66. Theo Fairview
Cass was late coming home, so I ate on my own before making her a plate. To kill time, I screwed around with my Switch for a bit before getting up to do the dishes.
I was wiping down the counters when I heard the elevator ding, announcing Cassandra’s arrival.
“Baby?” she called, and a small smile tugged on my lips at the easy and natural way she always seemed to call me that lately.
“In here!”
She popped her head around the corner, and I glanced up from what I was doing to find her beaming at me.
“Hey pretty girl.” I grinned.
In a very out-of-character burst of excitement, she scurried around the counter and launched herself into me, dropping playful kisses all over my cheeks.
‘Oof!’ I gasped as I struggled to catch my balance while she relentlessly continued to maul me with kisses.
“Wow! You’re in a good mood, princess,” I laughed. Slipping my hands around her waist, I happily submitted to her affectionate attack.
“You’ll never guess what happened at work today!”
“Oh yeah? What happened?” I asked, leaning back so I could see her pretty face. Her cheeks were flushed and warm, and her large brown eyes were shining with excitement.
“Remember that douchebag client?”
My smile faltered, and my stomach dropped.
“Uhm, yeah. Of course. What about him?”
Her smile widened, and she kissed me again, nearly squealing with excitement in my arms.
“I got to fire him! I don’t have to represent him anymore!”
Wait… What?
My eyes widened in surprise as I processed what she’d just said.
Samwell was… gone?
A rush of relief exploded through me, and it felt like something tight loosened deep in my chest.
Holy fucking shit… She… fired him?
“R-Really?” I croaked, nearly too stunned to speak.
“Yep! Nolan and I just sent him a termination letter. He hasn’t responded, but yeah, it’s officially over. The firm is done with him, and I won’t have to represent his pedo ass in court anymore! Man… Today’s the best day…” She hummed dreamily before dropping one more kiss on my cheek.
I stood there, dazed as she made her way over to the fridge to grab a can of sparkling kombucha. Watching her pour the bright pink drink into a wine glass, I frowned.
She hadn’t indulged in her usual glass of wine after work since my last crash out–always opting for something non-alcoholic instead. I realized with a pang of sadness that she probably missed wine.
The relief I’d felt over the fact that she wouldn’t be representing Samwell anymore dissipated, and it was replaced with anxiety.
He was the whole reason Cass had wanted to fake marry me in the first place… Now that he was gone, did that mean whatever it was we were doing here was officially over?
Would she want me to move out?
Probably.
Then she could go back to how her life was before I came in and fucked it all up.
She could drink in her own home again without worrying that her messy roommate was going to crash out and get wasted for no reason.
She’d have her space back.
“So… what happens now?” I rasped, suddenly needing to know if this was going to end.
She turned around and leaned against the counter, crossing her toned legs out in front of her as she happily took a sip of her kombucha.
Completely misunderstanding my question, she beamed at me and shrugged.
“Well, the partners are throwing this big fundraiser to combat any negative press we might receive once the evidence we discovered against him goes public. They want us both to be there. Viv is pushing to have everything pulled together by next week, so poor Alyssa’s probably going to have to work through the weekend. ”
“Wait, they want me there?” I squeaked, and Cass grinned, still looking adorably excited.
“Yep! They sure do, and honestly, I’m so excited to dress you up. I was thinking we could go shopping this Saturday and get you fitted for something.”
She wanted to go shopping with me?
I was going with her to an event?
Okay… so it wasn’t over. Not yet. She still needed me.
At least for a little longer.
My stomach warmed, and I smiled, sliding up closer to her. Gently, I took the glass out of her hand and placed it on the counter behind her, boxing her in between my arms.
“You wanna play dress up, princess?” I smirked, rubbing the tip of my nose against hers until I had her giggling.
“Mhmm… I can’t wait to see how hot you look in couture. Bet you’ll get poached by Vogue or something after the event. Maybe then you’ll finally stop fighting in that shitty ring if you’re too busy strutting that sexy ass down a runway,” she teased, and my heart skipped a beat.
Oh fuck.
The fight was next week, too!
Shit!
As if reading my mind, she rolled her eyes.
“Relax, Theodora. I made sure the fundraiser wouldn’t interfere with your big fight. The event will be on Friday, so you’ll still be fine to fight on Saturday. You’ll be able to do both. Just… no drinking at the event, okay? If you insist on fighting, I don’t want you to be hungover.”
Obviously, I wouldn’t be drinking at the event.
I was hoping once my big fight with the Russian was behind me, I could spend some time working on myself, and I was honestly hoping I could get to a point where I’d never need to drink again.
But… I didn’t want to make any promises like that out loud. Not until I felt more confident that I would actually be able to follow through with it.
I was tired of lying to Cass. She deserved better than that.
So instead, I focused on the fact that she’d made sure to organize an entire fundraiser around my fight schedule, even though I knew she hated what I did for a living.
“R-really? You did that for me?”
She frowned and reached up to cup my face with her soft hand. She ran her thumb over my cheek, and I shivered slightly, dropping my forehead to rest against hers.
“Of course. I would do anything for you.”
I blinked at her in surprise, which only caused her frown to deepen.
Anything?
Even… love me?
Before I could make an idiot of myself and ask her the question that had been eating me alive since she’d let me fuck her in the guestroom, I took the coward’s way out and kissed her.
Instead of begging her to love me, I murmured a desperate ‘thank you’ against her lips, and she let out the most beautiful sound as my tongue slipped into her mouth to find its mate. She circled her arms around my neck and tugged me closer.
The warm, sweet taste of her consumed me, and soon, my head was swimming, and I felt dizzy from the intoxicating ambrosia that was Cass.
I love you.
I need you.
Please keep me.
Please.
Please don’t let me go.
And as if she could hear the words I was too frightened to speak out loud, she clung to me and kissed me like maybe she did love me, and this wasn’t the fake marriage I knew it was.
It wouldn’t last.
I knew it wouldn’t.
I’d never been that lucky, but… I still had a little more time. I had until the fundraiser at least.
One more week.
One more week of living in heaven after a lifetime of suffering in hell…
I promised myself right then that I wouldn’t take a second of it for granted.