Page 50 of Neptune

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CASSIE

W hen Luke and I reach the place where the award show is taking place, we're greeted by blinding blitz and shouts from the photographers.

Luke takes my hand, helping me step out of our limo, and I cling to him as we walk on the red carpet. He keeps me close to him too—it's just so natural for us to keep close to each other like this, like we're made for each other.

Luke seems pretty good at handling the photographers when they ask us to pose in front of them. He puts his hand around my waist, while I lean closer to him, touching his shoulder, giving the photographers the perfect pose for the pictures.

He pulls me closer to him, making my breast press against his chest.

"You know, I would very much like to tell them to fuck off and lock you inside a room so that we can do God knows what, but that's unlikely to happen now," he jokes, making me giggle.

As always, all the shouts from the photographers are too loud, to the point that it almost makes me deaf.

When we finish the photo session, Luke and I continue walking, encountering some celebrities on the way.

I can feel women's gazes on him, and I'm talking about hot women here, including gorgeous supermodels and actresses.

That makes my heart swell with pride but at the same time annoys me. They're drooling over him—I can't blame them, though, because my husband is hot as fuck .

I just hope they note that he's off-limits.

Luke suddenly stiffens, his jaw tight, and when I follow his gaze, my heart skips a beat. It's Jude.

My ex-boyfriend is being interviewed on the red carpet by a reporter from an entertainment channel. Luke's eyes burn with rage as he wraps his arm around my waist protectively.

As his body tenses, I wrap my arms around his back, whispering, "It's okay. He can’t hurt me anymore."

However, I can understand how Luke feels, because the last time we met Jude, he assaulted me, kissing me without my consent even though he knew that I belonged with Luke.

That scene made Luke and I have a huge fight and we almost lost everything.

Jude glances at us, and Luke clenches his fist, anger radiating all over his body. Abruptly, I stop him.

"Please, don't make a scene," I whisper frantically, and when Luke stares down at the horror on my face, his eyes soften.

Being near Jude will only complicate everything, so I drag Luke the other way.

"Cassie," a familiar voice greets me, and when I turn my head, I find Cal Jackson, the guy with whom I wrote a song.

With his messy jet black hair, mysterious ocean eyes and the bad boy aura radiating from him, it's no wonder how fast Cal became the world's heartthrob and every girl's dream.

His songs have blown up and made headlines. He's the most successful new artist right now.

"Hi, Cal." I give him a quick friendly hug, while he and Luke shake hands.

"Nice to meet you, Luke," Cal says, but to my surprise, Luke stays silent, eyeing Cal suspiciously.

"Thanks to you, Cassie, our song was a big hit," Cal says genuinely. "I wouldn't have been able to make such an accomplishment without you."

I smile, shaking my head in disbelief. "You know that it's all because of you, Cal. In fact, I'm the one who's grateful to work with you."

Cal only responds with a smirk. "Congratulations on your new song. It's phenomenal."

He seems to notice Luke's continuous intimidating stare on him, and so he walks off.

I frown at Luke. "He's not a threat," I whisper. I know for sure that Cal isn't.

The whole time we composed the song together, he was respectful. He's a good person.

Luke sighs as I squeeze his arm reassuringly, and we decide to go into the building.

Oh, well. With his possessiveness, it seems that Luke still has to adjust to my celebrity life.

???

As I sit inside the grand hall, waiting for the MCs to announce the winner of my category, my hands start to get sweaty.

I lean my head on Luke's shoulder to help myself relax, our fingers laced over my thigh.

"Are you nervous?" Luke whispers, squeezing my hand in an attempt to comfort me.

"Kinda," I say. It has been a long time since I was nominated for such a big award.

Luke's eyes darken as Jude performs his latest single on the stage. Luke's other hand balls into a fist, his knuckles turning white from how hard he clenches it.

I gulp. If wasn’t for the fact that the entire world is watching, I'm more than sure that Luke would have stormed at Jude and beaten him into a bloody pulp.

I watch as Jude dances closely with Sienna, the backup dancer with whom he cheated on me. But I don't feel anything, not triggered at all .

Time goes by, and the MCs have announced the winners of some categories. But they haven't announced the winner of the Best Song of the Year yet.

All of us in the hall clap and stand up when they announce the Best New Artist. Cal wins, just as I expected.

We settle back in our seats, watching as Cal delivers his speech. I glance at Luke, who's watching Cal with a frown on his lips.

"Is there something wrong with him?" I ask, realizing that Luke has a problem with this guy.

There's definitely something terribly wrong with Jude, but not with Cal. I don't see why Luke doesn't like Cal.

"I don't know," Luke says, his brow furrowing. "There's just something off with that guy. He's destroyed , Cassie. I could read him in seconds."

I wait for Luke to say more, wondering what he means.

"I know it because I was once like that," he says. "It's like you're dead but alive. The difference was that I still had hope. This guy, he barely has it."

Luke's frown grows deeper as he speaks, watching as Cal strides back toward his seat.

I'm about to ask Luke more about that matter when the MCs' next words startle me. They're announcing the winner of the Best Song of the Year.

"And the Best Song of the Year goes to..."

I shift my full attention to the stage, my heart beating like a drum in my chest.

"‘Winter Escape,’ by Cassie Castillo."

My jaw drops. My heart feels like bursting out of my chest. Did I hear it right?

Did I just win the award?

All the eyes in the hall are turned to me. The audience stand ups and claps. Luke's proud smile creeps on his lips as he helps me stand up, while here I am, starstruck.

The sound of the audience clapping and cheering for me is still filling my ears. I stare at Luke, whose eyes are glistening with tears, a soft smile still tugging at his lips as he stares at me lovingly.

Oh, God. Is he crying?

I'm too shocked to even cry. But staring at Luke in the midst of this amazing moment makes it even more surreal.

Before we know it, we pull each other into a hard kiss, displaying our affection to the people around us. I feel like I could kiss him forever, but I have to deliver my speech, and so I pull away from him, breathless.

My legs are shaking when I head to the stage. I take the trophy, walk toward the mic, and take a deep breath.

"I..." I can't even form any words. "I still can't believe that I won. This is such an honor for me. I never thought that my song, ‘Winter Escape,’ would be able to reach people's hearts. It means a lot to me. Thank you. Thank you very much."

A tear finally slides down from the corner of my eye, and I wipe it away.

My speech goes on to thank the people dear to me, and I know the first person that I want to mention.

"I'd like to thank my husband, Luke," I say with all my heart, and he stares at me like he's the proudest man in the world. "My rock. My everything. Thank you for staying by my side through thick and thin. Thank you for being my home."

More tears threaten to fall from my eyes. I want to mention Aiden too, but that's not possible because we've made a deal to not expose him.

"I'd also like to thank my inner circle, who has given me continuous support and helped me reach this point," I say. "Oscar, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Peter. Paul. Mike. You guys are the most amazing people. Thank you for always believing in me."

Then I start mentioning other people from my record label, but of course, I can't mention all.

"And last but not least, I'd like to thank my wonderful fans," I say, feeling more grateful with every second passing by. "You guys haven't given up on me. You will always be a part of me. I love you all so, so much."

The MC thanks me for the speech, and the audience gives me another big round of applause. I stride back to my seat with the trophy in my hand—I can't wait to be with Luke again even though I just left him for a few minutes.

When I arrive, he pulls me into a tight hug.