LOGINCHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ONEHe was already seated when the guard brought her in, and he looked up with sad eyes, like he'd learned not to hope for warmth from her anymore and was determined not to let himself slip back into hoping now."You came," he said, the same two words he'd said the last time, though this time they carried less desperate relief and more surprise."I came." Cassie sat down across from him, folding her hands on the table. "I don't have much time. I need to tell you a few things and then I need to go.""Okay." He straightened slightly. "You don't even deserve it but I'm not giving a victim impact statement at your sentencing."He looked both shocked, relieved and confused. "Why not?”"Because I thought about it for a while and I realized the only reason I'd stand up in that courtroom is to be angry at you in front of an audience. And I don't need an audience for that anymore, Dad. I don't need a judge or a room full of strangers to validate how much what you
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY Cassie couldn't sleep.She lay in the dark long after Dom's breathing had evened out beside her, staring at the ceiling, the sentencing date sitting in her chest like a stone she couldn't quite dislodge no matter how she shifted position. She finally gave up around two in the morning, easing out of bed carefully so as not to wake him up, careful with every movement the way she'd learned to be during his recovery months ago, an old habit that had never fully left her. She made her way down to the kitchen, flicking on the small light over the stove instead of the overheads, something softer for the hour. She was still sitting at the counter twenty minutes later, mug of tea gone cold and untouched in front of her, staring at nothing in particular, when she heard Dom's footsteps on the stairs, already knowing where he'd find her.“Is reached out for you but didn't feel you next to me.”“I am sorry, babe.”"Couldn't sleep?" He settled onto the stool beside h
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY NINEThe reception online kept climbing through the evening, the RealAfterAll momentum from weeks earlier apparently still carrying enough goodwill that this new announcement landed as romantic instead of scandalous, exactly the outcome Dom had bet everything on when he'd first floated the idea in that coffee shop. They ordered takeout instead of cooking, sitting on the kitchen floor with the containers spread between them because neither of them had the energy left to deal with plates or a table or any pretense of formality."I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop," Cassie admitted, chopsticks paused halfway to her mouth, staring at a piece of broccoli. "Every time something good happens lately, I brace for whatever's coming to ruin it. It's an awful habit and I don't know how to turn it off.""That's fair," Dom said, setting his own container down to actually look at her properly. "Considering that this year trained both of us pretty thoroughly to ex
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY EIGHTTheir photo was trending before they even got a chance to make a post. She was laughing at something Dom said about the flowers already wilting in the afternoon heat, his hand warm in hers, the certificate a solid weight in his jacket pocket, when his phone buzzed once and just wouldn't stop, the vibrations coming so close together they blurred into a single continuous hum against his hip."Dom."He pulled it out, and she watched his face change as he tried to process everything. "Someone got a shot of us leaving," he said, scrolling fast. "Long lens, from across the street. It's already up.""Up where?” She was practically terrified. "Everywhere technically." He turned the screen toward her and she saw the grainy photograph, the two of them mid-laugh on the courthouse steps, Cassie's dress catching the light at an angle that made it look almost accidental, Vanessa a blur in the background with the deli flowers held awkwardly against her chest. Th
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY SEVENThe courthouse smelled like industrial carpet cleaner, nothing like a wedding was supposed to smell like, and Cassie found she didn't care even a little bit, the ordinariness of it somehow exactly right for what this actually was. She'd worn the absolutely stunning dress she had picked up from the designer earlier. And as much as she had dreamt of her mother in law and mother dressing her in this perfect gown, she was still excited about today even though she knew she would probably have to sew another because Dom was still going to do that his big dream wedding after everything was over. This was just a change in plan . Dom stood beside her in a flawless suit, looking like a hundred million bucks and smiling hard when he saw her in the dress. Vanessa stood off to the side, holding both their phones and a single small bouquet she'd insisted on grabbing from a corner deli on the way in, refusing to let the day pass without at least one flower in it,
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY SIXWhile so many thoughts crossed Cassie's mind at this new discovery, Dom was scheming something completely different that the very people who they had loved and been betrayed by would not see coming. "That's not a plan," Vanessa said, one eyebrow raised. "That's a vibe, Dom."Dom almost laughed despite himself, some of the tension in his shoulders breaking. "Fair enough. Let me actually explain it properly.""Please… I'm listening.""Let's move the wedding up," Dom said, turning to Cassie now, his whole focus narrowing onto her completely, like Vanessa and the coffee shop and everything else had briefly stopped existing. "I know you probably think I am crazy but I feel like this will also keep mouths moving""How soon is soon?” Cassie asked, her voice quieter now, testing the actual weight of the idea instead of dismissing it outright."In two weeks," Dom said. "If the courthouse will have us. Thankfully your dress is already ready.”Cassie stared at
Cassie blinked and suddenly burst into a sharp and disbelieving laugh. "What?""You heard me.""This is insane, you're insane.""Probably." Dom shifted, still crouched at her level, his expression serious despite the absurdity of what he was proposing. "But think about it. Marcus wanted you for the
Her dress was pooling around her like a deflated parachute. As she cried so hard her entire body shook terribly. She wiped away the tears that had completely blocked her vision.Three years.Three years of dinner parties with the Hales where Eleanor critiqued everything from Cassie's posture to her
Cassie woke up in the massive guest bed, momentarily forgetting the chaos until sunlight hit her face, clearing the sleep from her eyes. For one blissful second, everything was normal.She was just a girl waking up on a sunny morning, but as she took in the sight of the room through her sleepy eyes
"To Marcus and Cassie," someone called out, and the sea of champagne flutes lifted in unison like a choreographed wave. The sound of glass clinking filled the air in celebration, each clink another nail in the coffin of Cassie's composure.The crystal chandeliers of the Grand Rosewood Ballroom cast







