Chapter 37
THIRTY-SEVEN
New couple alert — the unapproachable Soren Ford, and the adorable Cassia Leighton. Now, we’re all just itching to know the details. Who would’ve thought that childhood friends would turn lovers? Maybe there’s something we’re missing. Either way, we’re going to keep an eye out for them.
Cassia’s not leaving my fucking side, she’s refusing to move an inch. It’s not helping that the new article from Sinners and Saints dropped the moment we entered the Sloane property, and it’s clear that the word’s spread around rather quickly.
Forcing the smile on my face has to be one of the most difficult things I’ve ever fucking done, and I cannot wait for this evening to be over with. And Sophia? She’s not even looking at me.
My heart shattered the moment I saw tears in her eyes, but the mask was quickly back on, and now, she’s nowhere to be found. I know I’m risking everything by doing this, but I’d rather have Sophia hate me all over again than see her ruined.
“Stop looking for her,” Cassia snaps, though her annoyed voice is muted by the loud music all around. I draw my eyes back to her, and all I want to do is strangle the bitch until she drops dead. “You did well. Good.”
“I fucking hate you, you cunt.”
“Aw,” she mocks, “is that any way to talk to your girlfriend?”
“You do realize that as soon as I find where you’re storing those damned images, I’ll ruin you? I’ll quite literally pay a hitman to kill you.”
“Don’t be so mad, after all, it’s not like I didn’t give you a choice,” she shrugs. “You had one, and you picked wisely, might I add.”
“You’re obsessed, and it’s fucking insane.”
Cassia lifts a brow. “I’m not that different from you. You’re obsessed with her, too.”
“The difference is she wants me obsessed. I don’t want you anywhere near me.”
Cassia sips on her wine nonchalantly, and I’m already tired of her bullshit. My mind keeps drifting back to Sophia, and all I want is to run to her and tell her why I’m doing all of this, but I can’t.
On Friday, the messages I received were from a burner phone, but Cassia admitted it was from her.
It was a folder of images that I doubt Sophia would want to be public.
Apparently, last summer, she had a nude photoshoot, and it was rather erotic.
Not only that, but Cassia managed to put cameras in Sophia’s dorm, hence, she had all the fucking tapes of Sophia and me together.
My tapes have been leaked already; I don’t care.
But Sophia? She’ll be destroyed if anything of the sort comes out. And the worst part is that I’ll never be able to prove it was Cassia. She has everything backed up, and I don’t doubt she has multiple copies.
I’m guessing that somewhere along the line, Sophia told someone in her dorm that she was the one to leak my sex tape with Ellie, and Cassia has proof of it, too. The cunt’s been working the entirety of the first semester on this, trying to find evidence or anything incriminating of Sophia’s.
Cassia wants me.
And she can have me as long as she doesn’t dare to touch Sophia.
I don’t plan on going along with this charade, but before I can tell Sophia what’s happening, I need to figure out where all the hidden cameras are in her dorm and whether or not our phones are being traced. Because if I so much as breathe in Sophia’s direction, Cassia will leak everything.
“Smile, sweetheart,” Cassia urges, and I listen, though if a look could kill, the bitch would drop dead right about now.
“Hah, fuck you.”
She takes my hand in hers, and I suppress the urge to gag and vomit all over her dress. She looks fucking tacky in that sparkly dress that makes my eyes hurt. She leans in, kissing my cheek.
The bitch’s blackmailing me into dating her, and if this didn’t already sound like some teen bullshit drama, it sure as fuck does now.
“Don’t be like that,” her lips linger around my cheek, and fuck, it feels so wrong.
Everyone can see us, and even my own mother is shooting me dirty looks.
She was less than thrilled about my little thing with Sophia, but this is downright disgust on her face that she’s not even trying to conceal. “You’ll grow to like me, I promise.”
“Sure, I will.”
She pulls back, and I can’t help but think that this isn’t her end goal. A person cannot possibly be this fucking delusional, which tells me that she’s only using me as a means to an end. She has no actual desire to be with me; she just sees me as a fucking tool.
Soon enough, the same tool will hurt her because she can’t wield it.
My eyes flick to the bar, and my heart sinks to my feet. Sophia’s with Damien of all people, and I just have this unwavering need to knock his fucking teeth out. He’s getting too close to her for my liking, and the spike of jealousy burst through me.
“They’re getting cozy,” Cassia says, a light smirk on her face. God, I want to kill the bitch. “Is that bothering you?”
“You’re the one bothering me right now,” I hiss.
She rolls her eyes, and it’s clear she’s finding all of this amusing. “Ah, your sister’s coming. Guess I should let you two have a little privacy, huh?”
Now, between being stuck with Cassia and being forced to speak with Astrid, I’m not sure which one I hate more. But before I can even question it, Cassia walks off, and Astrid comes to stand in front of me.
“What do you want?”
“Soren,” her voice is soft, and I see just how much she regrets what went down. But just because she’s regretting it, doesn’t mean it can undo the mess. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“No, I just don’t want to speak to you.”
“Please,” she steps closer. “I just want to apologize properly.”
“What for?” I ask, taking a small sip of the whiskey. “For leaking my sex tape, or for sharing the image from the elevator?”
“I told you, I had nothing to do with the first one,” she says, her voice bordering on pleading. “But I am sorry for what I did. I didn’t think it through; I just wanted to hurt you and Sophia, and I acted selfishly and recklessly. I’m sorry.”
“Right,” I drawl out, tired of this already. “Did you also marry Sawyer because of that?”
“What?”
“You’re clearly prone to reckless behavior, so I’m asking you, did you marry him on a whim just to hurt and spite our family even more? Or did you do it because somehow, you thought that by getting the Sloane surname, you’d become someone similar to Sophia?”
Astrid’s shocked into silence. I know my sister, and I can tell exactly when her mind starts going into overdrive. To be fair, I do know she’s jealous of Sophia, but I don’t think she’d marry Sawyer just to try and become a Sloane. She hurt me, so I’ll do everything to hurt her back, too.
“That’s not why I married him,” her voice drops lower. “I love him, Soren. I’m so sorry for hurting you, and I’ll do everything in my power to earn your forgiveness, but I love him. Just like you love Sophia.”
I scoff. “I don’t love her.”
“Sure you don’t,” Astrid rolls her eyes. “That’s probably why you got her that sapphire set, huh? Because you don’t love her?”
“Why don’t you focus on your husband and your own life instead of prying into mine?
” I snap. “You did something stupid, and you got your ass handed to you for a reason. You’re an adult, and you made the decision to marry him.
Mom and Dad being disappointed with your choices is a consequence.
Just like it’s a consequence that I’m not going to forgive you, Astrid. Not for a very long time.”
Hurt flashes her eyes, and she takes a small step back. “There’s nothing I can do to earn your forgiveness, huh?”
“No,” I say without missing a beat. “There’s nothing you can do, Astrid.”
“Okay,” she swallows, and I see tears forming in her eyes. “But if you need anything, I’ll always be here for you.”
“I don’t need it,” I snap. “I need you to leave me the fuck alone and never speak to me again. God, Sophia clearly didn’t beat you enough if you’re this adamant about getting on my nerves still.”
“Astrid,” a voice calls out from behind her, and when she turns her head over her shoulder, I groan. Sawyer approaches her, looking at me with disdain in his eyes, not even bothering to conceal it. “Is everything alright here?”
“Why? Are you going to do something about it?”
“Soren,” Astrid pleads, then turns to her husband. “Everything’s okay.”
“You better watch how you speak to my wife,” Sawyer says, and the threat makes me giddy with excitement.
“Yeah?” I lean back, grinning. “Or what?”
“Or I’ll—”
“Oh, you’ll what?” I interrupt. “Come on, I’m getting suspenseful here. What is the great Sawyer Sloane going to do to me if I disrespect his wife, hm?”
Seeing anger on his face is all the fun I need for tonight. I’ve had quite a few drinks, but not enough to make me too drunk. If he wants to fight, I’ll knock his damned teeth out.
“I’m going to put you in your fucking place.”
“How fun,” I chuckle. “Do it, then.”
Sawyer pauses. “Pardon?”
“Go ahead,” I shrug. “Put me in my place. Or are you too scared to do it here, where your parents are watching? From what I’ve heard, you’re treading on thin ice as it is. So, go ahead and put me in my place, I’d love to see it.”
But of course, the little pussy doesn’t do it.