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 “Are you fucking kidding me?” Stella spat out. Her face contorted into a look of seething rage. I didn’t blame her. I was really pissed off too. “Jordyn’s bidding against you?”“This is ridiculous,” Dillon exclaimed, shaking his head. “He just really won’t leave you alone.”The auctioneer gave the going once, going twice warning, so I lifted my paddle again.“Sixteen thousand,” I said loudly.I actually couldn’t believe this. Ellie was perched next to him, her hand on his. She glanced over at us, a smug smile plastered on her face. Obviously, they were there together. I should have known I’d run into Jordyn at some point during the cruise. I hadn’t seen him that afternoon, but of course he was there with Ellie.“Seventeen thousand,” Jordyn said, lifting his paddle. I heard a few people whispering in the crowd. It was a beautiful, rare fabric, most people didn’t understand it’s true worth. From their perspective, Jordyn and I were fighting over some old lace.“You have
Cassandra’s POVCam, Stella, Dillon and I all gathered in the hallway outside our rooms. We were on our way to a charity auction hosted by the cruise ship. After the strange meeting with Brock and his wife, we’d spent the afternoon at the pool. We’d left Dillon behind since he was knee-deep in networking, but I’d been thrilled when he joined us poolside a little later. It had been a fabulous afternoon and our faces all bore signs of the sun we’d basked under while lounging by the pool.Stella had taken forever to get ready. She put on one dress after another, discarding each one in a huff. She’d finally settled on a low cut, form-fitting red dress with cute, black polka dots. I opted for an emerald green silk slip dress with an exposed back. It fell to my just above my knees and the color reminded me of Dillon’s eyes.“Well look at you two,” Cam exclaimed, kissing us both on the cheeks. He’d had all afternoon to sober up and he looked charming in his pin-striped suit. “Aren’t we the lu
Cassandra’s POVI blinked, stunned, as I looked at the man standing in front of me. He was dressed casually, in a loud Hawaiian print shirt and his hair had been cut short. But it was him all right, the same man that I’d caught Ellie with.I couldn’t believe it! What were the chances? He hadn’t recognized me yet though.When I bumped into him, I made him spill his drink down the front of his shirt. His eyes were fixed on the red stain.“Whoops,” Stella said, seeing the mess on the man’s shirt. She scooped a napkin off the table and handed it to him. He began dabbing his shirt.I wondered if he even WOULD recognize me. Our accidental meeting had been very short. But if I recognized him, there was a good chance he’d recognize me too. I waited for him to look up, but he was too focused on his shirt. He dabbed away at the stain as I apologized again.“I’m really very sorry,” I said, urging him silently to look up at me.“No harm done. It’s a hideous shirt anyway. Honestly, you probably did
Cassandra’s POV“I think,” I leaned in to whisper to Dillon. “I think people are looking at you.”Dillon turned to the crowd and shrugged back at me.“Yeah, probably,” he said.I looked back to the crowd. There was no ‘probably’ about it. People were definitely looking at Dillon. A few men dressed in collared shirts and polo pants were talking quietly to themselves, their eyes fixed on Dillon while another group off the left were whispering amongst themselves, occasionally glancing up to look at Dillon.“Why?” I asked. Stella, Ellie, Cameron, and Lucinda all noticed it too.“I guess I forgot to tell you,” Dillon said off-handily. “Remember when I said I had to go out for a bit, the day before we left for the cruise?”I remembered. I’d been just about to go and read by the pool when Dillon had appeared, dressed in a suit. He said he had to go but he’d be back in time to make dinner. When I’d asked where he was going, he was pretty vague and evasive. I hadn’t thought too much of it at th
Cassandra’s POV“Wait,” I said, stopping Lucinda before she could go. I wasn’t sure if she believed Ellie’s accusations that I was a criminal or not, but she was clearly unimpressed with all the drama. And I didn’t blame her! She was famous, always in the public eye. And Ellie with her loud mouth had caused a scene. People were milling about all around us. They were whispering behind their hands and watching the scene unfold with wide eyes.I glanced around at the group that had gathered. They were all smartly dressed, CEOs and other business elites I assumed. I mean, this cruise was full of important people. So not only was Ellie making a scene, she was doing it in front of a lot of people that we might need to work with in the future.And to make things even worse, just then, a camera flashed. Shit. Someone was taking a picture. I could almost see the headlines now: Famous actress consorts with accused criminal on a cruise ship. Drama unfolds…Of course Lucinda was trying to get away
Cassandra’s POVLucinda Starke stood before us, a bemused smile on her face. Her mere presence had rendered us all speechless, which was a rare event for Ellie. Usually, that woman never shut up.“I don’t mean to interrupt, and I apologize if I’m intruding, but I was standing over there and I thought I heard my name.” She turned to Stella. “Stella, so nice to see you again. I’m actually very happy I ran into you. After our recent conversation, I got to thinking. I have some ideas for a gown I’d like to run by you? I’d love your input. It’s for the red carpet premiere of my latest movie, so it has to be dazzling.”Lucinda flashed Stella a beautiful smile. I was stunned. I couldn’t believe I was standing in front of Lucinda Starke! And just like Stella had said, she was wearing MY design. Stella’s description of Lucinda in my dress hadn’t done her justice. She looked fabulous, perfect, gorgeous beyond words. Seeing such a famous person in something that I’d created, well, it warmed my he
Cassandra’s POVI glanced at Stella. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a deep frown. I knew how she felt. I never, in a million years, thought we’d see Ellie on this cruise. And just when everything had been going so well!“Lucinda Starke has no reason to just be polite, as you pointed out, Ellie,” Stella snapped. “If she says she wants Hot House Flower to design a dress for her for a red carpet event, then I’m sure she’ll follow through.”Ellie rolled her eyes and scoffed. “She’s a public figure,” Ellie said. “Of course she’s polite. She has a hundred different designers at her fingertips. Famous ones. Why would she choose your company?”My blood boiled as I stood there, looking at Ellie. She was wearing a gorgeous bathing suit cover up and her hair fell over her shoulders in loose waves. I glanced around to see if she was with Jordyn, but I didn’t see him. How was this possible? What were the chances that she and Jordyn had chosen the same exact cruise as us? I was starting to feel like
Cassandra’s POV “Who?” I asked. Stella dragged a chair over to the table I was sitting at. Her cheeks were flushed from excitement.“Wellll,” she said, dragging out the suspense. “We were just leaving the buffet, which, by the way, is absolutely fabulous,” she started. “Like seriously, sea food for days. I think Cam ate his weight in crab legs.”“Get to the point,” I interrupted her. She’d just come up here and interrupted my cat nap with, what was apparently, exciting news. I didn’t need a diatribe on how fabulous the buffet was. I wanted to know who she saw!!!“Okay, okay,” she chuckled. “Sometimes I forget that patience is not exactly your strong suit. So, we were leaving the buffet, and I run into…” Again, she paused.“Just TELL ME!” I urged.“Lucinda Starke!” she blurted out.“What?” I gasped. “As in THE Lucinda Starke?”“One and the same,” Stella nodded enthusiastically.I couldn’t believe it! Lucinda Starke was a famous Hollywood actress. She’d just starred in a box office hit
Cassandra’s POVI felt like a kid in a candy store as we walked around the cruise ship. It was so big and so elegant, far better than anything I could have imagined. We found our rooms, and I was shocked to see that Dillon had arranged suites for us. I was expecting a small, cramped interior room, which honestly, I’d been a bit worried about since I had such a deep-rooted case of claustrophobia. But our suite didn’t feel small in the slightest. There was a bedroom with two queen beds and more than enough for both of us. I ran my hand over the decadent duvet cover and opened one of the mahogany dresser drawers.“Cass, come see the bathroom,” Stella called to me. I went and peeked in. It was white marble, with a glass shower and two sinks. I’d seen pictures of cruise ship rooms before and they looked nothing like this. This was….extravagant.We both walked out in the main room and gasped at the same time. The main room had a little sitting area with a small couch and a table, as well as