Chapter 258
She mattered. Her work mattered. And I wasn’t going to let politics or petty grudges get in the way of that.
Still, the silence from her was a wound that never stopped aching
That afternoon, my phone buzzed. I didn’t recognize the number,
I almost didn’t answer.
But some part of me–worn down, tired, curious–picked up anyway.
“Hello?”
“Derek,” came the unmistakable voice on the other end. SmoothToo smooth.
Cassandra.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “What do you want?”
“I heard our little dinner wasn’t well received,” she said breezily Caroline has quite the grapevine these days.”
I ground my teeth. “I should have a talk with Caroline.”
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“Oh, don’t blame her. She only tells me what she thinks I already know.” Cassandra’s voice softened slightly. “But… it sounds like it may have ended things for good.”
I said nothing.
“Even though I know you hate me,” she went on, “I’ll always be your friend, Derek.”
I thought about what she’d done. The lies. The manipulation. The secrets.
But I also remembered that day in the woods. Waking up and seeing the rogues she’d killed with her bow and arrows. She’d been
my savior.
That scar on her arm had never quite faded.
“Listen, Cassandra,” I said slowly. “I’d like to say the same to you. But I’m not sure I’m ready. Maybe one day.”
There was a pause.
Then she said, her tone surprisingly sincere, “That’s good enough for me. And listen… if Elena ever comes to her senses and comes back to you, please know that my offer to help her foundation was genuine. Time, money, connections–anything I can do to make up for what I did. Truly.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. So I said nothing.
We ended the call a moment later.
And I sat there, staring at the phone.
Wondering how everything had gotten so twisted.
CASSANDRA
Tended the call and let the silence settle around me like a silk curtain falling shut. Smooth. Soft. Final.
Then, slowly, a smile curved across my lips.
I had him again.
Not completely. Not like before. But close enough.
Chapter 258
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Close enough to matter.
3406
He’d picked up the phone. That was the first crack. And when I offered him friendship me, the villain, the outcast—he hadn’t slammed the door. He’d hesitated. And that hesitation was everything.
I crossed the room to the liquor cart and poured myself a glass of red wine. The kind he always said tasted like old wood and firelight. He didn’t even like red wine. But I did. So he drank it.
I lifted the glass, watching the light catch in the dark crimson swirl
It had taken time to get back here. So many missteps. So many opportunities wasted. But now?
Now, the world was shifting again. Elena was angry. Hurt. Distant And Derek? Derek was drowning in the guilt of it all, still trying to do the right thing from behind the scenes.
Always the hero.
But even heroes break.
I let my fingers drift to the scar on my arm. The one I’d shown him a thousand times. The mark of sacrifice. Proof that once, I’d saved his life.
That story had carried me through years of loyalty. Years of him looking at me like I was someone worth protecting.
My smile faltered.
“Cassandra of the Stolen Glory.”
The priestess’s voice came back to me, cold and laced with something too ancient for comfort. She’d looked at me as if she could see everything–every lie, every half–truth, every inch of blood that wasn’t mine to claim.
I shut my eyes and tried to shake it.
She didn’t know everything. She didn’t know what it cost. What it still costs.
Because I had kept that secret for years. Tethered it tight. Locked it behind charm and tragedy and just enough truth to keep suspicion at bay.
But sometimes–when the wind howled just right, or when Derek looked at me like I was something precious–I remembered.
I remembered the truth.
And I prayed he never would.
Because if he ever found out what really happened in those woods, what I did before I found him–before I played the part of his savior–everything I’d built would fall to ash.
So I wouldn’t let him find out.
Not ever.
Not now.
Not when I was this close.
I raised my glass to my lips and drank deep.
This time, I would win.
