Wanted By Josh Carter: His Father, My Lover

Cassie POV

Every girl on campus wanted a boyfriend, and every single one of them wanted to date Mark Skyland. Besides being handsome, Mark also came from a top-tier family, so girls flocked to him, vying for his attention. To their dismay, though, he had chosen me to be his girlfriend.

Not that I cared all that much. I had left my small town behind and moved to bustling Chicago because I wanted to earn my law degree, become a badass, and lift my parents out of poverty. Those were my goals—not getting caught up in some cheesy romance with the most popular guy on campus. But I had to admit, Mark Skyland had a way with words.

It had been over three months since I fell for his charm, and he’d been my boyfriend ever since. Becks, my best friend, would laugh in my face and call me a sucker for doing exactly what I’d always criticized. But Mark was a hottie, and being with him made me feel seen and loved.

That is, until what I’d just found out about him made me explode from the inside out.

“Here. I got what you asked for,” Becks said, handing me a rectangular box that wasn’t too heavy.

“Thanks, you’re always a lifesaver,” I said in a grim tone, grateful for her always having my back.

Beckie sighed and ran her fingers through my hair. “Are you sure you want to do this, Cassie…?” She was worried about me, thinking I might not be able to handle it, that I couldn’t face this moment that was so crucial to me.

I gave her a weak smile. “I’m fine, Beck, I swear. I’m just going to show them they messed with the wrong person.”

She smiled back, still worried but with a hint of pride. “Alright then, show them what Cassie Millans is made of!”

Today was my birthday party. Mark and the college crew had thrown one for me. I’d bet most of the people there weren’t even there for me but for the food and the fun. Still, it felt nice knowing my boyfriend had gone to such lengths for me. Or at least, it would have been nice if I still believed he loved me.

“Look who’s here!” he shouted, drawing everyone’s attention in the room as I walked in. The crowd cheered my arrival, excited for the party. “The most beautiful birthday girl I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said, sounding all smitten with that charming little grin of his. You could tell he was already a bit tipsy.

It was true that Beck and I looked stunning. My friend had gone for a black leather mini-skirt, a red bra, and a black lace top. She always wore eyeliner that made her blue eyes pop, and with her tall, slim figure and short black bob, Beck had undeniable sex appeal.

I’d chosen a shimmery silver mini-dress, subtle but striking makeup, and I’d curled my brown hair with blonde tips even more. Sure, I wasn’t happy, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to dress to impress.

“You look hot, baby,” Mark said, flirty as always, already pulling me in for a kiss.

But I covered his mouth with my hand. “Not so fast, tiger. You’ll get your reward later,” I said with a seductive smile.

Mark grinned, excited. “I’m counting on it.”

What a jerk.

I wore a fake smile as I glanced at Piper McCoy, who was sipping her drink nearby, glaring at me with her usual jealousy. I’d always thought she had a problem with me, though I never understood why. But today, I understood everything—after all, we were sharing the same boyfriend! There she was, dressed in an obscene outfit, all to get the attention of someone else’s man, that tramp.

“Happy birthday, Cassie,” the washed-out blonde said, giving me a fake smile.

But my fake smile was bigger than hers. “Hey, Piper! Didn’t think you’d show up since we’re not exactly friends, right? But it’s all good, enjoy the party. Oh my God, your outfit, honey, it’s awful. Red is definitely not your color.” My words had a playful tone but were cutting at the same time.

“Poor thing, doesn’t even know how to dress,” Beckie added with a mocking giggle. McCoy made a face of disdain but didn’t say anything as she was humiliated.

“I’d give you some tips, you know, but it’s time for my speech,” I said, throwing her a disgusted look before heading to the front of the room.

“A moment, please!” I called out, raising my champagne glass.

“Quiet, you idiots! My princess wants to speak,” Mark shouted, getting everyone’s attention as they fell silent. “Go for it, princess!” His usual goofy smile and charm.

“Thanks, sweetie. Always saving me, huh,” I smiled, making the crowd cheer. “It’s kind of ironic because I’ve never been the kind of girl who needs saving. I’ve always managed on my own. But here at Windy City College, things tend to blow up to epic proportions, don’t they? And what would I be without my boyfriend?”

“I’ve got your back, gorgeous!” Mark said, as humorous as ever.

“He’s such a goof for her,” someone in the crowd commented, making everyone laugh cheerfully.

“When I left my little town to come here, I never imagined I’d actually fall for someone, get caught up in love, or even have expectations. A lot of people see me as a silly girl, someone who doesn’t make an impact, and some don’t even get why a guy as charming as Mark would go for a nerdy, plain girl like me. But guess what? He chose me, defying all odds, making me the envied girl for the first time, noticed by the guys. So I even started to think I was living some romantic college dream.”

“And you are living it, love,” Mark said again, sounding touched by my words.

I stared at him for a moment in silence, wondering how he could fake it so well, smile at me like that, and pretend he actually felt something—how he had manipulated me this whole time.

“Am I really?” The question was rhetorical, but I kept looking at him, seeing a hint of confusion cross his face. I turned to the crowd. “See, here’s the thing, folks. You maintain your status as the most popular guy on campus, but you get yourself into a huge mess because you’re a lousy delinquent who’s one step away from being expelled. Then you have the brilliant idea to date the girl with the best behavior and academic performance in the entire university—the one always buried in books, who avoids trouble and doesn’t seem interested in anything. You think, Wow, if the administration finds out I’m dating a girl like that, it’ll prove I’m turning things around, and I won’t get expelled, and my reputation will stay intact. So you use the girl for that, and it works. Pretty clever, right?” I let out a sarcastic chuckle.

“Where did you come up with this story, you crazy girl?” Mark asked, laughing too, as if it were a joke.

But I pressed on. “Then the naive girl starts noticing giggles when she walks through the halls, the malicious taunts, becoming the target of mockery, her life turned upside down. But she decides to stick it out because she loves you, right? She believes in her boyfriend and the love he claims to feel for her. She thinks it might be worth it. But then she finds out that everything she’s been living was a lie—that you’re not only manipulating her, using her, but also cheating on her repeatedly while the fool still thinks she’s living a fairy tale. So I ask myself, am I really living a dream?”

By now, the atmosphere was heavy. I could hear murmurs. Mark wasn’t smiling anymore; after all, his schemes had been laid bare. “What are you doing, Cassie? Stop this, this game isn’t cool. I never cheated on you.”

“You’ve got some nerve,” I said, incredulous.

“What an ungrateful girl!” That was Piper, looking at me with disgust. “Mark gave her status in this place, and now she’s making up lies?”

“Defending him because you know you’re going down with him, huh, you slut?” Beckie let out a sarcastic laugh. “Go on, Cass! The night’s perfect for taking down cheating scumbags.”

“Cassie, seriously. Stop this,” Mark said through gritted teeth, taking a step forward.

“Why? Don’t want everyone to know who you really are, darling? ‘She doesn’t even come close to you, babe,’ isn’t that what you said? ‘Cassie’s so boring, even sleeping with her is dull,’ weren’t those your words? ‘I’m only with her to keep up the good-guy facade so no one finds out about my schemes.’ But what schemes, love? Care to share?”

“Cassie, you’re playing with fire. I’m warning you—” he tried to threaten, but I cut him off.

“I’m not afraid of you. Tonight, I’m going to show you why you shouldn’t mess with the quiet girl,” I said, pulling papers out of the box I was holding. I threw a bunch in his face. “There’s the evidence of your cheating, you jerk! And that’s not all, folks. There’s more. I found proof of you selling fake grades, hacking into the university’s grading system to change marks for anyone who pays you, smuggling illegal stuff, and not only that—harassing freshman girls and threatening to ruin their reputations so they’d get expelled. Want to see? Here’s the proof!” I tossed more papers into the air, the AC breeze scattering the evidence across the room. People grabbed the papers, looking at photos pulled from his DMs and emails I’d managed to get.

Mark was tearing up the papers, snatching them from people’s hands, trying to get rid of the evidence. “Save your strength, darling, because I’ve already sent a copy of everything to the administration,” I said, laughing. The taste of revenge was sweet. He was going to crash and burn spectacularly.

“You’re insane!” he shouted, completely unhinged, barely holding himself back from attacking me in front of everyone. “I was an idiot for giving a mediocre girl like you a chance.”

“You really thought you were all that, didn’t you? Congratulations, Mark Skyland. The truth is, you’re nothing but a scumbag, and sex with you isn’t even that great—you’re just overhyped. Maybe you’re the mediocre one here!” My laugh was one of pure delight.