For a mont, Jayden didn’t see Cassandra standing before him. Instead, he saw Jasmine... his twin sister, lost to him so long ago. In his mind’s eye, she stood there, her face twisted with the sa hatred, saying those sa words.
I hate you, Jayden.
The mory, whether real or imagined, destroyed sothing inside him. His eyes widened, his composure cracking as the weight of those three words crashed down on him.
"Please," he breathed, his voice breaking. "Please don’t say that. Cassie, I’m begging you..."
But she remained firm, her tear-stained face set in resolute anger. "I never want to see you again, Jayden. Never. Do you understand ?"
He opened his mouth to respond, to plead, to say sothing that might fix this. But before he could even speak...
"Now, go! And don’t ever co back!"
The scream tore from her throat, raw and agonized. She was trembling, her entire body shaking with the force of her emotions as she pointed at the door.
Jayden reached out to her, still clinging to hope. But she didn’t even give him a chance.
"Get out! GET OUT! GET OUT!" she yelled. "Just GO!!!"
Jayden stood there for a heartbeat longer, desperately wanting to reach out, to make this right sohow. But the look in her eyes told him there was no fixing this. Not now. Maybe not ever.
He didn’t want to cause a scene. Didn’t want to hurt her more than he already had. So he turned and walked toward the door, each step feeling like he was dragging chains behind him. He paused at the threshold, looking back one last ti.
Cassandra stood there, glaring at him through her tears with such fury, such betrayal, that it physically hurt to witness.
"I’m sorry," he mouthed, his own eyes glistening despite his best efforts to hold it together.
Then he stepped out and closed the door behind him.
The mont the latch clicked into place, he heard it... a broken, anguished sob from the other side. Then another. And another. Cassandra’s cries echoed through the door, the sound of soone completely shattered, crying like a child who’d lost everything.
Jayden stood there, frozen, his hand still on the doorknob. Each sob felt like a knife twisting in his gut.
"I hate you, Jayden."
The words replayed in his mind, but it wasn’t Cassandra’s voice he heard. It was Jasmine’s. That mory he couldn’t quite grasp, that feeling of loss and abandonnt that had haunted him for years, ca rushing back in full force.
His eyes began to well up, tears threatening to spill. But he clenched his jaw, forcing them back. He couldn’t break down here. Not now.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Jayden composed himself as best he could and turned away from the door. He walked down the corridor, his footsteps heavy, each one taking him further from the sound of Cassandra’s heartbreak.
By the ti he reached the top of the stairs, he’d managed to school his features into sothing resembling calm. But inside, he felt hollow.
The three girls were still in the living room, chatting amongst themselves. They looked up as Jayden descended the stairs, and imdiately their expressions shifted to concern.
"Jayden?" Tasha stood, sensing sothing was wrong. "What happened? Is everything okay?"
He forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "Yeah. Cassie just needs so ti to herself. She’s going through so stuff."
Jessica frowned, not buying it for a second. "Are you sure? You look—"
"I’m fine," he interrupted gently but firmly. He walked over to where they stood, his movents chanical. "I don’t think I’m in the mood for training anymore today. But don’t worry, I’ll definitely join you guys tomorrow."
Before they could protest, he leaned down and kissed Tasha’s cheek, then Jessica’s. The gestures were automatic, lacking their usual warmth.
He turned to Aileen and offered a small wave. "See you later."
Then, without waiting for a response, he headed for the door.
"Wait, Jayden!" Tasha called after him. "You’re leaving? Just like that?"
He paused at the entrance but didn’t turn around. "Yeah. I’ll see you guys at ho."
And with that, he was gone.
The door closed behind him with a soft click, leaving the three girls staring after him in stunned silence.
"What the hell happened between them?" Jessica asked, breaking the quiet.
Tasha shook her head, her brow furrowed with worry. "I don’t know. But sothing’s really wrong. I could feel it. He’s... hurting."
Aileen remained silent, her eyes fixed on the door Jayden had disappeared through. Her fingers had stopped typing, her expression thoughtful.
"Interesting," she mused internally, like a scientist developing a thesis on a test subject.
"We should check on Cassie," Tasha said suddenly, already moving toward the stairs. "If Jayden’s this upset, sothing serious must have happened."
Jessica and Aileen exchanged glances before following her up to the second floor.
Outside, Jayden stood on the landing pad, staring into nothing. The afternoon sun beat down on him, warm and bright, but he felt cold inside. All he could hear were those hurtful words.
He summoned the bike with a ntal command, and it humd to life beneath him as he mounted. With a twist of the throttle, he lifted off, the mansion falling away behind him.
But he didn’t head ho. Instead, he turned toward the forest on the outskirts of the city... a place where he could be alone. Where no one would see him fall apart.
Because despite his best efforts, despite the walls he’d built around himself over the years, Cassandra’s words had broken through.
And as he flew through the sky, heading toward the sanctuary of the trees, a single tear finally escaped, trailing down his cheek before the wind swept it away.
Behind him, back in the mansion, Cassandra’s sobs continued to echo through her room as Tasha, Jessica, and Aileen approached her door.
Sothing had shattered today. Sothing that might never be repaired.
And both Jayden and Cassandra were left to pick up the pieces alone.
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