Page 53 of Neptune

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CASSIE

M y thoughts have only been filled with Luke and Aiden since they left. I cry myself to sleep, thinking about how I must have hurt them with my words, especially Aiden.

He's just a child, and he doesn't deserve it at all.

I didn't mean anything that I said. I didn't know that Aiden was listening. I said my words out of anger, because I was so angry at Luke.

It's hard to trust Luke knowing he has hidden many things from me. I thought that I knew him, but I don't.

None of his actions in the past make sense to me, to the point that I question everything Jude said.

Thinking about Luke breaks my heart into a million pieces, but remembering Aiden's face when he left is even worse.

My heart can't take it. It thumps hard, restless, and my head hurts, just like when I had the accident in the swimming pool.

When I wake up in the morning, I'm still lying alone on the bed.

My throat still hurts, and my head still pulses with sharp pain. I wince, touching it.

Aiden. Aiden. Aiden.

I said that having Luke and him in my life was a mistake. How is he going to forgive me?

Tears roll down my cheek again. My eyes are swollen from crying all night.

Aiden. Does he hate me now?

My sobs break again. I can't bear that thought. I miss him. I miss him so much. I want to hold him, to tell him that I didn't mean what I said, that having him in my life was never a mistake.

My head feels like it’s being hit with a powerful force, and I wince again, my hand shaking as I touch it.

What is wrong with my head? I should have listened to Luke when he told me to have the doctor check it. I thought that it was just a normal headache, but it seems like I was wrong.

It hurts like hell, and I realize that it happens every time my mind is thinking hard about Aiden. The last time was when he was drowning in the swimming pool.

Aiden .

I wipe my tears away and sit up. When I look down at myself, I realize that I'm still wearing yesterday's gown.

Sighing, I get up from the bed and walk toward the bathroom.

???

After freshening myself up, the first room I check is Aiden's. I slide the door open. It's empty.

My heart breaks all over again, and I burst into tears. The room only reminds me of him.

Usually, Aiden would smile widely every time I visited his room—he was so happy every time he saw me. His eyes would twinkle every time I read him exciting stories before bed.

He told me that he was grateful to have me in his life. He'd already loved me when we met for the first time.

But what have I done to him?

"Aiden," I rasp, gripping my chest due to the pain that I can't bear. "I'm sorry." My eyes squeeze shut, more tears falling from them.

???

I stand at the back patio next to the living room, staring at the gerbera daisies planted in the garden. Even though everything around me, everything about this house, is beautiful, it means nothing without the people I love.

Luke and Aiden didn’t come back home after our fight last night. That's understandable. With everything that has happened, I don't think Aiden will ever want to see me again.

He hates me. Tears fill my eyes again at that thought.

I grip the phone in my hand. Luke hasn't called me, and I can understand that too—he must be focusing on Aiden, giving his full attention to him.

They might be staying at another house. My mind is debating whether I should call Luke or not, but I'm still not ready to trust him.

I don't know what I should do.

I'm so lost. So very lost. I don't know what to believe.

What am I doing? I should be the one who leaves this house, not them.

If Aiden doesn't want to see me anymore, I should be the one who walks out of here. This is his home.

Now that my eyes travel around this house, there are only memories of them, of our togetherness. As I stare at the living room, I remember how we liked to play hide and seek, how I loved listening to Aiden counting as he closed his eyes, leaning against the wall.

I snap my head toward the swimming pool, remembering how our laughter echoed in the air as we played in it, splashing each other with water.

My legs are shaking when I walk toward the music room. I stare at my grand piano, and the scene of me playing music with Aiden flashes back.

He was so happy when I played him his favorite songs, while Luke would watch us with love and adoration in his eyes.

I keep walking even though tears blur my vision. When I arrive in the dining room, I see the three of us having dinner together.

Luke and I would watch Aiden blabbering about his day at school, his eyes filled with excitement as he told us his story, and we would listen to him intently.

The same thing would happen in the morning, when Aiden would tell us about his favorite subject at school that he couldn't wait to study.

Every corner of the house reminds me of them, and I don't even realize that I'm already sobbing.

How can I leave this place? How can I leave them ?

Luke's words echo in my ear, "This is our home. Don't you think so?"

I've never felt so close to home.

What I had with Morgan wasn't home at all, not when I always felt lonely there. It was a house in which I was always afraid of Morgan punishing me, telling me how I was such a disgrace every time I disappointed her.

She never cared about me and never listened to me. I always felt under pressure. I never felt loved.

But this house is different. I feel like I belong here. I feel loved. I feel cherished. I feel like I've known Luke and Aiden for a long time.

I can feel their love, their happiness when I'm with them, and my own happiness too.

This is my home. They are my home. I can't imagine what my life would be like without them. They're a part of me.

While I'm wiping my tears again, someone calls, "Mrs. Klein."

I turn my head, only to find a maid approaching me. She looks troubled, like she doesn't want to bother me but doesn't have any choice.

"My apologies, ma’am," she stutters. "I don't want to bother you, but..."

I look at her in question.

"You have a guest," she says rather reluctantly. "Do you want to see her in person? Or do you want me to send her away?"

I frown. A guest? Who could that be? I don't have any projects to shoot at the moment—I didn't invite anybody. It might be someone from Luke's office.

Curious, I stride across the hall toward the sitting room next to the foyer. When I arrive, I see a woman who looks a few years older than me sitting on the couch.

She has beautiful honey brown hair that falls perfectly on her shoulders, and I can see her perfect curves because she's wearing a tight long sleeve top and a short skirt that exposes her long legs.

She sips her tea elegantly, crossing her legs.

Before I can voice the question in my head, the maid who's standing next to me whispers, "It's Ms. Josephine."

My heart skips a beat. It's no wonder she looks familiar. She's the model on the cover page of the magazine that Luke tossed to me when we first met.

She's Luke's ex-fiancée.

Now, I'm positive that Luke is crazy, because he once said that I was hotter than her. And that's not possible.

The question is, what is she doing here?

The maid walks off to give us privacy. Josephine glances at me before turning her attention to the front again.

"Where's Luke?" she asks without even looking at me.

I could sit down as well, give her a warm welcome before having a nice chat, but my body refuses to do so.

Based on the story that Ms. Langston has told me, I don't have the urge to be friendly to her. Instead, I stay where I stand.

"He's currently not at home," I say, feeling the great pain in my chest again as I’m reminded that he's not here with me anymore.

Josephine sighs, placing the cup of tea back on the table. "Since I just got back from London, I figured that I could drop by to talk to him. I haven't been back for years. But it turns out I just wasted my time."

Did she pay a visit to congratulate us on our wedding? Definitely not.

I note the information, though. She's been living in London .

"Since you're here, you might want to pass him my words," Josephine says, still not looking at me.

"Tell him to stay out of my new business.

I didn't study for years in London for nothing.

It's enough that he got me kicked out of my own parents' company with how he played in the business world. He’d already had a lot of fun threatening my parents, hadn't he? "

There's sarcasm in her tone.

I'm speechless. I might not know what actually happened, but it seems that Luke has threatened Josephine and her parents to stay out of his life if they don't want him to ruin their businesses.

Luke must have hated them so much, blaming them and his own parents for Victor's and Emily's deaths.

Josephine looks at me again, and my breath catches in my throat as I see her eyes are filled with so much hatred. "You must be very satisfied now, aren't you? Now that he's successful, you want to be with him?"

My jaw tightens. I'm about to snap at her when her next words cut me off.

"You don't look as innocent as the confused girl I saw seven years ago." She eyes me coldly. "But you're still the same girl. You're just trash. You never deserved him. What a gold digger."

If I weren't damn confused by her words, I would lash out at her. But I don't, because I don't understand what she said.

Innocent? Confused? Seven years ago?

"Did you think that you could just leave and barge back in, disturbing his life again as you wish?" she bites out. "Luke must be very blind."

My mouth drops open.

Disturbing his life? Again?

What on earth is she talking about?

Before I can open my mouth, someone's voice booms, startling me.

" What are you doing here? "

I snap my head. Ms. Langston stands in the corner of the room, her eyes wide, fixed on Josephine.

"How could you get in?" Ms. Langston yells. "Get out."