Cassie’s POV
I picked up the scattered pieces of glass from the floor, careful not to cut myself. I didn’t want to go to work. All I wanted was to stay in bed all day and flood my pillow with tears. But I couldn’t. Life didn’t stop just because my heart felt broken.
By the time I got to the office, I had already placed his coffee on his desk. He wasn’t in yet. Part of me hoped he wouldn’t show up at all. I wasn’t sure I could face him without letting my disappointment show.
Then he walked in.
He looked as handsome as always in a grey suit that fit him like it had been made only for his body. His scent filled the entire office as he moved toward his seat.
"Cassie, good morning," he said with a bright smile.
"Good morning, sir," I replied, keeping my eyes fixed on the documents on my desk, pretending to be deeply focused.
"Isn’t it a beautiful day?"
I didn’t answer. He was being annoying, and I couldn’t stand him right now.
"Excuse me, sir," I muttered, standing up and heading to the nearest bathroom before he could see how vulnerable I really was.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I was disappointed in myself. I was too beautiful to be stressing over a man like this. Besides, Edward loved me. I was okay with him. At least that’s what I kept telling myself.
When I finally returned to the office, I felt a little better than before. Then Cece walked in. She didn’t look happy at all. She stopped right in front of Damien’s desk and stared at him.
"Good morning, baby."
"Did you post about our proposal using my phone?" she asked, her voice sharp with anger.
"Can we talk in private?" he asked calmly.
"Private? No. You already brought it into the public."
I froze. So it was Damien who posted it on her socials. That somehow made everything feel even worse.
"I told you why I didn’t want it out in public yet, but you still didn’t listen," she continued. "Why did you do it? Were you looking for someone’s validation or what?"
Validation? Why would Damien ever need validation? The Damien I knew didn’t care about how anyone felt. He always did whatever he wanted.
"I..." he paused. "I just wanted to be sure you weren’t seeing someone else."
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice suddenly sounding tired.
I kept pretending to be busy, acting like I wasn’t listening, until Damien finally noticed me.
"Cassie, excuse us for a moment."
"But sir, I still have documents to sort out," I said, as if that was what I had been doing all along.
"Go. You’ll continue later."
I walked out slowly, disappointment heavy in my chest. Once outside, I pressed my ear carefully against the door. Luckily, their voices were still loud enough for me to hear.
"Remember in college when you used me to get over your ex not knowing you two were still together?" Damien asked.
My mouth fell open. What? She did that?
"Really? That happened so many years ago, and I already pleaded for forgiveness. So you still haven’t forgiven me?"
"I have," he replied. "But just to be on the safe side, I had to post about it. I needed to be sure it wouldn’t happen again."
"That still doesn’t make it right, and you know it. You stole my phone. You invaded my privacy."
"I’m not doing this with you right now." He stood up, clearly intending to leave.
"No. We’re having this conversation." She paused. "I love you so much, and you know that. Yet you still doubt what I feel for you."
"Can we talk about this later? I have a meeting I need to attend right now."
"Cassie!" he called out suddenly.
"Yes, sir."
"Inform the charity foundation that I’m on my way," he said, walking out and leaving Cece and me alone in the office.
Silence filled the room. Cece looked uncomfortable, like she didn’t know what to say.
"Are you okay?" I asked gently.
"Yes, I’m fine," she replied. "It’s just a little misunderstanding. Couples fight sometimes." She forced a small smile onto her face.
"I don’t think this relationship is healthy for you," I said carefully. "I’m only saying this as a friend."
"Don’t worry about me. We’ll sort it out."
"Okay," I said. "Just take care of yourself."
Deep down, I knew she wasn’t okay. But why would Damien do something like that? Was he really worried that she might be seeing someone else? I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
Hours later, Damien returned from his meeting. He barely looked at me—or maybe he was just pretending not to notice me. Then Cece came back into the office and stood in front of his desk.
"I’m sorry for everything that happened this morning," she said hesitantly. "I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did."
"Cece, please. Not now. Especially not here. We’ll talk about it later," he said, then turned to me. "Cassie, I hope you’re ready for the business trip this weekend."
"Yes, sir," I muttered.
"Business trip? What kind of business trip?" Cece asked immediately.
"It’s more of a business conference..." I started to explain.
"You don’t have to explain anything when I didn’t ask you to," Damien cut in sharply.
"Oh. Seems like you’re not in the mood to talk. We’ll talk later then," Cece said, leaving the office looking disappointed once again.
When it was time for lunch, I went to the cafeteria, but Cece wasn’t there. I decided to check her office and found her sitting alone, doing nothing.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
"I’m fine... why are you here?" Her tone made it sound like she didn’t want me around.
I chuckled nervously. "I just wanted to be sure you were doing well."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," I said, not knowing what to expect. She was acting strange.
"What’s going on between you and my boyfriend?"
"Damien?" I asked, surprised. "Aren’t the two of you supposed to be in a relationship? What does that have to do with me?"
"Then why are you going on a weekend getaway with my boyfriend?"
I laughed lightly. "Weekend getaway? When you put it like that, it sounds like we’re going out for fun. It’s all business."
"What exactly do you want from Damien?"
"Where is all of this coming from?" I asked, genuinely shocked by the tone in her voice.
"Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. You’re just jealous that he chose me over you, and now you’re trying to get back at me by going on this stupid trip with him... alone." She hesitated. "Three days alone with my man. Cassie, I’m really disappointed in you. How could you do this to me after all the love and care I’ve shown you?"
"Excuse me? I told him he should take you—his girlfriend—instead, but he insisted that he needs it to be professional. He needs his assistant there to take notes of everything that happens at the conference. How is that my fault?"
I was shocked that she saw the conference as some kind of opportunity for me to be alone with Damien. I had Edward. Even if I felt a little jealous, I wasn’t trying to sabotage her relationship.
"I think you sho—"
Damien walked in at that exact moment, interrupting whatever she was about to say.
"Baby... what are you doing here?" Cece said, suddenly sounding like a completely different person—like she hadn’t almost been shouting just moments ago.
"What’s going on here?" Damien asked, turning to me. "Cassie, what are you doing here?"
"I... I..."
"She was just helping me out with some things, but she’ll be on her way now," Cece said quickly.
"That doesn’t answer my question. What was going on here? Why was I hearing raised voices from your office? Or have you forgotten this is a workplace and not a marketplace?"
"It’s nothing much... it was just a little misunderstanding about the things she was helping me with," Cece said with a fake smile.
Damien looked at me. "Is that true?"
"Sir, she isn’t okay with the idea of the weekend business conference," I said honestly. "I think the two of you need to talk and sort things out."
I walked out of the office, leaving them alone to deal with whatever was going on in their complicated relationship. Something felt off—especially with Cece. I had never seen her react that way before. All I wanted was to get out of that toxic environment. I had already had enough toxicity for one day.
CeCe’s POV
I left the office feeling disappointed in Damien. Something just didn’t feel right. Why would he invade my privacy like that just because he wanted to be sure I wasn’t trying to hide him from anyone?
I knew he wasn’t in love with me... so why would he go the extra mile for me? It was probably because of Cassie. Ever since she came into this company, he had changed. Everything had changed.
She needed to leave. I couldn’t let her have him.
I tried calling Damien, but it went straight to voicemail. I sent him several voice notes apologizing, but there was still no response.
When I heard he was back in his office, I rushed over. He was already seated at his desk. I apologized again, but he didn’t seem interested in what I had to say. Still, I held on to a little hope—until he mentioned the business trip with Cassie.
I felt completely broken.
A business trip? The two of them alone for three whole days? I couldn’t let that happen.
I went back to my office and started thinking of ways to stop the trip from happening. That was when Cassie walked in with her fake concern, as if I didn’t know what she was really up to.
After she left, Damien tried to assure me that there was nothing to worry about—that it was just a business conference. But I knew it was more than that. He hadn’t even touched me the night before. I couldn’t let him keep treating me this way.
I took out my phone and dialed a number I had sworn I would never call again. I had left that life behind me... but now I had to bring it back because of Cassie.
"Cee, it’s been a long time. How’ve you been?"
"I’m fine."
His voice sounded even deeper and scarier than I remembered. For a second, I almost ended the call. But I had already started this, and I had to finish it.
"Ohh, my sweet girl. I’ve missed your angelic voice."
"I need you to do something for me."
"What’s that, baby girl?"
"I need you to run a background check on one Cassie Hayes.. and locate her father. I need to have a meeting with him tomorrow. Can you do that for me?"
"Baby girl, of course. Anything for you. Is that all?"
"Yes. I want it discreet. You don’t need to get your hands dirty. Just find him for me. He’ll do the rest."
"Alright, baby girl. I’ve missed you."
"Okay. We’ll talk later. Bye." I ended the call with trembling fingers.
I sat there in silence, my heart racing.
I just hoped I wouldn’t end up regretting this.