I didn’t care how hard he’d tried to play the knight in shining armour.
‘You really think we’re going to thank you for getting in the way? You cheated on Yvaine. You screwed Harper. When she came to my studio to start shit, you said you’d handle it, keep her on a leash. Now look.’ I swept an arm over the glass shards and smashed cakes on the floor. ‘If this is you helping, I don’t even want to think about what happens when you’re trying to make a mess.’
Cassian opened his mouth like he was going to defend himself, but then closed it, his eyes flicking to the wreckage around us.
What was there left to say?
He fumbled for his phone, his fingers stiff as he dialled.
‘Shut Harper Foster down,’ he growled into the phone. ‘Everything. Her work, her accounts, everything. If I see her on any platform again, you’re all out of a job. Got it?’
His voice carried across the room, meant for both Yvaine and me to hear.
But neither of us reacted.
I grabbed Yvaine’s arm, pulling her to her feet. ‘Stop cleaning the glass. You’re going to slice your hand open if you’re not careful.’
Then I looked at Cassian with flat eyes. ‘You know, the store’s completely trashed. We won’t be opening for days. Since all this happened because of you, you can pay for it.’
He ground his teeth. ‘Fine. I’ll pay.’
I stared at him, waiting. ‘Is that it? Just paying for the repairs?’
‘What else do you want me to do?’
He hesitated, then turned to Yvaine, his tone softer. ‘I’m sorry.’
I took her arm. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here. We’re going to the hospital.’
We hadn’t even made it to the door when the sound of screeching tyres pierced the air.
Two black cars shot down the street, pulling up right outside the cake shop.
As the brakes screamed, Ashton and Emmett jumped out.
Emmett made it in first.
His eyes locked onto Cassian, and before anyone could say a word, his fist collided with Cassian’s jaw.
The blow caught him completely off guard.
Cassian stumbled back, his hand bracing against the nearest table to stop himself from hitting the floor.
Emmett’s face was thundercloud-dark as he loomed over Cassian.
One punch wasn’t enough.
But Cassian, still reeling from the first hit, managed to raise his arms just in time to block Emmett’s next swing.
The pain from the punch had lit a fuse in him. ‘The last time you hit me, I let it go. But this time? I didn’t do a damn thing!’
Emmett’s rage flared.
He rolled up his sleeves. ‘You’ve got some nerve. Harper’s been causing trouble for days, and she’s your mess. You’re lucky I didn’t bring a gun.’
Ashton came up to me, eyes sweeping me head to toe. ‘Hospital.’
‘I was just going,’ I said. ‘But I’m fine, mostly.’ Follow current novels on novel•fire.net
‘You didn’t look fine in the videos.’ He was making a visible effort to rein in his temper.
‘Did you just come from a meeting?’ I glanced down at his hand. ‘You’re still holding a laser pointer.’
His fingers were curled tight around it. ‘Never mind about the bloody meeting. Why didn’t you call me?’
‘I would’ve, if I could’ve reached my phone. It was crazy back there. Like a public lynching.’
‘We’re leaving. Now.’
Emmett came out of the shop at the same time, steering Yvaine forward like a bodyguard. ‘Stay the hell away from my sister. Don’t even think about showing up near her again.’
Cassian moved to follow, but Emmett shut him down with a withering look.
‘And that project we were talking about? It’s off. The Carlisle family won’t be working with you.’
Cassian’s mouth fell open.
He looked at Emmett like he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.
He took a beat before speaking. ‘You can’t be serious. Business is business. You’re really walking away from the deal over this?’
Emmett didn’t bother replying.
Ashton cut in. ‘You can also forget about the project between LGH and The Langford Group. It’s not happening.’
Cassian whipped around. ‘What the hell, Ashton? Are you all out of your minds? I didn’t do anything wrong!’
‘You’ve been busy, Cassian. Too busy to handle the people you’re supposed to manage. Maybe you should sort out your personal life before you start talking about business.’
Cassian looked like he wanted to argue, his forehead beading with sweat, but when he met Ashton’s cold gaze, he bit his tongue.
He looked up, hopeful.
‘Don’t forget to clean up the shop. You promised you’d pay.’
He muttered something under his breath.
Ashton ushered me into his car.
Behind us, Yvaine got into Emmett’s.
‘How did you all get here so quickly?’ I asked as we pulled off.
Ashton exhaled. ‘Dom saw the livestream, showed it to me. I almost didn’t see you, buried under all that mob. Your hand’s bleeding.’
He took out a handkerchief and pressed it to my palm.
I shrugged it off, trying to sound calmer than I felt. ‘It’s nothing, really. A few bruises here and there. I’ll be fine in a day or two.’
‘I’ll believe it when I hear it from the doctor.’
Either Cassian had finally come to his senses, or Ashton’s people had taken over.
Before evening, Harper Foster’s official accounts issued a public apology.
She took full responsibility and announced her departure from the industry.
Then came the trending tags—sponsored posts, edited headlines, ancient scandals suddenly back in rotation.
The narrative flipped.
The blame peeled off me and Yvaine.
‘You’ve had enough screen time.’ Ashton plucked the phone out of my hand.
‘I hurt my hand, not my eyes,’ I grumbled. ‘I’m fine. The doc said I’m fine. Just scrapes. I’ve had worse from bad wax strips. You didn’t have to drag me home in the middle of the day.’