Cassie’s POV
I froze, watching the reaction between them. Cece looked shocked for a second, but she quickly tried to cover it up with a smile.
"Babe, you’re back already," she said, still wearing that awkward smile.
Damien walked toward her as she stood up from his seat quietly. His gaze shifted to where I was sitting.
"You’re back already," he said.
"Yes sir," I mumbled, trying to pretend I didn’t feel the tension hanging in the air between them.
"I’ll be going back to my office," Cece said, clearly disappointed.
He grabbed her hand just as she was about to leave. "I didn’t mean for you to leave... I didn’t know you were the one sitting on my chair."
She looked at me for a brief second, then carefully removed her hand from his and walked away. Without another word, he followed her out of the office.
I just sat there, trying to imagine what was going on between them now. What they were talking about. The silence in the office felt heavier than usual.
A few minutes later, he came back, took a few things from his desk, and left again. The moment the door closed behind him, I stood up and rushed to Cece’s office, needing to know what was happening.
When I reached her door, I met her already standing there with her bag packed. Her makeup looked freshly retouched, like she was heading somewhere important.
"Where are you heading to?" I asked casually, trying to sound like I didn’t care... like I wasn’t jealous that she was probably going out with Damien.
"Damien said he has a surprise for me," she replied, smiling. Her mood had clearly lifted.
"Wow... that’s a good thing, right?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Sorry... but what do you mean by that?"
"I’m really happy for you," I said carefully, "but the way he sounded when he saw you sitting on his chair was really weird." I paused. "Maybe I just read too much into it."
She laughed lightly. "Oh, that... he thought it was you sitting in his chair."
"Me?" I frowned. "Why would I sit on his chair? Better still, why would he even think I would sit there?"
"Cassie... please. I have a surprise waiting and I don’t want anything to change my mood right now."
"Right..." I said slowly as she locked her office and headed toward the elevator. I walked back to the office and tried to focus on arranging Damien’s schedule for the rest of the week, but it was almost impossible.
I couldn’t concentrate. My mind kept drifting to what the surprise could be. Was he going to propose to her? Was he really in love with her?
The day finally came to an end and neither of them returned to the office, which meant they had gone home together. Earlier, Damien had sent a short message saying he wouldn’t be coming back for the rest of the day.
I flagged down a cab and headed home. The entire ride felt heavy and moody. I kept thinking about why he didn’t come back to the office and what the two of them were up to. I even took out my phone and checked Cece’s social media, hoping for any clue, but there was nothing. Cece was the type of girl who updated her socials at the slightest opportunity, yet today there was complete silence. She left me with no idea of what was going on.
Just then, my phone lit up with a notification. Edward. He asked about my day and if I had gotten home yet. He was being so caring, while I was sitting here thinking about my friend’s alleged man. I felt like a bad friend and an even worse girlfriend. I remembered last night—how I had ruined what could have been a perfect night. Edward had still taken his time to check up on me afterward.
Finally, the cab stopped at the gate of the estate. I went straight inside and into my room. Kate wasn’t back from work yet. I took a long, hot shower, letting the water wash the stress of the day off my body. For a moment, I felt a little lighter.
I threw myself onto the bed. I had already eaten dinner, but I still wanted to talk to someone to lighten my mood. Since Kate wasn’t back yet, I called Edward. He picked up on the second ring. We spoke for a long time—until Kate finally came home, and eventually until I fell asleep.
I woke up the next morning feeling better than I had the day before. I went into the kitchen and made coffee for myself and Kate. As I took a sip and scrolled through my phone, a video suddenly appeared on my screen.
It was Damien asking Cece to be his girlfriend in a grand way—complete with gifts, especially jewelry. Then the video showed him kissing her passionately, like he truly meant it.
The coffee mug slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.
I was broken.
He won.
Damien won.
Damien’s POV
I was disappointed the moment I saw Cassie walking into the office wearing the same clothes she had on the previous day. I knew instantly that she hadn’t gone home... and that she had been with Edward.
Fucking Edward.
All I could think about was whether anything had happened between them last night. If he had laid a hand on her... I would kill him. She belonged to me, even if she didn’t know it yet.
Still, she looked gorgeous, even with the slightly rumpled clothes. Part of me wanted to punish her for spending the night with him by making her stay late at the office, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that to her. I needed another way to get back at her. That’s when I remembered Cece.
I felt a little bad about the way I was using Cece... but at the same time, not really. She had used me once to get over her ex, right when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. This was just killing two birds with one stone. She thought I had forgotten what she did to me. I hadn’t.
While Cassie was away changing, I started planning a way to use Cece to get under her skin—something that would not only make her jealous, but force her attention and feelings back toward me.
I left the office to get everything ready for my big reveal: officially asking Cece to be my girlfriend in a way that would make Cassie realize exactly what she was missing. By the time I returned, Cassie was already back. When I turned toward my chair, I found Cece sitting in it like she owned the place... like she had every right to be there.
I almost lost control. She nearly shattered my plans. But I couldn’t let her ruin it—not when Cassie was sitting right there watching. I had to follow Cece back to her office and somehow convince her to let me go ahead with what I had planned.
I saw the jealousy in Cassie’s eyes when I returned. I enjoyed every bit of the confusion that ran through them.
I took Cece to one of the most expensive five-star restaurants in the city. I had made arrangements that would make any woman wish she was in Cece’s place. I knew she would post everything on her socials and give Cassie every single detail. I needed to make it worth it.
I guided her slowly through the doors of the restaurant while she was still blindfolded. The entire place had been decorated exactly to my taste... or rather, to what I imagined Cassie’s taste would be.
When I removed the blindfold, a large sign stood in front of her:
Will you be my girlfriend, CeCe?
A wide smile spread across her face, followed by a single tear. She threw her arms around me, shouting, "Yes! Yes, I will be your girlfriend!"
In that moment, I actually felt a little bad. I had lifted her spirits and made her believe I was in love with her. Deep down, I knew she deserved better than this. But it was already too late to back out.
She pulled me into a deep kiss. I made sure we were positioned right where the cameras could capture every second of it.
When the evening finally came to an end, I booked a hotel for the night—but I requested separate rooms.
"Separate rooms? Why can’t we stay together?" she protested.
"I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable," I told her. "It’s been a long time since we last shared a bed. I’d like us to take things slowly."
I could see the disappointment on her face when I insisted, but after some argument, she eventually gave in.
"See? Our rooms are directly opposite each other," I said. "If you need me, I’m right here."
"Fine," she replied, pulling me into a tight hug. "Goodnight then."
"See you tomorrow," I said as I stepped into my room.
The room was cozy and warm—exactly how I liked it. I was excited to see what Cece had posted on her socials. But when I checked, there was nothing. Just a random write-up about self-love. No pictures of the proposal. Not even a single photo of the kiss or the expensive necklace I had given her.
I was shocked... and disappointed.
I walked over to her room and knocked. She opened the door on the second knock.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought you wanted me to be comfortable?"
"Yes... but I miss you already," I said, pulling her into a tight hug. I needed to find out why she hadn’t posted anything about the proposal, but she didn’t need to know that was the real reason I came.
I pretended to scroll through my phone. "There’s nothing about our proposal on your socials," I said casually, as if I didn’t care. "You always update everything that happens around you. Why is this the exception? Isn’t it a big deal?"
"No... it’s not like that," she replied. "It’s actually the best thing that has happened to me in a long time." She paused. "I just want to protect it from the public for now. Damien, I don’t want to bring our relationship online yet. I want it private... only for our inner circle."
I could hear the sincerity in her voice, but that wasn’t why I had arranged this entire evening—just for it to stay private.
"Fine. You win," I said, pretending to be defeated. But I wasn’t going down without a fight.
"I’m about to shower," she said after a moment. "Do you care to join me?"
"No, I’m fine," I muttered. "I’ll just wait for you."
"Alright. Don’t miss me too much," she said with a small smile before stepping into the bathroom.
That’s when I saw her phone lying open on the bed.
An opportunity.
Since she didn’t want to update her socials herself... I would do it for her.