Page 51 of Neptune

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CASSIE

W hen the event ends, a lot of people are talking about attending the after-party, but I don't think that Luke and I will join it.

I still remember that Luke has something important to tell me tonight, and I'm curious about that.

"Let me go to the washroom first," I say before we head back, and Luke nods.

While I'm walking down the corridor to the restrooms, I notice that it's quite deserted, since a lot of celebrities are heading to the venue of the after-party.

Just as I turn around the corner, I catch sight of something unexpected.

Jude and Sienna are having a talk.

"Do you think that she was triggered watching us dancing so closely tonight?

" Sienna asks, worry laced in her voice.

"You know that I hate this situation, Jude.

How long do I have to pretend that I'm not hurt by her accusation?

Moreover, she's with Luke now, and you know how powerful he is.

If she suddenly decides to tell the world that we stabbed her behind her back, which is far from the truth, my reputation as a professional dancer will be ruined. "

Jude's jaw tightens. "Don't worry. She wouldn't expose us, even when she has the wrong idea."

Sienna sighs in frustration. "Why didn't you just tell her the truth and clear this misunderstanding, once and for all?

Then maybe she wouldn't hate us so much.

I'm tired, Jude. I'm tired of not being able to defend myself, of pretending like I'm a slut .

How long are you going to keep my mouth shut?

Why can't you just tell her that you didn't cheat on her? "

The clutch that I'm holding drops onto the floor, catching their attention. Shock skates all over their faces as they see me eavesdropping, and my whole body is shaking when I abruptly pick up my clutch before turning to the ladies room.

I close the door and walk to the mirror. Taking a deep breath, I grip the edge of the sink, not believing what I just heard.

What did I hear just now?

Jude didn't cheat on me?

But that's impossible. I saw Sienna in his hotel room, topless, the rest of her body covered by a blanket. On his bed.

Even though I walked out of the place that instant, he didn't deny anything when he finally got the chance to speak to me again a few days later.

He didn't tell me that it was a misunderstanding.

Why?

Even though it doesn't matter anymore, this new fact that I just discovered bothers me. My breaking up with Jude has impacted my career as a celebrity significantly, and I've never thought that it's all based on a lie.

Why did Jude hide the truth?

While I'm still deep in thought, movement from the door startles me. Someone steps inside.

It's Jude.

My eyes widen as he locks the door.

I automatically retreat, watching as Jude strides toward me. Pushing my back against the sink, I glare at him.

"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be in the ladies room," I snap even though I'm dying to know the truth.

I want to know why he lied to me, why he left me in agony. His betrayal broke my heart and sent me into one of the lowest points of my life—not to mention all the false rumors attacking me after that, which made my misery even worse .

"Did you hear what we were talking about?" Jude asks, halting right in front of me.

I could just say that I don't know what he's talking about, but anger consumes me. "I did. What the hell was that about?"

Jude scrutinizes me. "You know now that I didn't cheat on you."

I grit my teeth. "I saw her in your hotel room, Jude. Naked. On your bed. You didn't even deny it."

Jude's jaw tightens. "It was a misunderstanding."

I frown, staring at him in disbelief.

"Now that you've figured it out, I don't have to hold back anymore," he hisses.

"Sienna was drunk after we hung out with my team in my hotel room in Prague.

She was the last person who stayed, but she was too wasted to leave.

She puked all over her shirt, and after taking it off, she was too drunk to put my t-shirt on.

Dammit, Cassie, I didn't even fucking dare put my clothes on her. "

My heart is beating fast against my ribs, wondering why he's telling me all of this now . Haven't I given him enough chances to fix everything?

"I covered her body with a blanket and stayed away from her," Jude says. "I didn't expect that you would surprise me that night to spend time with me during my tour. Had you yanked off the cover, you would have found that Sienna wasn't even fully naked."

"But you didn't tell me all of this back then," I say, my voice shaking, my mind going crazy because what he said doesn't make sense. "If you indeed hadn't cheated on me, you would have denied it. You didn't even say that it was a misunderstanding."

"Because you broke up with me," he speaks through gritted teeth. "I didn't have any choice."

"Bullshit," I hiss. "You had so many chances to make everything right. You didn't have to hide the truth and make me feel like a dumb woman."

You didn't have to shatter my heart into pieces.

Jude takes a deep breath, and his voice is shaking with fury when he says, "Luke threatened me."

I feel like my heart stops beating. Never have I thought that I would hear something like this coming from Jude's mouth.

"What?" I stutter.

Jude's eyes are piercing when he tells me the unbelievable truth. "Luke told me to stay the hell away from you. He used my weakness to get to you."

My mouth drops open. I feel like something is wrong with my hearing. My head is spinning. "What are you talking about?"

"Cassie," Jude rasps, letting out a small cry, startling me. "I fucked up. And that cunning man used it to his advantage." He takes a deep breath, his eyes glinting with emotion I can't figure out. Something like guilt. "I took drugs."

My eyes widen in shock.

"You might not have any idea about it, but I did take drugs. Goddammit, I did," Jude cries. "I don’t know whether I was close enough to be called an addict, but it's not like the people in our circle never use them."

The fact that I still can utter my next question is beyond belief, because I'm utterly shocked.

"You took drugs?" My voice is barely a whisper.

"Come on, Cassie. I had my ups and downs too," Jude defends himself.

"Do you think that being at the top of the fucking world, with so many expectations, is easy?

You know it too, Cassie. You feel it too.

And it's not like you could always be there for me whenever I needed you. You were fucking busy."

I swallow. I should have seen the red flag, but maybe I was too blind to see that. And Jude's sentence makes me realize all over again how toxic he is.

But that's not the problem now. The problem is the things he said about Luke. Before I can ask Jude another question, he beats me to it.

"Still, I'm way better than that asshole," Jude bites out, venom in his voice. "He's a monster. "

It's getting harder to breathe. I don't even know whether I still want to hear him out or not.

"He played dirty," Jude hisses. "His power in the news and media industry made collecting information about me as easy as flipping the back of his hand.

He could easily hire people to find my weakness.

Once he figured out about me and those drugs, he threatened me.

He said that he would expose my drug addiction to the entire world and kill my career if I didn't break up with you.

He blackmailed me, and my mind went crazy.

I didn't know what to say to you to make you end everything.

I didn't want to break up with you. But then, you showed up in the wrong place at the wrong time. We ended just like that."

Jude's fists are clenched tightly at his sides, before a soft cry escapes from his lips again.

"I've made a terrible mistake, but I didn't betray you, Cassie. I love you."

I shake my head in disbelief, tears forming in my eyes. This is all too much for me to take.

"During the period when I was missing after our breakup, I got into a rehab," Jude says. "No one knows about this, except those trustworthy people at my record label."

My lips tremble while I'm still trying to absorb every word.

Jude's eyes darken, burning with rage.

"But that fucking bastard hurt you. I know that it was all his doing.

All those false rumors about you after our breakup, it was all his doing.

About you cheating on me with that wedded famous actor.

About you being a homewrecker. Being the nation's whore.

It was all him . He destroyed you, made you the most hated person in the world, before he showed up in front of you, acting like your hero," Jude speaks in disgust, and I feel like I want to throw up.

"No," I deny, my voice shaking. "Luke wouldn't do something like that. He wouldn't."

"Really?" Jude scoffs. "Are we talking about the same person here? This is Luke fucking Klein we're talking about. With his power and authority in the media industry, he could do anything."

A tear falls onto my cheek, followed by another, and another. I don't want to believe it.

"Your rock, you said?" Jude mocks. "That's stupid. He was the reason why your life as a celebrity was hell in the first place. Is that the man who loves you? Love ? If he really loved you, he wouldn't hurt you."

I'm trying my best to deny everything that Jude has thrown at me. But then, it all makes sense. Luke and Jude were always tense when they were around each other, like they'd known each other before.

That's why Luke was always against me meeting with Jude—he was afraid that Jude would tell me everything.

"No," I whisper brokenly.