Chapter Thirty
Forbidden Territory
Kelly’s POV
Kelly slammed her phone down, the screen cracking at the corner from the force. Her breath came fast and furious as she stalked across the penthouse apartment she'd once called her haven. Now, it felt like a prison of glass and silence.
Cassie’s triumph played on every news outlet with her hotel launch, her radiant speech, Grayson Collin at her side like a loyal shadow. And Damien? Absent.
Kelly hadn’t heard from him in days. Not since the vow renewal.
Not since everything blew up. She threw on a black trench coat, her heels clicking like gunfire as she descended into the underground garage.
The city lights blurred as she sped through the streets, teeth clenched, mascara smudged from too many sleepless nights.
She didn’t knock when she reached Damien’s loft. She stormed in. He was alone, the room dim except for the TV casting cold light across his hunched form.
“Kelly—”
“Don’t you dare,” she snapped, slamming the door behind her. “Don’t you dare ghost me after everything we’ve been through.”
Damien stood slowly, dark circles under his eyes, stubble roughing his jaw.
“I’m not ghosting you,” he said tiredly. “I’m trying to fix the mess.”
“Fix?” Her laugh was jagged. “You think this is something you can just fix ? You let her destroy me. Humiliate me. I was your—”
“Mistake.”
The word dropped between them like a grenade.
Kelly’s face twisted. “You don’t mean that.”
He didn’t answer.
“I gave up everything for you,” she hissed. “And now you won’t even return a goddamn text?”
“You blew up our lives, Kelly.”
She stepped forward, slapping him hard enough to snap his head to the side.
He didn’t flinch.
“Cassie played you like a violin,” Kelly seethed. “And now you’re just going to roll over and let her win?”
“She didn’t win. She survived. There’s a difference.”
Kelly’s chest rose and fell. “I won’t let her erase me.”
“She already has.”
The words hit harder than the slap. Kelly turned on her heel and stormed out. But she wasn’t done.
Later that night, Cassie opened her penthouse door to find Kelly on the other side.
Uninvited.
Unapologetic.
“I was hoping we could skip the small talk,” Kelly said, stepping inside unasked.
Cassie didn’t move to stop her. “You have ten seconds before I call security.”
Kelly paced like a caged animal. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you? That you got your revenge, that you played the perfect long game. But this? This isn’t over.”
Cassie folded her arms. “Yes, it is. You just haven’t accepted it yet.”
“You humiliated me in front of everyone.”
“You humiliated yourself the moment you slept with my fiancé,” Cassie bit back.
“He was never yours to begin with.”
“Then why did he marry me?”
Kelly's lip curled. “To prove something. To make himself feel like the bigger man. You were always just the prize, Cassie. Not the choice.”
Cassie’s hand twitched at her side. “And you’re the cautionary tale. The woman who gave everything and still ended up alone.”
“Don’t act like you’ve won,” Kelly hissed. “You’ve just replaced him with another man to hide your brokenness.”
“Grayson isn’t a replacement,” Cassie said, stepping forward now, steady as steel. “He’s a reminder that I deserve more.”
Kelly’s eyes glittered with fury. “You’ll fall. You always do.”
Cassie smiled faintly. “And I’ll rise again. Every single time.”
The silence between them snapped like ice underfoot.
Kelly’s jaw clenched. She turned toward the door.
“You don’t get the last word, Cassie.”
Cassie followed her to the threshold. “I don’t need it. I’ve already said what needed to be said with actions, not words.”
The door closed in Kelly’s face.
And this time, she didn’t knock again.