Chapter 9
Cassandra headed to the refrigerator, took out some fruits, and prepared a fruit platter. Then, she headed upstairs and knocked on the door to the main bedroom.
“Who is it?”
She didn’t respond. Instead, the knocks became pounding.
“Lisa? Is that you?” Cameron asked. “It’s late. Whatever it is, you can wait until tomorrow.”
From the other side of the wooden door, Annabelle’s voice rang out softly. “Who’s that?”
“Our housekeeper.”
“What’s she doing here so late at night?”
“She’s probably here to remind me to shut the windows because of the rain.”
Footsteps approached, steady but gradually becoming louder. With a creak, the door swung open.
Cameron stood there in light gray pajamas and black–rimmed glasses, his expression tinged with irritation. “I don’t want you knocking on my door at this hour again unless it’s something important, Lisa…”
The next second, he froze. “Cassie? Why are you back all of a sudden?”
Cassandra caught the flash of panic on his face and felt a dark satisfaction rise in her chest. “I missed you. Thought I’d come home and keep you company… Didn’t you say we should start trying for a baby? I brought fruits. We can get started right after.”
His expression instantly darkened, but she simply sneered, “What’s wrong? Not in the mood? Or did you have other plans tonight? Am I… interrupting something?”
Just then, Annabelle walked out of the room, gently wrapping herself around Cameron’s shoulders.”
What’s holding you up, Cam?”
Cam… Cassandra looked at Cameron. Not even she had called him that before.
She waved at Annabelle. “Hello, sales lady. Want some fruits?”
Annabelle’s face was drained of color. “You’re… Ms. Blake.”
“That’s right. The man you just called ‘Cam‘ is my husband, the very same one your colleagues have been praising. How’s that for a surprise?”
Annabelle was in a blind panic. “I–I didn’t know he’s your husband…”
Meanwhile, Cameron’s expression was stone–cold as he grabbed Cassandra by the wrist. “You–come
with me.”
He dragged her to the guest bedroom and slammed the door shut behind them. She let out a soft,
Chapte
mocking laugh.
“Aw, is our relationship something to be hidden now? Or are you just worried your little sweetheart might get her feelings hurt?”
His expression darkened; gone was the warmth and tenderness. What stood before her now was an icy,
rigid, and unfamiliar man.
“You did that on purpose?”
“Yeah,” she said without hesitation. “Am I not allowed to?”
The fruit platter she brought had long since tumbled to the floor, scattering across the room.
Cameron glanced at the fruits, then back at her, his voice sharp as glass. “You knew everything from the
start, didn’t you?”
“So what if I did? While you were claiming to try for a baby with me, you brought your lover into our home, let her slip into my nightgown, and let her sleep in my bed. What is it, Cameron? Is it some kind of thrill that you crave?” she asked.
His gaze sharpened. “Did you frequent her store to buy jewelry?”
“Of course. I helped boost your little sweetheart’s sales quite a bit… using the money you earned and the
card you gave me.”
“So, this whole act tonight–pretending to meet up with Daisy and suddenly showing up unannounced – was just so you could catch us in the act?”
Cassandra met his glare without flinching. “Cameron, do you remember your wedding vows?”
–
On their wedding day, Cameron had cried till his eyes turned red and gotten down on one knee to declare, “If I ever stop loving you, may I receive the deadliest punishment.”
It had only been three years, yet he had already brought his mistress into their home and bed.
Cameron snapped, “Is this a game to you, Cassandra? You think this is funny, jerking me around?”
“I don’t want to fight with you. Let’s get a divorce, Cameron.”
“No way.” He furrowed his eyebrows and stated, “It’s not what you think. I don’t feel that kind of way
toward her.”
Cassandra burst into a laugh. “Oh, I know very well how you feel about her.”
He blurted out in a fury, “I’ve never even slept with her! She’s just a… Whatever. If it bothers you so much, I’ll deal with her. I won’t cross paths with her again. But a divorce? You might as well forget it.”
She coldly refuted, “Deal with her? Can you bear to do that?”
“How can you not know what I feel for you after so many years? Ask anyone we know, and they’ll tell you just how much I care about you! Cassandra, just because I love you doesn’t mean you get to order me
around like I’m nothing.*
Cassandra snapped, “I’m not ordering you around. You’re the one who betrayed our marriage!”
Cameron’s face twisted with something raw and furious, like he had been holding it in for far too long.
He jabbed a finger at the door, shouting, “You think I was the first to betray our marriage? What about you? In your senior year, you spent a night in a hotel with that old man! You really thought I wouldn’t know?
That old man in question was Cassandra’s university advisor, Javier Myers.
Cameron’s voice cracked with rage. “I kept quiet for years without ever bringing it up because I didn’t
want to drag the past into what we have now. But I’m a man, Cassandra! How do you expect me to live
with the fact that my girlfriend slept with her advisor just to secure a spot in grad school?”
Cassandra was stunned. She hadn’t expected him to bring this up after seven years, or the fact that he had been carrying this incident like a thorn in his side all this time.
She said coldly, “Professor Myers and I were at the hotel because-”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Cameron interrupted her. “Ryan saw you two coming out of the hotel the next morning. I wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t told me. I really didn’t want to believe that the woman I
cherished turned out to be… so ambitious.”
He paused briefly. From the shape of his mouth, Cassandra could tell he had wanted to call her a slut.
Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place.
She finally realized why Ryan treated her with that cold, biting indifference. No wonder he never seemed
to have a problem with Annabelle but always found fault with her.
Cameron’s voice rang out again, bitter and tight. “Since we’re laying it all out now, I might as well be honest. Back then, I respected you and took care of you. You didn’t give the green light, so I kept my hands off you.
“But you…” His voice broke, but he continued, “You went and slept with a man old enough to be your father! If I hadn’t truly loved you, I would’ve walked away right then!”
“Well, no better time than now. If it still bothers you that much, let’s file for divorce tomorrow,” Cassandra said calmly.
She had worried he wouldn’t agree to it previously, but the fight now only made things easier. There was no need to seek Ryan’s help anymore.
He turned her down again. “No, I’ll never agree to a divorce. You cheated before our wedding; I cheated after. One for one, so we’re even now. From now on, neither of us will bring it up again. Let’s just pretend it never happened.”
“Why not just break things off if it bothers you so much? Isn’t it suffocating to live like this?” she questioned.
He closed his eyes, a bitter smile gracing his lips. “What can I say? I love you. That’s my curse, Cassandra. I guess I’m doomed to fall at your feet for the rest of my life…”
Suddenly, a sharp scream rang out from the hallway.
Cameron yanked open the guest room door, only to see Annabelle sprawled on the floor, tears welling in her eyes. Not far from her lay a squeezed banana peel, clearly the culprit.
Act Fast: Free Bonus Time is Running Out!
Claim
