Chapter 4 Never Welcomed

Hanna walked in with a bag of groceries, using my house key. She froze when she saw me. Surprise filled her eyes. It was obvious she had not expected me to be here.

Sebastian stiffened too. He looked at me guiltily and explained, "I used Cassandra's car last night, so I asked her to wait for me here."

Hanna smiled warmly at me as if she belonged here. "Thank you for lending us your car last night. Otherwise, things might have gotten worse. Sebastian took care of me the whole night, so I wanted to cook him a meal. You should join us too."

The sight of her made my stomach turn. I was about to say something when Sebastian shot me a look.

A phone suddenly rang. It was Hanna's friend.

She answered it, and the caller's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. "Hanna, I missed the class reunion, and you dropped this bomb on me? Now that your career is taking off, you're a great match for Sebastian. Even more so than you were in school. After all these years, you finally got your happy ending. You two better stay together forever."

Hanna laughed and denied it, but she switched on the speaker anyway.

A cold weight settled in my chest.

Sebastian hurried to intercept, "You're just upset you missed the dinner I owed you. I'll treat you next time."

He sent me texts reassuring me as he chatted with the caller. "Cass, don't overthink it. Hanna just recovered. I didn't have time to explain things. Just wait a bit more. Everyone will understand once we have the wedding."

I replied with a blank expression. "We'll see."

After that, he started sending message after message. Each one of them asked me to be understanding and told me not to make a scene, that everything he promised me would come true.

In the end, I closed the chat. I could not be bothered to read any more.

Sebastian panicked.

He strode toward me, but Hanna laughed. "We're both your guests. Why does she get special treatment? Where's the salt? Come help me."

His body reacted before his mind did, and he turned around to help her without a second thought.

After some time, Hanna called out to me, "Cassandra, come try this."

Then, she turned around to grab my car keys. "Here are your keys. Thank you again for lending us your car."

I accepted the keys without a word. The table full of food only made me lose my appetite.

"Cassandra, it's getting late. You should head home after you eat," Hanna commented.

Sebastian froze for a moment and asked softly, "Is your drive home far?"

It was obvious he wanted me to leave on my own. I looked at how in sync they were and could not help but smile bitterly inside.

I was never welcomed in this home, so I grabbed my keys and said, "I've got somewhere else to be. You two enjoy dinner."

Ignoring their performative concern, I left right away.

Our friends were still commenting on her post. One of them joked about wanting a seat at the head table when Sebastian and Hanna got married.

Sebastian replied, "Sure. You'll be the first to know when it happens."

I liked his comment immediately.

He came running out after me when I was about to start the car.

His voice was full of panic. "Honey, that comment wasn't from me. Hanna replied using my phone. Don't be mad. I've picked your ring. Once this is over, we'll—"

"No need," I cut him off coldly.

His tone suddenly sharpened.