Cassie’s POV
"You think I’m Cassie?" I said, taking a sip of my drink.
"I can see straight through your disguise. It’s honestly very obvious.. Dylan’s either blind, or pretending to be."
"Cassie and I are best friends. Basically sisters. Of course we’re going to pick up some resemblance from spending so much time together."
"...And you actually expect me to believe that?" He didn’t believe a word of it.
"I don’t owe you any explanation." I kept my voice steady, even as fear crept in underneath it. I needed to shift his focus off me, fast.
I scrolled through my phone and found CeCe’s number. If she shows up, his attention splits.
Hi CeCe,
I tried getting into this restaurant but it was fully booked for a private event. Guess who I saw inside.. Damien and Dylan, sitting with some blonde girl. I think she might be Damien’s new girlfriend.
The second I sent it, she replied almost instantly.
Oh my god, that sneaky fox. She’s not his girlfriend.. she’s Dylan’s date. We were all supposed to go together tonight, he just never told me it was happening today. Send me the address, I’m coming.
Dylan walked back from the bathroom, the stain mostly gone from his shirt.
"Everything good while I was gone?" He asked, settling back into his seat.
"Fine, except he kept going on about how much I look like his assistant."
"Damien, this is bordering on harassment at this point. Can you please not try to sabotage the one good thing I’ve got going?"
Having Dylan on my side, at least for the moment, was a win I’d take.
"I’m just trying to protect you." He said gently.
My phone buzzed — CeCe asking again for the address. I sent it over.
Please don’t tell Damien I told you anything. I really can’t afford to lose this job.
She responded almost immediately.
I won’t. Promise.
"Who’s got you so focused on your phone?"
"Kate. Just Kate." I said quickly.
"Everything okay with her?"
"Yeah." I set the phone face-down. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Can I trust you with this?"
"Of course. What’s going on?"
I leaned in closer, keeping my voice low enough that Damien wouldn’t catch it. "Ever since everything that happened, she’s been struggling to sleep — nightmares, the whole thing. She started taking sleeping pills for it." I continued. "I’m genuinely worried she might be dependent on them now."
"That’s really concerning. She told me the nightmares had stopped, but this sounds worse, honestly. Thank you for telling me."
"What exactly are you two scheming over there?" Damien cut in.
"How to make tonight just about me and Dylan."
He scoffed. "You wish."
"Damien." A voice called from behind him.
We all turned. CeCe stood there, arms crossed.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, clearly thrown.
"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. You never mentioned the date was tonight."
"Damien, you told me she was sick and couldn’t make it." Dylan cut in.
I sat back, thoroughly enjoying the chaos unfolding in front of me — Damien caught off guard, CeCe visibly hurt he hadn’t told her, and Dylan demanding answers.
"You seemed unwell at work today. I didn’t want to pressure you into coming when you needed rest."
"That’s not your call to make. You should’ve just asked me." She shot back. "If I couldn’t come, I’d have told you myself. If not, Cassi—"
I shot her a sharp look, remembering exactly what I’d confided in her just minutes ago about keeping my name out of it.
"Wait — did you just say Cassie?" Damien’s eyes cut straight to me.
"She told me she saw the three of you here, so, yeah, I figured out what was going on."
"Cassie, huh?" He repeated, studying me now.
"She didn’t mean anything by it." CeCe added quickly.
"By discussing her boss’s private life with someone else?" He said it like he’d been waiting all night for an opening.
CeCe pulled up a seat beside Damien. "Hi, Kate."
"Hey. How are you feeling?" I asked, doing my best to bury the disappointment in my voice.
"I’m fine. Completely fine."
Suddenly my head started spinning, a strange lightness settling in — not unpleasant, exactly, just unexpected. I glanced down at my drink. It looked like a normal cocktail, maybe a shot of vodka at most. This didn’t add up.
"I need to speak to the waiter." I said, the words coming out slightly slurred.
"Is something wrong?" Dylan asked, already signaling for him.
"Why is this so strong? I ordered something light."
The waiter gestured toward Damien. "He came up to the bar earlier and requested it stronger."
I turned to Damien, who was suddenly very interested in his napkin.
"Care to explain that?" I asked. "Why would you lie to the waiter about my order?"
Everyone waited, watching him.
"I just wanted her to relax a little. Loosen up around all of us, instead of staying so guarded. If that makes sense."
"It really doesn’t."
"I’m sure Damien didn’t mean any harm by it." CeCe jumped in.
"CeCe, you need to stop defending him every single time." Dylan snapped. "Kate, we’re leaving. I can’t be around him right now."
My thoughts were still swimming, trying to process what he’d actually done. It was unlike him — except it wasn’t, not really, considering he’d drugged me without asking. Which was, legally speaking, a crime. Though I supposed I wasn’t exactly innocent either, given I’d drugged him first.
"No, Dylan." Damien cut in. "You’re not fit to drive right now. You’re clearly drunk too. I’ll drive us all."
"...Seriously? You’re drunk too, Damien."
"This is unbelievable." I muttered. I needed someone else to come get me — Dylan was tipsy, and there was no version of this where I let Damien drive me anywhere.
I texted Kate first, asking her to come pick me up. No response. I tried calling. Nothing.
She’s probably knocked out from the pills again. She really has to stop.
I texted Edward instead. He replied within a minute, saying he’d be there shortly.
Damien kept trying to talk Dylan into letting him drive, but Dylan wasn’t having it.
"I can take you home." CeCe offered, glancing my way.
"I don’t need you or Damien taking me anywhere. I’ve already got someone coming. You two can head home together."
"Who’s that?" Damien’s eyes narrowed, something unmistakably jealous behind them.
"I don’t owe you that information either." I barely managed to get the words out.
"I’m sorry tonight went like this." Dylan said, still fighting through his own fuzzy haze. "I promise it won’t happen again."
Damien’s POV
My entire plan fell apart the moment CeCe walked through the door. I knew instantly it had to be Cassie’s doing, even before CeCe confirmed it herself.
All I’d wanted was time alone with her, without CeCe’s constant need for my attention cluttering the whole evening. My brother, at least, I could manage.
But Cassie destroyed the entire night. She ruined it the second she texted CeCe to show up. And as if that wasn’t enough, she found a way to make it even worse.
She actually noticed something was off with her drink. I hadn’t expected her to catch it that fast, let alone call the waiter over to question it directly.
Why couldn’t she have just let it go? I only wanted an excuse to drive her home once my brother was too wasted to object. But she always finds a way to undo whatever I’m trying to build. Honestly, it’s the least she owes me, considering she drugged my coffee not that long ago. Thankfully nothing permanent came of it.
She crossed a line, though, the moment she announced she already had someone coming to pick her up. I was praying it was Kate. Not that useless doctor, Edward.
A few minutes later, someone walked through the entrance. Cassie lit up instantly, even as unsteady and lightheaded as she clearly was. She shouldn’t be going anywhere with anyone else while feeling like that. She should be with me.
"Edward — thank you so much for coming on such short notice." She rushed toward him before anyone else could say a word, clearly hoping to get him out before he exposed anything.
"Cass?" He blinked at her. "Why are you dressed like this? I almost didn’t recognize you."
"I’ll explain everything in the car, I promise. Let’s just get out of here first." She said quickly. "I need to grab my purse."
She walked back to the table, grabbing her purse, and muttered something under her breath as she met him at the entrance — something close to a curse word, if I’m being honest with myself.
I hated watching her leave with him. With anyone who wasn’t me, honestly. But there was no version of tonight where I could actually say any of that out loud.
"Isn’t that your boss?" Edward asked, glancing back toward our table.
"Yeah." She said quietly, already pulling him toward the exit.
I watched her the entire way out, right up until she climbed into his car and he pulled away. The disappointment sat heavy in my chest. When I finally turned back around, CeCe was staring directly at me.
She’d clearly been watching me watch Cassie the whole time. She’d noticed something, and there was no walking that back now.