I dialed Cassie’s number, but it went straight to voice mail. Again. Where the hell was she? I forwarded the picture message to her cell.
She’d bailed on me in the middle of all the Chrystle drama and now this. How would she explain this? I looked at it, clear as day with my own two eyes. Matteo’s filthy fucking lips stuck to my beautiful Kitten’s. Have I been fooled this whole time?
I walked into our bedroom and pulled out the velvet ring box I’d buried in my sock drawer. It creaked as I opened it to peer at the shiny diamond inside. How could she do this to me? To us? Shaking my head, I squeezed my eyes closed before opening them again. The image of Matteo kissing Cassie plagued my every thought.
I snapped the box shut and pitched it forcefully through the opened closet door. It crashed against something with a loud thud, and I walked out of our room not caring what happened to the contents.
Maybe it was all an elaborate ploy, her inability to handle the press? How long had she and Matteo been sneaking around behind my back? Had I forced them together by asking him to keep her safe during my games? Was this all my fault? I wondered how long I had until the media got ahold of that picture. With my luck, it was already posted everywhere.
I dialed Melissa’s cell phone, determined to reach Cassie. I listened as it rang three times. Cassie answered, and she sounded nervous when she said hi. I asked where her phone was, unable to hide my anger. Her voice rose, and she actually sounded confused and worried when she told me she left it at Melissa’s apartment and asked what was wrong.
“Check it as soon as you get back and then you fucking tell me,” I said and ended the call. I didn’t want to hear another word out of her mouth until she looked at the same picture I had. I waited. And grew more agitated with each passing minute. The press was already having a field day with all of Chrystle’s accusations, now they’d have even more to talk shit about.
On top of it all, now I needed to find a new driver. Matteo’s work here was finished. No matter what the story, I didn’t want to see his face anywhere near mine again.
I paced our apartment, my anger growing as my patience wore thin. Half tempted to call Melissa again, my phone suddenly rang. I answered the call, but said nothing.
“Jack? Are you there? It’s not what it looks like, I swear.” She pleaded through the phone, and I found myself surprised at my lack of sympathy.
“So, he didn’t kiss you? ’Cause it looks like he’s kissing you.”
She hesitated. “Yes, he kissed me, but…”
I cut her off. “How long?”
“How long, what?” she asked, her breathing shaky.
“How long has this been going on?”
She inhaled sharply. “What? Nothing is going on, Jack, I swear. There’s nothing between me and Matteo. He kissed me, and I pushed him away.”
“It doesn’t look like you’re pushing him away in this picture. Did you like it? His lips on yours. Looks like you might like it.”
“I pushed him off of me, Jack! I told him no! I told him I loved you.” She started to cry.
It tugged at my chest, the sound of her crying, but I pretended not to care. “Why didn’t you tell me about the kiss?”
“Because we haven’t even talked. Because it meant nothing. He apologized. He was scared to death of losing his job with us.”
“He should be. ’Cause I’m either going to fire him or fucking kill him.” Or both. “You know what, Cass, I don’t blame another guy for falling for you. I don’t. But you… I never expected this from you, of all people. I feel like I don’t even know you.”
“Don’t say that, Jack. Of course you know me. I love you. I’ll come home tomorrow. We’ll fix this. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Don’t.” I stopped her rant.
“Don’t what? Don’t come home?” She sounded like she couldn’t believe what I said.
“I don’t want to see you,” I admitted, my guts feeling like they had just been shredded.
“What? Don’t do this. Jack, please,” she begged.
I leaned against the granite countertop, thoughts racing, emotions clashing. I was pissed off. I’d worked so hard to break down this girl’s walls, but no matter what I did, it was never good enough. She always ended up blocking me out, and I didn’t deserve it.
“This is bullshit, Cassie! I haven’t done anything since I came back into your life except try to be a better man for you. I try every single day to do right by you. It’s all I want, to be good enough. To make up for the mistake I made. I’d do anything for you.”
My frustrations mounted as I vented. “But you walk around here constantly keeping shit from me. And when things finally get to be too much for you, what do you do? You run away. I know you’re used to being let down and disappointed, but we’re supposed to be a team. We hold each other up when the other one’s about to fall. We don’t run away and leave our other half to fend for him or herself.”
She stayed quiet, clearly having no defense for her actions, so I continued. “You left me here to deal with Chrystle and her shit all alone. I know you’re hurt and angry, but I am too. Did you even once stop to think about how I felt? How her article affected me and made me look? No. Because you left me here and took off.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she said with a sob.
“Yeah? For which part?” I asked, and could hear her sobbing in the background.
“I’m sorry for all of it, Jack. You’re right. I don’t deal with things well and I promise I’ll work on it.”
I exhaled through my nose as I stared out the balcony window. “It’s more than that. You keep things inside and…”