Chapter 1: We’re done

Cassandra’s POV

Outside the hotel room, I clasped my hand over my mouth. The sounds were unmistakable.

My husband was in the hotel room…

Having sex with another woman!

I burned with rage. I’d seen the dirty text message on my husband’s phone an hour ago.

‘‘Hey baby. Hope this gets you nice and hard. Can’t wait to see you tonight. Meet me at the Sterling Hotel. 8:00pm. Xoxo’

I’d thought the text message was just spam. But I’d gone to the Sterling Hotel anyway. I NEVER thought, in a million years, my husband would actually go.

I was wrong.

I pressed my ear up against the door. During a pause, I heard the woman speaking.

 “What if your wife finds out about us, Jordyn?”

I felt like I recognized the woman’s voice, but I couldn’t recall where from.

“She won’t say anything. Besides, our marriage is already dead. The only thing she has going for her is that she’s obedient and sensible. If she finds out, she’ll keep her mouth shut if she knows what’s good for her. She needs me. She has nothing without me. But I don’t want to talk about Cassandra. You’re the only one I love, Ellie.”  

Ellie!?

Her name hit me like a lightning bolt.

Ellie was Jordyn’s first love!

I was shocked and confused. How could this be? Ellie had been in a horrible car accident. She’d slipped into a deep coma and become a vegetable.

When did she wake up?

This clearly wasn’t the first time they’d been together. According to the text messages, Jordyn had been sneaking around with Ellie behind my back for a while now.

I felt dizzy and nauseous.

Deep down, I knew that Jordyn’s heart had always belonged to Ellie. Even after her accident, he’d still visited her regularly. He’d basically held a vigil at her bedside. I was always second to her. So I shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d gone running into her arms the moment she’d woken up.

But still.

He’d betrayed me, and that wasn’t something I could tolerate.

I banged on the door.

“We don’t need maid service. Go away,” Jordyn replied, annoyed.

Clearly, Jordyn wasn’t going to answer the door. I heard them resume their lovemaking.

Furious, I stormed down to the hotel front desk and demanded a key card to their room.

The receptionist was derisive.

“We can’t just give out keys to other people’s rooms,” she said, mocking me. “That’s against hotel policy.”

The receptionist rolled her eyes and ignored me, turning her attention back to her computer.     I whipped out my phone and made a call.

“The Sterling Hotel is your property, right?” I said. “I need top-level access and I need it now.”

Seconds after I hung up, the receptionist received a call from her manager. I watched her face smugly as she realized who I was. She looked shocked. She hung up and looked at me sheepishly.

“I’m sorry, Miss Cassandra. I didn’t realize.” She handed me a room key.

I grabbed the key and marched right back up to Jordyn’s room. I swiped the room card and barged in.

Ellie screamed in shock, bolting upright in the bed, clutching the sheets to her naked chest.

“Cassandra?” Jordyn asked, his face stunned. “How the hell did you get in here?”

“Oh my god,” Ellie whispered, acting pitiful. “I’m sorry. I just…I missed Jordyn so much. I didn’t mean to ruin your marriage.”

“Enough,” I said curtly. “Stop pretending. Ruining my marriage is EXACTLY what you meant to do.”

Then I locked eyes with Jordyn.

“Either come home with me, right now,” I told him, “or we're getting a divorce.”

“There’s no need to be so dramatic, Cassandra,” Jordyn scoffed. “Stop making a scene. Here.”

He got off the bed and reached for his pants. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and held out his credit card.

“Leave us,” he said, thrusting the credit card at me. “There’s plenty of money in the bank account, but if you run out, just use this.”

Seriously? I stared at Jordyn in disbelief. Then I laughed in anger.

I swatted at his hand, slapping the card away. Then I slid off my wedding ring and threw it on the ground.

“Cassandra,” Jordyn said, raking his hand through his hair. “Just calm down…”

“No,” I cut him off. “You’ve made your choice. We’re done. I’ll send over the divorce papers.”

Without another word, I stormed out of the hotel. Sitting in my car outside the hotel, I clutched the steering wheel. My mind spun.

Had that really just happened?

I couldn’t back the tears anymore. They streamed down my face.

I remembered the first time I’d met Jordyn. We met by chance during a charity gala. He’d approached me, and my breath had hitched in my throat. One look into his smoldering eyes, and I fell for him. He pursued me, and eventually we got married.

It wasn’t until after we were married though that I found out I was just a substitute. It just so happened that I looked a little bit like Ellie.

He’d never gotten over Ellie. And it didn’t help that Jordyn’s mother thought I was just some trashy gold digger. She was horrible to me. Over time, Jordy became more and more indifferent towards me. He stayed late at work, and then he started not coming home at all.

I started to feel hopeless. Jordyn was so distant. Was this really what I wanted from my marriage? So, in a moment of utter desolation, I’d suggested we get a divorce.

Jordyn had kissed me and hauled me into bed. He’d made passionate love to me, convincing me that he didn’t want a divorce.

I held onto hope. Maybe he just needed time. Maybe he would slowly fall in love with me.

Clutching the steering wheel outside the hotel, though, tears streaming down my face, I realized that I was never going to happen. Jordyn would never love me. His heart belonged to Ellie.

Jordyn had reacted the way he always did when I brought up our relationship. He tried to brush me off with money.

But the last thing I needed was money.

I swiped the tears from my cheeks and pulled out my phone and called my brother.

“Cameron?” I said, my voice cracking. “Come pick me up. I want to divorce Jordyn.”