LOGINBlake's POVI felt the exact moment Cassie finally fell asleep, the tension in her body easing, her breathing evening out, her grip on my shirt loosening slightly.But I didn't sleep.I couldn't.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face when I'd opened that door the second time. The terror. The tears. The desperate way she'd cried in my arms in the shower and just now.The guilt of what I had done would live with me for a very long time. I'd looked at my wife being assaulted and I'd walked away because I was too damaged, too conditioned to expect betrayal, to see the truth. I could have said I came back, but that was bullshit. I should never have judged her in the first place.My arms tightened around her."Never again," I swore silently. "I will never fail her like that again. I was lucky she was even here with me now."I watched her sleep, tracking the rise and fall of her chest, the flutter of her eyelids, the way her fingers would occasionally twitch against my ribs.The bruise
Fawn's POVI stood in the middle of Blake's bedroom wrapped in a towel, my whole body trembling from the aftershocks of everything that had happened.The shower had helped. A little. The water had washed away Brad's touch, his smell, the feeling of his hands on me. But it hadn't washed away the memory. That was still there, vivid and sharp, playing on repeat every time I closed my eyes. Having Blake hold me while I cried had also helped. He hadn't tried to stop my tears; he had stepped into the shower fully clothed and took me into his arms.Blake emerged from his closet with one of his T-shirts, soft, worn, and smelling like him. He knew I needed a little protection tonight without being told."Here," he said gently, holding it out. "This should cover you no problem."I took it, grateful. The idea of sleeping naked, of being that vulnerable right now, made my skin crawl. I needed layers. Needed something between me and the world. I trusted Blake, but I also needed time."Thank you,"
Blake's POV"Blake—""No." My voice was steady, but my hands were shaking again as they hovered over her face, not quite touching because I was terrified of causing her more pain. "He did this to you. He hurt you. And I... I left you there with him. I walked away.""You came back," she said, and it shouldn't have felt like absolution but somehow it did. "You came back and you stopped him. You saved me.""I shouldn't have left in the first place." I met her eyes, needing her to see my guilt and self-loathing. "I saw you and him... and I assumed... I thought you were cheating on me. Like before. Like all the other times. I thought you'd gone right back to your old ways the second I let you out of my sight.""I know." Her voice was so small, so hurt, it broke something fundamental in me. "I saw it on your face.""I'm so sorry." I rested my forehead against her lap. "I'm so fucking sorry. You needed me and I walked away. I left you with that monster. Because I couldn't see past my own bag
Blake's POV"I'm a damn fool. I'm sorry."The words felt pathetically inadequate for what I'd done. For walking away. For not seeing her. For letting this happen.My hands trembled. I wanted desperately to touch her, to hold her, to somehow shield her from all of this. But I was terrified she'd pull away. That she wouldn't want me near her after I'd failed her so catastrophically."Can I—" My voice broke. I swallowed hard and tried again. "Can I hold you? Please?" Not caring about who was watching. The word please tasted like acid in my mouth. I'd beg for forgiveness for the rest of my life if that's what it took.For a long moment, Cassie just stared at me, watching my face. Then, slowly, she nodded.Relief flooded through me so powerfully it almost sent me to the floor beside her. I gathered her into my arms as gently as I could, one arm under her knees, the other around her back, and lifted her like she was made of glass.She immediately buried her face in my chest and broke down.
Fawn's POV+Trigger Warning+No.No no no no—"See?" Brad laughed, the sound ugly and triumphant against my ear. "Even your husband knows what you are. A whore who can't keep her legs closed. He doesn't want you. Nobody wants you except for a quick fuck."Something broke inside me then. The fear transformed into rage, white-hot and desperate. This man was trying to rape me. Blake had left me here. And I was done with being a victim.I stopped trying to push Brad away and went for his eyes instead, my nails raking across his face."Fuck!" He reared back, giving me just enough space to bring my knee up hard between his legs.Brad doubled over with a choked gasp, and I shoved him as hard as I could. He stumbled backward into a stack of chairs.I lunged for the door, my only thought to get out, to get away, to find Blake and make him understand—Brad's hand caught my ankle and I went down hard, my palms scraping against the floor. He dragged me backward, and I kicked wildly, catching him i
Fawn's POV+Trigger Warning+Brad Ashford's grip on my arm was tight enough to bruise."Cassandra," he said, his voice very smooth but insistent. "We need to talk. Privately."I tried to pull away, glancing back toward the ballroom where I could still see Blake near the stage. "I don't think we do.""Oh, I think we do." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "Come on. Just a few minutes. For old times' sake."He was already steering me away from the crowd, his hand firm… very firm on my elbow. People were watching. I could feel their eyes on us, could already imagine the whispers starting.There goes Cassie again. Can't help herself. Poor Blake.I could have made a scene. Could have screamed. Could have yanked my arm away and caused exactly the kind of spectacle I'd promised myself I wouldn't make to prove I wasn't Cassie.But I didn't want that. Didn't want to prove everyone right about old Cassie. Didn't want to embarrass Blake or give the gossips more ammunition.I could handle this. I c
Fawn’s POVI watched three pairs of eyes turn on Blake. What they didn’t think—“Mrs. Huntington,” the older doctor said carefully, drawing my attention back to him. “You were in a car accident six months ago. You’ve been in a coma. Do you… remember anything? Anything at all?”Everything inside me w
Fawn’s POVAir ripped into my lungs like I’d swallowed knives.I jerked upright, hands flying to my chest, half-expecting water to gush out of my mouth as I gulped in air. For one panicked, blinding second, I was back in the bath, drowning. No, not drowning… being murdered as I fought to stay alive.
Blake’s POVTuesday 9:24 AMThe machine near the bed beeped too loudly for a room that was supposed to be quiet. Mainly because she was so still and silent.I sat in the hard plastic chair by the bed, elbows on my knees, my suit jacket off and folded over the back of the chair. I had only planned to
Monday 5pmI should have known the quiet was just too quiet. That stillness before something bad always carries its own stench, one your body can’t help but recognize even if your brain refuses to admit it. You know the feeling… the one like how animals go quiet just before they scurry away as a dis







