Jayden’s mind raced. How could she have known? Penelope wouldn’t have told her. Which ant... she’d found out on her own. But how? When?
He tried to school his features into sothing resembling innocence, tried to form a denial, but Cassandra didn’t give him the chance.
"Don’t even try to deny it," she hissed, her voice cracking slightly. "I saw you, Jayden. I saw everything."
The confirmation struck him like lightning. She’d seen them? When? How much had she seen?
His thoughts were a chaotic ss as he realized why she’d been so cold that morning. She was upset. Angry. And rightfully so... he’d slept with her mother. What friend wouldn’t be upset about that?
"Cassie, listen..." He took a step forward, reaching out toward her.
"Don’t!" She jerked back as if he’d burned her, holding up a hand to stop him. "Don’t co near ."
Jayden froze. The pain in her eyes was palpable, a raw, aching thing that radiated from her entire being. She looked so hurt, so betrayed, that guilt crashed over him in waves.
"Please," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Let explain."
"Explain what?" Cassandra’s voice rose, trembling with emotion. "That night was supposed to be our night, Jayden. It should have been in that room with you."
Jayden’s brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you an? I don’t understand..."
"Of course you don’t," she said bitterly, tears streaming freely down her face now. "You never understand anything, do you?"
She drew in a shuddering breath before continuing, her words coming out in a rush.
"I planned everything, Jayden. Everything! I had Mabel prepare a room for you. I had her convince you to stay the night. It was all . I wanted... I needed to be with you. To tell you sothing important."
The pieces clicked into place in Jayden’s mind. Mabel’s insistence that he stay. The perfectly prepared room. It had all seed so convenient, but now it made sense.
"The plan was perfect," Cassandra continued, her voice breaking. "I’d wait until Mother was done entertaining you at the gala, and then we’d have ti together. Just the two of us. I had so much I wanted to say, so much I needed to tell you..."
Her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms.
"But then I ca to your room later that night," she whispered, her voice dropping to sothing hollow and haunted. "And I saw... I saw you with her. In that bed. Together."
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as she sobbed openly now.
"You were so lost in each other, so consud by pleasure, that you didn’t even notice standing there. Watching. I stood there like an idiot, watching the man I—" She choked on the words, unable to finish. "That sight... it’s going to haunt for the rest of my life."
Jayden stood frozen, his mind trying to process the full scope of what she was saying. He imagined what it must have been like for her... coming to his room with whatever she’d wanted to tell him, only to find him in bed with Penelope. The shock. The betrayal. The pain.
As a friend, he could understand why that would hurt. But sothing in the way she spoke, the intensity of her anguish, suggested there was more to it. Sothing deeper that he was missing.
"Cassie, I’m so sorry," he said, taking a cautious step forward. "I had no idea you’d planned all that. If I’d known—"
"How could you, Jayden?" she interrupted, her voice rising again. "How could you do that to ?"
There was sothing in the way she said it, a weight to the words that hinted at feelings he hadn’t seen before. But he was still too oblivious, too caught up in seeing her as just a friend, to fully grasp what she was really saying.
"I..." He struggled for words, trying to find the right thing to say. "Penelope and I, we really connected that night. The gala, the conversation afterward, it just... happened. I think I might have fallen for her, Cassie. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I just—"
"You fell for her?" Cassandra gasped, her voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried such devastation that it physically hurt to hear.
Jayden didn’t know what to say. Everything had beco so awkward, so fast. "I... I know it sounds crazy. But I truly love your mother. And I want you to know it won’t affect our friendship..."
Cassandra shook her head slowly, tears continuing to stream down her face. "You still don’t understand, do you? After everything, you still don’t get it."
"Get what?" Jayden asked, genuinely confused. "Cassie, I know you’re upset that I—"
"No," she said, cutting him off with a bitter laugh. "You don’t know anything. Maybe you never will."
The words she couldn’t bring herself to say hung in the air between them:
"I love you. I’ve loved you for months. But... you chose my mother."
But she couldn’t voice those words out. The humiliation, the pain, it was all too much.
Hearing him say he’d fallen for Penelope had shredded whatever remained of her heart. The man she loved, the man she’d cared for, the man she’d been building up the courage to confess to... had fallen for her own mother. It was like watching a tragic telenovela unfold tragically.
Jayden couldn’t stand seeing her break down like this. Despite not fully understanding the depth of her pain, he knew she was hurting. And he’d caused it.
He moved closer, reaching out to touch her shoulder, to offer so kind of comfort. But as he got closer...
"Don’t touch !" Cassandra flinched away violently, her eyes blazing with sudden hostility. "Don’t you dare touch !"
Jayden recoiled as if struck, his hand dropping to his side. The venom in her voice, the hatred in her eyes... it was like looking at a completely different person. The sweet, teasing girl he’d co to know was gone, replaced by soone who looked at him like an enemy.
For the first ti since entering the room, he felt sothing twist painfully in his chest. A tug, sharp and uncomfortable, as if sothing important was being torn away from him.
The way she was looking at him... it hurt more than he expected it to.
Almost unconsciously, he activated his pack sense, focusing on Cassandra. The admiration ter materialized above her head, and what he saw made his heart sink.
*Admiration Level: 12%
[Status: Not Compatible]
Jayden exhaled quietly. Twelve percent. It had plumted from what he knew should have been much, much higher. The bond between them, whatever friendship they’d built over these months, had been shattered almost completely.
His throat tightened. "Cassie, please..."
"I don’t want to hear it," she said, her voice trembling but firm. "I don’t want to hear anything from you. I don’t even want to see you anymore."
"We need to talk about this," Jayden pleaded, desperation creeping into his voice. "I know I hurt you, but we can work through this. Our friendship..."
"Friendship?" Cassandra laughed, the sound sharp and painful. "It’s too late for that, Jayden. You should have thought about our friendship before you fucked my mother."
The crude words hit him like a slap, making him flinch.
"From this mont on," she continued, her voice growing steadier even as tears continued to fall, "we are no longer friends. Don’t call . Don’t text . Don’t even speak to . Just... pretend I don’t exist. Because that’s exactly what I’m going to do with you."
That declaration shook Jayden more than anything else she’d said. The finality of it, the absolute severing of their connection... it was devastating in a way he hadn’t anticipated.
"I don’t want our friendship to end," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Cassie, I care about you. I’m so sorry—"
She scoffed. "If you cared about , you wouldn’t have slept with her."
The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken aning. And for the first ti, Jayden began to realize there was sothing more to her pain. Sothing beyond just friendship betrayal. This ran deeper.
He tried again. "Cassie, I—"
"I hate you, Jayden." Cassandra suddenly said, her voice low and final.
The words were quiet, but they might as well have been shouted. They struck Jayden with the force of a physical blow, stealing the breath from his lungs.
Cassandra’s words crushed him completely.
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