Chapter4

Cassandra's voice chased after me. The living room fell deadly silent. She looked down at her dress.

"It's custom-made. Can you afford to pay for it?"

Noah spoke up. "Apologize."

I looked at Cormac. His head hung low.

"Apologize," he repeated.

I didn't move.

Cassandra let out a short, hollow laugh. Grabbing a glass of champagne from the table, she walked up to me. "Forget it. I'll have Cormac pay for the dress. But you still owe me an explanation for that slap just now, don't you?" She held the glass out right in front of me. "Drink this, and I won't stop you from leaving."

I took the glass, tilted my head back, and downed it in one go.

"Are we done here?"

"See? Was that so hard?"

The music started up again. She linked her arm through Noah's and walked back toward the cake. Cormac brushed past me; he paused for a fraction of a second, then kept walking.

Sweat began to bead on my forehead. My heartbeat rapidly accelerated as a deep, unnatural heat surged from within my body. It was a heat I knew all too well—Sebastian had fed me the exact same stuff before, just to make me loosen up in front of the clients.

The drink was spiked.

Biting my lip, I scrambled upstairs. Third floor, at the very end of the hall—my old bedroom. The door was unlocked. I collapsed onto the bed and buried my face in the pillow. The scent was gone. There was absolutely nothing left.

Waves of the drug crashed relentlessly through my system. I curled into a tight ball, my fingernails digging deeply into my forearms.

Footsteps echoed outside the door.

"Why did you ask me to come up here?" It was Cormac's voice.

"To show you something. I saved it especially for you."

Cassandra's voice. They were incredibly close. I stared blindly at the sliver of light seeping beneath the door frame.

"What is it?"

"Close your eyes."

"Cassandra—"

"Just close them."

Silence hung in the air for a few agonizing seconds. The unmistakable rustling of fabric sliding over itself. The clicking of heels shuffled forward; his heavy leather shoes remained planted. A further shuffle from the heels, and then the leather shoes retreated. A back collided against the wooden door panel, letting out a muffled thud.

"You—"

"Don't move. Just one hug."

"You're pregnant."

"It won't get in the way."

"Cassandra—"

"Call me Cassie."

A long, heavy silence followed.

"Cassie," he finally murmured.

Someone shouted Cormac's name from downstairs. Noah's voice. Cormac responded, and his footsteps quickly retreated toward the staircase.

Cassandra was left completely alone in the hallway. The doorknob turned.

The lights flicked on.

I lay sprawled on the bed, drenched in sweat. She stood in the doorway, staring at me for a few seconds before a wicked smile broke across her face.

"I thought you'd already left," she sneered, stepping into the room. "Hiding up here eavesdropping?"

I said absolutely nothing. The drug surged wave after fiery wave, forcing me to bite down impossibly hard on the pillow.

"Is the drug kicking in?" She strolled over to the edge of the bed and looked down at me. "Tell me... what do you think Cormac will think if a few men come in here right now to help you take the edge off?"

I glared up at her. I had bitten my lower lip so fiercely it bled.

"He'll think this is exactly who you've always been." Smiling darkly, she took a few steps back toward the door and yelled down the hall. "The guest is feeling a little unwell! She needs some special care!"

Heavy footsteps stomped down the hallway. More than one set.

The men flooded into the room. My clothes were violently ripped away, exposing my bare skin to the cold air. Rough hands forced my legs apart while others pinned my wrists rigidly against the mattress.

"You're already dripping wet, so quit playing hard to get."

"Just wire the cripple his money when we're finished."

I stopped struggling.

Through the haze of their filthy laughter, I caught sight of Cormac. He stood completely frozen in the doorway, frowning at the men crushing my body. He shifted his weight, taking a hesitant half-step forward.

Cassandra immediately grabbed his arm. "Don't go. She's atoning for that cripple. Interrupting her now would just be disrespectful."

His feet nailed themselves to the floor. The light in his eyes completely died out, leaving behind nothing but shallow pity and a sickening trace of disgust.

I stared dead at him. He turned his face away.

No one would ever believe me.

Fighting with the last ounce of my sanity, I violently shoved off the suffocating weight of the men, sprinted barefoot toward the open balcony, and threw myself off the ledge.