Cassandra’s POV Maybe I’d misheard him. Ellie was in jail awaiting her court date. She was being charged with multiple crimes, including two accounts of attempted murder: messing with Stanley’s medication and shooting Dillon. Plus kidnapping, of course. They weren’t even allowing her bail this time. After the court date, Ellie would be in jail for a very long time. “I’ll give Ellie what I owe her,” Vivienne sighed. What she owes her? Why would Vivienne owe Ellie anything? “I wouldn’t pay her if I were you. She caused more trouble than she was worth,” the man said. “I agree. But if I don’t pay her, she might talk. And that would be bad for both of us, Brock.” Brock? I couldn’t help it, I snuck another glance into the room. Vivienne and the man had turned, so I was able to see the man’s profile. I recognized him right away this time. Brock. Lisa’s ex-husband. The man that Ellie had cheated on Jordyn
Cassandra’s POV I stared in disbelief, peeking through the crack on the door. The man Vivienne was kissing was definitely NOT her husband, Jordyn’s father, Howard. I couldn’t see who the man was but I motioned for Dillon to keep quiet as I pressed my back against the wall to listen. “I want to be with you, baby,” I heard the man say in between kisses. “We’ve been waiting so long.” “I know,” Vivienne said. “But we just need to wait a little while longer. As soon as my father’s will is read, I can finally leave Howard.” My mind reeled. Vivienne was having an affair? She was literally making out with someone DURING her own father’s celebration of life. This was low. Like, REALLY low. Did Vivienne have no morals? “I have to get back,” Vivienne said. “When’s the reading of the will?” the man asked. “Soon. We just need to wait for the executor of the estate to get back into town. He’s away on business. As so
Cassandra’s POVI was pretty quiet on the ride over to Stanley’s celebration of life. I didn’t know what to say. I’d made a promise to Stanley and I’d made a promise to Dillon. I was well aware of the fact that Stanley would never know one way or the other if I kept his promise. But it felt unethical to break it. Dillon drove with the window open, his elbow propped on the car door. He glanced at me several times, concern on his face. He’d been so amazing through this whole ordeal. My pillar of support. I felt better just having him beside me.We were both still tanned from our Bora Bora holiday. Had it really only been just over a week ago? It felt like a lifetime. He patted me on the leg as we drove up to the house.“Ready?” he asked, putting the car in park.“Not really,” I sighed, looking at the enormous mansion. There were cars everywhere, and people milled about outside the front door. Stanley had been a prominent member of high society for a long time. I wasn’t surprised
Cassandra’s POVIt was a gray day with a steady drizzle of rain. The weather reflected perfectly how I felt. I stood at the cemetery, Dillon’s hand firmly in mine. The pain in my chest was almost unbearable.It was my first real funeral.A limousine pulled up and the pallbearers, including Jordyn, carried the casket to the area where we had all gathered. There was a massive hole in the ground – Stanley’s grave. I couldn’t stop staring at it. That’s where his body would be, in the ground, forever. It was hard to conceive of.The men walked by us, their faces solemn. Stanley’s casket was a deep mahogany.‘His body is inside of that casket,’ I thought to myself morbidly.Once the casket had been set down, the pall bearers joined the rest of Jordyn’s family. Everyone was dressed in black. The air was heavy and sad, as people sniffled and dabbed at their eyes with handkerchiefs. Surprisingly, I didn’t cry. Not during the funeral. Perhaps I had no tears left.Jordyn and his parents stood at
Cassandra’s POV Dillon reached for me as I climbed out of bed the next morning. “Hey, get back here,” he said lazily. But I shook my head. “I have to get back to Stanley’s,” I told him. “But I’ll make us some coffee first.” I trudged out to the kitchen and started making coffee. I was exhausted. I’d barely slept all night. I’d tossed and turned, unable to get Stanley’s dying request out of my head. I completely understood where he was coming from. He was worried about Jordyn. I didn’t blame him. Jordyn was spiraling out of control. He’d lost his company and his wife (me). His ex-fiance (Ellie) turned out to be a crazy person from hell who had both tried to kill Stanley and had almost killed Dillon. And now his grandfather, one of the closest people in his life, was dying of an inoperable brain tumor. Stanley wanted Jordyn to be happy. And right now, Jordyn was a VERY far cry from that. He shouldn’t have asked
Dillon’s POV I walked into my house, grabbed a beer out of the fridge, and went to sit on the patio. “Fucking Jordyn,” I whispered out loud, taking a long swig from the beer. I’d never wanted to punch someone in the face as badly as him in that moment. He was a sloppy, drunken mess, but his words had stung all the same. He’d been trying to bait me with that nonsense about Cassandra kissing him. I could see it in his eyes, even IF his eyes were a little unfocused due to the copious amounts of alcohol he’d been consuming. He was trying to make me jealous. Trying to upset me.And it had worked. Although I’d managed to keep my cool and not slug him in the jaw.I just didn’t get it. Was he really still THAT in love with her? I’d really thought that Jordyn and I moved past all things. We’d all worked together, me, Jordyn and Cameron when Cass had been kidnapped. I really thought that Jordyn was ready to move out of the goddamn way and just let Cassandra live
Cassandra’s POV Dillon decided to leave after that. There was no point in him hanging around, and with the way Jordyn was asking, I was afraid Jordyn was going to do something stupid, like punch Dillon. I promised Dillon again that I would go nowhere near Jordyn, not alone. I was only there to see Stanley, to help in whatever way I could. “I’ll have my phone on,” I told Dillon. “Me too,” Dillon said, kissing me on the forehead before he left. My plan was to stay with Stanley for the rest of the day, and then go back to Dillon’s. Jordyn did have a point when he said I wasn’t part of the family anymore. I wanted to help, but I also didn’t want to get in the way. It was an hour or so before Stanley woke up again. I was hanging out in the dining room, surrounded by maids and other assorted staff. Jordyn was nowhere to be seen, and I could only assume he’d gone and passed out somewhere. Vivenne, too, wasn’t around. So I was just sipping on coffee
Cassandra’s POV My hand smacked Jordyn hard. His face bounced back. Then he laughed. “Nice one,” he said. “Guess I had that coming, huh?” “Come on Dillon,” I told him. “I can’t stand the sight of him for another minute.” I reached for Dillon’s hand, but he shrugged me off. He headed for the door, with me trailing behind. But before I left, I turned and looked Jordyn square in the eyes. “Do better,” I told him, my voice low. “Is this really how you want to spend your final days with Stanley? In a drunken haze? I’m disappointed in you Jordyn. Get your fucking act together.” I left the room. Dillon was standing in the hall, a strange look on his face. “It’s not how he made it sound,” I said. But Dillon held up his hand, stopping me. “Did you, or did you not go to visit Jordyn,” Dillon said. “I did,” I sighed. “But only because…there was this unpaid bill from our fashion venue. Plus, Jordyn wanted Hot H
Cassandra’s POV Dillon stood beside me as Jordyn stumbled towards us. He had to steady himself on the back of a chair. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Jordyn was spiraling, right before our eyes. “Really Cassandra?” Jordyn said, “You brought your boyfriend here?” “Jordyn,” Dillon said, stepping forward. “I’m really sorry to hear about Stanley. I know how hard this must be.” “You don’t know jack shit,” Jordyn snapped at Dillon. I stared at Jordyn in utter disbelief. He looked ten times worse than the last time I’d seen him, and he’d looked awful then. His shirt was wrinkled and untucked. His pants had stains on them of some sort. His face looked pale and sunken. There were dark circles under his eyes. He’d lost weight, too. He was skinnier than I’d ever seen him. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” Dillon continued, unphased by Jordyn’s rudeness. “I wish we weren’t meeting at all,” Jordy