Chapter 26 The Fact Part 4

“Cassie,” Franco's voice echoed again, and the only thing I could do was cry.

From the way he looked at me, I could tell he had figured everything out. The conclusion was spinning in his head, and I could see it so clearly.

“Franco, it’s not what you think,” I stepped forward while Franco stepped back as if he didn’t want me to come any closer.

That fact hurt me even more.

I knew he felt disgusted with me.

“Where were you last night?” he asked, his jaw clenched and his sharp gaze piercing me like a knife.

“I…” I couldn’t find an answer. I was at this house when I first opened my eyes, and that alone answered the question of where I was last night.

“I searched for you all night, trying to call you, but you were nowhere to be found. I spent the entire night looking for you at clubs and just caused a scene there because I couldn’t find you. I even went to your mother’s house to check if you’d gone home. I did all of that because I was worried about you, damn it!” He shouted so loudly that it startled me.

I lowered my head, tears streaming down again.

“Can we talk about this after we leave here, Franco?” I looked up, wiping my tears. “I need to get out of here now,” I pleaded desperately.

“I can’t believe you did this to me after everything I’ve given you,” he said, shaking his head.

I stepped closer, and this time, Franco didn’t step back. But as the distance between us shortened, I stopped because I couldn’t bear the way he looked at me.

“Franco, I don’t know what happened. I was drunk and lost control.”

“Lost control?” he asked me. “So, you lost control and ended up spending the night at my cousin’s house?!” he yelled again.

Of course, I was shocked by his outburst, but his last words were even more shocking.

“Your cousin?” I stared at him in disbelief. “I... don’t understand.”

“Yes, my cousin. Did you just realize it now, even though I’ve been standing here the whole time?”

I had overlooked that fact earlier. I hadn’t realized Franco was here this morning, even though he didn’t know I was here.

I had ignored the oddity of his arrival at Mr. Alexavier’s house because I was too panicked and nervous.

Now, everything was laid bare before me, and this truth shook me even more.

“Did you sleep with Chris?” he asked, stepping closer and gripping my shoulders tightly. “Did you throw yourself at him, hoping he would get you out of the mess caused by your father? Did you think he’d hand you a large sum of money so you could pay off your family’s debts, Cass?”

His questions felt like daggers stabbing into my heart.

I had always trusted Franco to understand my struggles because he was the only person I had. I never expected him to use those facts against me when he was angry.

But what did I expect? That he would offer comforting words like he usually did after finding out I had slept with his cousin?

“He’d never do that, damn it! He only slept with you because you have green eyes. But you mean nothing to him. He’ll soon find another green-eyed slut to sleep with and never think of you again. You’re just a tiny part of his list of sluts!”

“Franco, stop!” I screamed, each of his words deepening my guilt.

I knew I had sinned and deserved this scorn. But I couldn’t bear hearing it from the lips of someone I trusted so deeply.

“I’ll stop when you realize it, damn it!” he shouted, shoving me forcefully.

I wasn’t ready for that, and my body was flung backward. I reached out desperately to grab something to steady myself, but I grabbed the wrong thing. A large vase crashed down onto me as I landed on the floor.

The shattering sound was deafening, forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut.

I managed to keep my head from hitting the floor, but my elbow throbbed in pain from bearing the brunt of my fall. My palms were cut by shards of the vase scattered around me.

I could see blood dripping from my hands and parts of my legs where the shards had pierced my skin. I was thankful they hadn’t cut my face or eyes. But I didn’t know if this situation was still something to be grateful for.

“You made me do this,” Franco said, looking at me as I lay on the floor.

I was too stunned by everything that had happened to notice someone walking toward us.

I only realized it when I saw Franco being pushed and punched by someone. The man gave him no chance to fight back, hitting and kicking him repeatedly until he fell to the floor multiple times.

I was shocked to see that it was Mr. Alexavier.

“Damn it!” Franco yelled angrily as he looked at what Mr. Alexavier was doing. He tried to retaliate, but Mr. Alexavier easily blocked every punch as if he could predict Franco’s every move.

“What do you want from me, Chris?!” Franco shouted as he lay on the floor, one of Mr. Alexavier’s feet pressing into his stomach to keep him down.

“Kill you,” Mr. Alexavier replied in a low voice.

I could feel my body trembling as I heard his answer.

I had seen him kill someone before, and I knew he wasn’t joking.

“No, please!” I crawled on my knees to hold onto his leg. I hugged it and begged with little strength I had left. “Please, don’t do it.”

“Leave, Cassandra. You won’t like what you’ll see.” He reached out his hand, trying to help me stand.

I quickly shook my head. This situation was worse than I had imagined, but I knew I couldn’t let my best friend die in front of me, even though he had just pushed me and caused my injuries.

“Damn it! I’ll kill you, Chris!” Franco shouted, ignoring my cries as I pleaded beneath Mr. Alexavier’s foot. He pushed him off, forcing Mr. Alexavier to lift his foot from Franco’s stomach.

In an instant, Franco scrambled to his feet, and Mr. Alexavier simply stood there, watching him rise.

Franco grabbed a sharp piece of the shattered vase. He ran, attempting to attack Mr. Alexavier with it.

Once again, I was caught off guard, unsure of what to do.

But Mr. Alexavier acted swiftly, pulling me behind him—just as he had during the attack on the ship a few days ago.

“You can fight me now or later, Franco. But stay away from my wife!” he said, kicking Franco hard.

I froze where I stood, unable to process anything.

“You’re the one who should stay away from her, damn it!” Franco continued to fight, even as his face bled and his body was covered in wounds.

“You’re telling me to stay away from her?” Mr. Alexavier pointed at me, his finger steady, while I remained paralyzed by the chaos before me. “She is my wife. Those green eyes are mine, Franco. She was mine from the beginning. So, stay away from her before I destroy you with my own hands.”

He must be mistaken, right?

This has to be a misunderstanding.

“What the hell are you talking about?!” I screamed, interrupting their fight.

“Cassandra,” Mr. Alexavier turned to me, stepping closer as if realizing he’d said something that had driven me mad. “I know you’re shocked, but sooner or later, you’ll find out. So, I’ll tell you now.”

“You what?” I stared at him in disbelief.

This time, I stepped back, distancing myself from the man who had just said something horrifying to me.

“You told me what we did was a mistake because you were married, didn’t you?” he said as he moved closer. “Well, I can tell you it wasn’t a mistake because I am your husband.”

I shook my head once again.

There’s no way I could believe his insane words, right?

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am,” he nodded quickly. “I don’t know why you forgot me when we met the first time, but I’m that man. You were drunk then, and that was the first time we met. Actually, it wasn’t even our first meeting because—”

His words were cut short as Franco struck the back of his head with a shard of the vase.

I covered my mouth, screaming loudly as blood began to trickle from Mr. Alexavier’s head.

“I don’t give a damn about what you’re saying, damn it! You disgust me with this so-called brotherhood!” Franco yelled, seething with rage.

I stepped back, staring at Mr. Alexavier in disbelief. Despite being clearly in pain and injured, he stood firm, as if unaffected by it all.

At the same time, a group of men dressed in black arrived, restraining Franco. They grabbed him and began dragging him away while Mr. Alexavier stood still, doing nothing to stop them.

I didn’t know what to do.

Franco had made a mistake by attacking someone, but he did it after being beaten up by Mr. Alexavier.

“Let me go, damn it!” Franco shouted angrily, struggling to free himself. But, of course, he couldn’t. Two men held him firmly as they led him out of the house, his strength no match for theirs.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Mr. Alexavier said, catching my wrist as I tried to run after Franco, who was being dragged outside by the group of men.

“Let me go,” I whispered softly.

I could see blood dripping from his neck, staining his black shirt, and even dripping onto the marble floor beneath him.

“After everything that’s happened?” he scoffed. “Never, wifey.”

His words were laced with seriousness, and I hated it.

“You’re a bastard!”

I still remember how he used to call me when he called me and... this man truly was... him.

No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t escape the truth.

“I am. Call me that all you want. But I’m your husband, and you can’t avoid that fact.” He released my wrist, though his eyes never left me.

I seized the opportunity to walk away from him.

To hell with everything that had happened here. All I wanted was to go home and treat all of this as a meaningless nightmare.

“Open this door!” I shouted when I couldn’t open the main door, which had been locked after Franco was taken out.

Mr. Alexavier raised an eyebrow. “I won’t, not if you plan on chasing after Franco.”

I didn’t even know whether I should chase after Franco, who had just pushed me and called me a slut, or go home and vanish from this world entirely.

“What are you going to do?” Mr. Alexavier asked in a panic as I picked up another shard of ceramic that still lay on the floor.

“I’d rather die than stay here with you!” I screamed furiously.

“Then do it,” he replied calmly—too calmly, as though we were discussing the weather.

Oh, what was I expecting? That he’d listen to my demands just because I threatened to kill myself?

For a moment, I forgot I was standing before a cold-blooded psychopath who wouldn’t hesitate to shoot someone in the head.

“You’re not going to do it?” Mr. Alexavier stepped closer, and I backed away further to avoid him. “Do you want me to do it first?” He extended his hand toward me like a deranged man.

At that moment, the door suddenly swung open.

Dexon appeared in the doorway, staring at the chaos before him in shock.

I knew this wasn’t the most advantageous situation for me, but I quickly decided to take advantage of it. I threw the ceramic shard in my hand at Mr. Alexavier and bolted toward the door.

I thought I could escape by doing that. But Dexon caught me before I could make it outside.

“Let me go!” I shouted angrily at him.

“Easy, Miss Floyd!” Dexon grabbed my arms, his brows furrowing when he noticed the blood covering my palms.

“Don’t touch my wife, Dexon.” Mr. Alexavier’s voice was calm as he wiped the blood from his neck. “Let her leave if that’s what she wants.”

I stared at Dexon, and he stared back at me. A moment later, he released my arms as if Mr. Alexavier’s words were an unbreakable command.

I immediately walked out as quickly as I could, desperate to escape, before they changed their minds and trapped me in yet another mess.

“Run, Cassandra.”

I froze mid-step at the sound of his voice. I didn’t know why I stopped, but something inside me compelled me to. A part of me wanted… to hear what he had to say.

“You can run and disappear into the depths of hell, but I will always find you.”