, remember. I’m not contagious. Come. Sit.”He patted his bedside, searching my face. I tried to move, but my feet wouldn’t budge.“Dillon,” I said. I wanted to ask him about Laura, but he was still hooked up to machines. He’d just gone through hell, hell that I’d c