Chapter 10

Edwardo pushed the gnawing unease deep down, burying it under layers of work. He spent the next few days in a relentless cycle of meetings, phone calls, and damage control, trying to salvage the Cygnus deal. He didn't hear from Cassie, and in his agitated state, he honestly didn't notice her absence. His world had shrunk to boardrooms and balance sheets.

Then, at a high-stakes business dinner with potential new investors, the doors to the private dining room swung open. Cassie, adorned in another extravagant dress, her eyes sparkling with something wild, stumbled in, a triumphant smirk on her face. She spotted a young, elegant female CEO across the table, chatting easily with Edwardo.

Cassie's smile vanished. Her eyes narrowed into angry slits. She marched directly to Edwardo's side, ignoring everyone else. "Edwardo! There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" She glared at the female CEO. "Who is this?"

Edwardo winced. "Cassie, this is Ms. Albright. We're in a business meeting. Please, leave." He tried to keep his voice calm, but annoyance simmered beneath the surface.

"Leave?" Cassie shrieked, her voice echoing in the too-quiet room. "You want me to leave? While you're flirting with other women?" She pointed an accusatory finger at Ms. Albright. "You tramp! Stay away from my man!"

Ms. Albright, a picture of professional composure, simply raised an eyebrow. The other investors exchanged uncomfortable glances, their polite smiles now rigid.

"Cassie, that's enough!" Edwardo hissed, grabbing her arm and trying to steer her out. "You're making a scene!"

She yanked her arm away, tears instantly filling her eyes. "Oh, so now you're siding with her? You don't love me anymore! Fine! I'm leaving! We're over! Do you hear me? Over!" She turned and stormed out, a whirlwind of dramatic sobs and slamming doors.

A mortified silence descended upon the table. The air was thick with embarrassment. The investors, their faces carefully blank, began to gather their papers.

The lead investor, Mr. Davies, a man with a reputation for shrewd judgment, slowly pushed back his chair. He looked at Edwardo, his gaze filled with a quiet disappointment. "Mr. Steele, we appreciate your time. But we invest in stability. In clear leadership. This... spectacle... is concerning." He paused, then added, his voice low, "Frankly, Mr. Steele, I'm beginning to question your judgment. In all areas."

Edwardo felt a cold rush of humiliation. My judgment. The words hit him hard. He watched as the investors politely but firmly excused themselves, leaving him alone at the table, the scent of expensive food mixing with the bitter taste of defeat.

His hands clenched into fists. He pulled out his phone, his fingers shaking with a rage he hadn't felt in years. He dialed Cassie's number. It rang once, twice. Straight to voicemail. He called again. Again, voicemail. Three more times. Nothing. She was deliberately ignoring him.

"Find Cassie Shields," he barked into the phone to his assistant. "Now. I want to know where she is."

It took a frantic hour of searching. His security team finally tracked her down to a high-end club, a place notorious for its wild parties. Edwardo drove there himself, his mind a whirlwind of anger and confusion.

He pushed his way through the pulsating crowd, the flashing lights, and the deafening music. And then he saw her. Cassie. On the dance floor, grinding against a burly stranger, her head thrown back in laughter, her arms wrapped around his neck. Her eyes, when they met Edwardo' s across the room, held a fleeting moment of surprise, then pure defiance.

His blood ran cold. The image of her intimate with another man, after all his sacrifices, after all his efforts to protect her, ignited a firestorm within him. This was not the frightened, fragile woman he had believed in. This was a calculating, unfaithful opportunist.

He strode onto the dance floor, pushing people aside. He grabbed Cassie' s arm with bruising force, yanking her away from the stranger. "What the hell are you doing, Cassie?" he roared over the music.

She stumbled, then glared at him, pulling her arm away. "Edwardo! You're ruining my fun! And who are you to judge? We broke up, remember?"

"We did not break up!" he seethed, his voice barely audible above the din. "You threw a tantrum and left my meeting!"

"Well, now we're officially broken up!" she screamed back, tears springing to her eyes. "You don't care about me! You're always working! You're always flirting with other women!" She pointed at the stranger she'd been dancing with. "He cares about me! He makes me feel good!"

Edwardo looked at her, truly looked at her. Her eyes were hard, her face devoid of any true emotion, only petulant anger. He saw the calculation behind the tears, the manipulative edge to her voice. He saw the contempt.

A wave of exhaustion washed over him. He was tired. So incredibly tired of her drama, her demands, her endless need for attention. He was tired of sacrificing his reputation, his relationships, his company, for her.

"I'm done, Cassie," he said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. "We're over. For good."

Her eyes widened. "What? Edwardo, no! You don't mean that! You're just mad! I'm sorry! I was just jealous! I was just trying to make you pay attention to me!" She lunged at him, trying to embrace him, tears streaming down her face.

He pushed her away, his stomach churning with revulsion. "Don't touch me. You disgust me."

He turned and walked out of the club, leaving her screaming his name on the dance floor. The loud music, the flashing lights, the stench of alcohol and sweat, it all felt suffocating. He needed air. He needed silence.

He got into his car, the leather interior suddenly feeling cold and empty. He lit a cigarette, something he rarely did, and took a deep drag, the smoke burning his lungs. He leaned his head back against the seat, closing his eyes.

My judgment. Mr. Davies' words echoed again. He had been so blind. So incredibly, spectacularly blind.

He thought of Blair. Her quiet strength. Her unwavering loyalty, even when he despised her. He remembered her sharp intellect, her calm resolve in the face of his threats. She had never thrown a tantrum. She had never publicly humiliated him. She had never tried to sabotage his work. She had simply endured, until she couldn't anymore.

He remembered her face in the hospital, bruised and broken, but with a new fire in her eyes as she confronted him. She hadn't screamed. She hadn't cried hysterically. She had simply stated her terms, clearly and unequivocally. She had fought for Ben, for her family, with a dignity he had never truly appreciated.

A bitter, agonizing pain twisted in his chest. A pain that had nothing to do with OCD, and everything to do with a profound, terrifying regret. He had been so wrong. So utterly, tragically wrong. He had pushed away the only woman who truly cared, who truly stood by him, for a superficial, manipulative charade.

He slammed his fist against the steering wheel, the sharp pain a welcome distraction from the agony in his heart. He felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to go home. Not to his sterile, empty penthouse, but to the house he shared, or used to share, with Blair. The house where she had been a ghost, a quiet presence that he had systematically ignored, dehumanized, and ultimately, driven away.

He started the engine, his foot pressing hard on the accelerator. He imagined her there, waiting for him. Perhaps she'd be in her study, poring over documents, her brow furrowed in concentration. Or maybe she'd be in the kitchen, preparing one of her healthy, simple meals. He imagined walking in, and seeing her, just seeing her, without the walls, without the contempt, without the unbearable, agonizing distance.

A foolish hope, he knew. But it was the only hope he had left. He sped through the night, chasing a phantom, a memory of a woman he had never truly seen, until it was too late.