Chapter Four: Caught In The Act

Peter cut in before Cassienne could react. “No, Miss Ackley, you’re mistaken.”

Tina leaned forward, resting her perfectly manicured hands on the executive desk. Her head tilted slightly, her expression sharp and challenging.

“How so?” she asked. “You said my PA would resume in an hour. And now she’s not?”

Cassienne scoffed quietly under her breath. She recognized the tone. Tina wasn’t asking out of confusion—she was asking to humiliate her, to make her look small in front of Peter. But Cassienne refused to give her that satisfaction, so she forced out a small, stiff smile.

“Mrs. Tremont is one of our newbies,” Peter explained calmly. “She’s skilled in software design. She’s not the assistant I mentioned.”

Tina’s face darkened. Disappointment flickered in her eyes even though she tried to hide it behind a professional mask. She didn’t want Cassienne as her assistant—she wanted Cassienne beneath her.

“Very well then,” Tina said coolly. “Now that I know, you both may return to work.”

She turned back to her documents, acting as if they no longer existed.

“Yes, ma’am,” Peter replied politely. Then he glanced at Cassienne. “Come, Cassienne. Let’s go.”

Cassienne didn’t move for a moment. A childish, reckless image flashed through her mind—smashing the documents right into Tina’s perfect face, wiping the smugness off in one go. The thought gave her a spark of satisfaction, but it faded quickly. She exhaled and followed Peter out.

Back at her workstation, she sank into her chair and stared at the pile of tasks waiting for her. The workload was heavy, but she welcomed it. She needed something—anything—to drown out the tight pain growing inside her chest.

She buried herself in code, in testing, in debugging. Work became her shield.

Still, the truth lingered: she never imagined Dreston could humiliate her this deeply—bringing his mistress into the company, into her department, into the one place she believed she could escape her broken home.

“Concentrate, Cassienne,” she whispered to herself. “Don’t think about them.”

But the tears still pricked the corners of her eyes.

“Mrs. Tremont.”

The voice behind her made her freeze.

She turned and saw Janet—Dreston’s secretary. Cassienne’s heart sank immediately, nothing good ever followed that expression.

“The CEO wants you to serve him his coffee the way he likes it,” Janet said.

Cassienne’s eyebrows lifted in disbelief. She had never served him coffee at work. At home, yes—but never here in his office, where their relationship was strictly professional.

“I thought that was your duty?” Cassienne asked softly.

“Yes, ma’am,” Janet replied. “But he specifically requested that you bring it.”

Cassienne nodded slowly and followed her to the office pantry. Her hands trembled as she prepared his coffee—sweet and creamy, exactly the way he liked it. The scent alone dragged up memories she wished she could erase.

She set the mug on a small tray and walked toward his office. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest as she stopped at the door.

She inhaled deeply, trying to steady her nerves, then knocked.

No reply.

She waited… then gently pushed the door and it opened easily. Her eyes stayed on the tray as she stepped inside.

But when she finally looked up—

Her entire world collapsed totally.

Dreston sat in his chair, and Tina was straddling him.

Their lips were locked, and their bodies pressed together.

A small sound escaped Cassienne before she could stop it. Her hands shook violently. The tray slipped and crashed onto the floor, the mug shattered, coffee spreading creamy and wet across the marble floor.

They jerked apart.

A sharp pain stung her ankle. She looked down and saw blood—glass shards had pierced her skin. But that wasn’t the pain tearing through her now.

Tina slid off Dreston’s lap and turned to her with a triumphant, devilish smirk.

Dreston, however, looked uneasy and somehow ashamed. He stood quickly.

“Cassienne?” he said, scratching the back of his head like a guilty teenager caught doing something stupid. “What are you doing in my office?”

She couldn’t believe it.

This was the message he wanted to send, wasn’t it? Loud and clear. That he was done with her. That he never needed her to begin with.

Cassienne swallowed hard and kept her voice steady. “I’m sorry for barging in. I should have knocked properly.”

“Dre, honey,” Tina said softly as she walked toward Cassienne with a fake warmth dripping from her voice. “You didn’t tell me Cassienne works here.”

Honey. The word twisted something painful inside Cassienne. And what was the need for the pretence? They already met not too long ago.

Tina opened her arms for a hug. “I’ve missed you so much, my friend.”

Friend? Cassienne felt disgusted.

A spark of anger broke free inside her. She pushed Tina away—not hard, not enough to hurt her. But Tina intentionally stumbled dramatically, collapsing onto the polished floor like she had been shoved across the room.

“Tina!” Dreston shouted and rushed to her.

Cassienne stared, stunned. Was this her plan all along? To paint Cassienne as the aggressor? To play the victim?

Before she could say anything, two bodyguards rushed into the room, Janet behind them. Their eyes widened as they took in the scene—Tina on the floor in Dreston’s arms, Cassienne standing frozen.

Dreston glared at Cassienne with rage burning in his eyes. Rage she had never seen before.

“Get out,” he said, pointing at the door.

His voice was sharp and accusing.

The room felt suffocating with judgment. Everyone looked at her like she was a monster. Like she didn’t belong. Like she had committed something unforgivable.

Nobody asked for her side of the story. They judged her by what they saw.

Realizing she wasn’t just unwanted—but hated—Cassienne turned and ran. She sprinted straight to the ladies’ room, slipped inside a toilet stall, and locked the door.

Only then did she let the sob escape.

Only then did she finally break.