The Tycoon's Secret Wife's Escape

CASSIE 25 Cold Reality

CASSIE 25: Cold Reality

[Cassie]

It's been more than a week since I last saw Ronan. We've kept in touch through texts and calls.

Every day we were apart hurt in its own way-especially with more and more people, I felt like I had to protect. And honestly,

I just missed him so much. I wanted to see him, kiss him... it was getting hard to ignore.

As soon as I felt well enough after therapy, I dressed and went to the gathering. Roman had told me he'd be attending an

event where Monroe and the Reids would be present, and Evan was the one who helped me get in.

But the moment I learned Asher had hurt Ronan, panic surged through me.

During their conversation, Ronan brought up a woman, Elena, and accused Asher of killing her. The accusation just hung there between us. It hurt knowing the truth.

"Cassie, listen... please, let me explain-1.." Ronan stammered.

I turned my attention to Asher instead. "What happened to Elena Carter?"

I remembered her-a young woman, noticeably younger than me, who had been one of Asher's women more than a year

ago.

"She's dead," Evan answered softly. "Suicide."

I gasped. At that moment, I understood what Ronan's secretary meant when she warned me he wasn't serious about me.

The truth hit me hard, and no matter how much I tried to stay calm, my eyes started to fill with tears.

He'd been using me this whole time.

"Cassie, let me explain-"

But I steeled myself. One tear escaped down my cheek.

"Good," My voice quavered before I continued. "That makes this easier... At least now, I won't struggle to explain that I used you, too, specifically to hurt Asher. Evan told me about your university rivalry and how you've remained business

adversaries. I needed you... to provoke him."

Ronan froze, visibly processing my words.

I stepped closer and placed the ring he gave me into his hand. "I have no further use for this since there was never any genuine promise between us..."

Not the kind I believed in.

His jaw clenched. "You can't be serious, Cassie... What I said earlier-"

But before finishing, Asher slipped past the guard and delivered another punch to Ronan's face.

Inside, I was crumbling; I wanted to scream, to cry...

For ten days, I had harbored countless thoughts and emotions, pretending to be cheerful every time Ronan asked how I was, not wanting to burden him with sadness.

But the revelation exposed the bitter truth: Ronan had never truly cared at all.

During the past few days, I had planned to tell Ronan the truth about what I was going through because he didn't deserve my betrayal; he needed to be prepared. Never did I imagine he was simply constructing another illusion for me to believe in. Roxie swiftly parted the crowd and made her way toward me, taking purposeful strides. She was at the gathering, accompanying Mr. Blake. Our eyes met in wordless understanding as she reached for my hand, offering a reassuring squeeze.

Asher approached, his expression conflicted. "Listen, Cassie, I...”

"I need time to process all this, Asher..." I whispered, struggling to keep my emotions in check. "This mess, it's all yours. You keep hurting me, Asher. Why?"

Tears blurred my vision, and he misread the situation, thinking the tears were for him. I glanced at Ronan, noticing his jaw clenched and his posture stiff while the ring I had returned dug into his palm.

Roxie led me to her suite in the same hotel, where I finally allowed myself to break down. The weight of the truth crushed me, my heart aching in a way I didn't think was possible.noveldrama

"Why does it have to be me, Rox? Why do I keep falling for these awful men?" The questions spilled out from my trembling lips, ones I knew I'd never find the answers to.

She looked at me with sympathy, pulling me into a hug as we sat on the couch.

I could sense her personal connection to my question-she, too, had fallen deeply for Gideon, a man who had repeatedly

CASSIE 25: Cold Reality

wounded her heart.

"At least you know the truth now," she said softly "It's more painful to keep giving your heart to someone who doesit appreciate it."

Her words set off a new wave of tears, the pain hitting harder until it almost felt too much to handle

Roxie continued carefully, "I heard that Elena Carter passed away last year, right after Asher severed ties with her. Before that happened, she came to your apartment seeking a conversation..."

The memory hit me right away. That wasn't my first encounter with one of Ashermantic interests.

Our relationship always seemed to follow the same pattern, and Elena definitely wasn't the first woman to ask to see me i figured she just wanted to provoke me, another round in the same old drama that kept repeating itself with Asher

I haven't heard anything about Elena in a while. Asher and I got back together, but Rebecca was the last woman he cheated with after months of being serious with

me.

Roxie gently patted my back. "I considered texting you when I first learned about Elena Carter's passing" she confessed softly. "I wanted to know if you were already aware."

I shook my head.

"I finally get it now," I continued. "The only reason Ronan followed me was to gather information about my relationship with Asher. I was so stupid, thinking it was because of me, thinking he loved me. Everything was just a lie, a show for revenge? Roxie turned to face me, “Babe, pull yourself together. These men haven't earned the love you've given so freely. But you can reclaim your strength and your worth because you are strong. You're fighting a battle they'll never understand-ther's the kind of strength you carry, Cassi