11: Playing the villain

Cassian’s POVWhen I finally woke up, the sun was already dipping past noon.I sat up slowly, staring at the ceiling with a low sigh while wondering if everything that had happened between me and Arielle was all a dream."Jeez," I muttered softly because I knew deep down that it was all real.In my mind, I was trying to find ways to avoid her the moment I’d have to face her. I was becoming the very thing I looked down on... a coward.Was I strong enough to ignore her beautiful smile?The smile from last night that still burned in my mind?Was I going to stay still even when my eyes went to her lips? Would I fail to hold back if the way she kissed me back played in my mind?The light in her eyes when she spoke to me was still vivid. That one moment when everything felt too right and too dangerous.“I have to stop,” I muttered again, dragging myself out of bed and into the bathroom.The cold water of the shower didn’t help much. If anything, It just reminded me of her—how her skin had f

Last Updated : 2025-07-28

12. Why are you doing this?

Arielle POVIt was Monday.The house was quiet again. No laughter in the backyard. No crackling fire from the braai pit. No clinking glasses, no Mom’s sing-alongs with Soraya while peeling onions, and no giggling over most of the things like she did.Everything would have been okay with me if she hadn’t just stolen the heart of the man I—I shook that thought off like it was poison to my mind.He didn’t belong to me.He never did.But God, I still felt like he should’ve.I pressed my forehead against the cool bathroom cabinet for a second, eyes closed, trying to get a grip.The whole weekend I’d played my role very well—invisible Arielle.Just the quiet girl in the background, who laughed when someone else laughed, who nodded and smiled like her heart wasn’t breaking for reasons she wasn’t brave enough to admit.Cassian...He hadn’t looked at me once. Not like that night when he’d driven me home and watched me walk away like he was struggling to breathe without me.Not like he did whe

Last Updated : 2025-07-29

13: All the Things I Shouldn't Feel

Cassian’s POVI walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind me, leaning against it for a long moment as the silence hit me like a hard fist in my gut."Fuck," I muttered as I dragged a hand down my face and exhaled, low and hard.My chest felt tight, like I couldn’t breathe, and I hated it.What the hell was I doing?I hadn’t meant a damn word I had said to her back in the kitchen. Calling her naive? That was bullshit. Arielle was many things, but naive wasn’t one of them. To me, she was bright, smart, very beautiful, and a little stubborn. But being very close to her was what scared me more than I could admit.If I let her in past my carefully closed door, I wouldn’t be able to shut it again.I very much knew what would happen. She’d own me. Every part of me I’d kept locked down for years would be hers, and the promise I made—to Evelyn, to my family—would come crumbling down like ash. And then what? I’d ruin everything. That's why I chose to hurt her.Still... hearing her sob as

Last Updated : 2025-08-01

14: I Sadly See The Pain You’re Hiding

Cassian’s POVI woke up to a splitting headache, the kind that felt like nails hammered straight into my skull. My mouth was dry, my stomach was churning, and the ceiling above me wasn’t familiar. For a moment, I didn’t even remember where I was—until my eyes adjusted and the blurry shapes turned into the edges of an expensive hotel suite.Right.Slash had dragged me here.Pieces of last night came back in fragments: the bar, the women eyeing my wallet, Slash's sharp voice cutting through my drunken haze. I’d given him hell, but he’d still shown up for me.I sat up, groaning as the weight of it all settled back into my mind: the guilt, the regret.Remembering even her name alone hurt.I looked toward the nightstand where my phone lay facedown, then picked it up, pressing the power button, but nothing happened.I needed to get out of here.Dragging my body into the bathroom, I let the cold water run against my skin.The mirror didn’t lie when I looked at it. My eyes were bloodshot, my

Last Updated : 2025-08-04

15: It’s Not You, Darren

Arielle's POV I couldn’t focus.The professor’s voice was just… noise. Words floated around me like static, empty and meaningless. I sat there, staring at the whiteboard, but none of it was sinking in. My mind wasn’t in that lecture hall; it was somewhere else.I kept tapping my pen against my notebook, pretending to take notes. But all I could hear—loud and obnoxiously clear—was the pathetic little voice inside me shouting, "You need to get over him. You need to stop thinking about him. You need to breathe without him taking up space."The only thing that snapped me out of my daze was the sharp ring of the classroom bell: the end-of-class alarm. I sighed, more in relief than anything else, and started packing up my things. My hands moved on autopilot—grabbing my books, stuffing pens into my bag, shoving papers that I hadn’t even looked at.That’s when my eyes drifted to Darren.He had been asleep for almost half the lecture. His head leaned back, his mouth slightly parted, complete

Last Updated : 2025-08-06

16: An Idea For Her Sake

Cassian's POV I looked at my phone, which was ringing lazily on the desk, and then grinned."What do you want now?" I muttered to myself as I picked it up."What are you calling me now, Mr. Bossy-ass? Did something happen at home?" I mocked Slash playfully as I immediately answered the call.His chuckle made me smile widely as I spun slightly in a study chair. Talking to him always cheered me up.I was at Evelyn's desk using her computer to check up on company updates while discreetly digging through the web for any fresh news regarding my family. Ever since the wedding, I'd grown distant from most of my family members. Emotional distraction? Yes, they were, and maybe it was for the best. But also, I hadn’t had the mental space to care much about them.Still, I had a habit—a cautious one. I was always on guard whenever I was home. My family was heavily guarded by my grandfather, and I respected him for it. But no matter how hard he tried to clean up after them, my parents always foun

Last Updated : 2025-08-08