Page 57 of Neptune

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CASSIE

Seven years ago

T he woman and I ended up in a coffee shop down the street. I stared at her as she scanned the menu. She was so beautiful and elegant.

Her hair fell perfectly, honey brown, such a beautiful color. Her skin was flawless. Her expensive clothes hugged her curves perfectly.

She looked like a supermodel.

I stared down at my sweaty hands lying on my big belly. I must have looked ugly next to her. My lips and skin felt dry due to dehydration after a long flight, and my feet were swollen because I was already eight months pregnant.

I must have looked like a disaster too due to lack of sleep—I'd been so excited to meet Luke that I hadn't had enough sleep.

"Are you not ordering something?" she asked after telling the waiter her order.

I just stared at her dumbly. I hadn't even thought about ordering a drink—it wasn't on my mind. Besides...

"Don't worry. I'll pay for it," she offered.

I felt embarrassed because I indeed had no money left after buying the plane ticket and paying the cab fares.

I was crazy. Luke was my only hope, and now that he wasn't even here, I didn't know what I would do.

In the end, I ordered a cup of tea .

"I'm Josephine," she started the conversation, studying me. "Who are you? How do you know Luke?"

I was silent for a while before I could find my voice. "I'm Cassandra. I..."

I didn't know how to tell her my story with Luke. I didn't think that I would tell her, because it was too personal. "I'm Luke's friend. We met at the beginning of the year."

Right . That was better. Telling her that I was Luke's friend and not a lover was a better way to open this discussion.

I sipped my tea to calm myself down and took a deep breath, and that was when Josephine's gaze fell on the ring on my finger again.

I wondered if she'd seen the same ring on Luke's finger and if that was why she couldn't stop staring at it. If she figured it out, I had to tell her the truth.

"How did you get that ring?" she asked.

"Someone important gave it to me," I said, gauging her reaction.

To my surprise, she scoffed.

"I'm sorry." She shook her head in disbelief. "It's funny that I found the same ring inside the trash can in Luke's bedroom."

I felt like I was being struck with thunder in the middle of bright daylight. Everything around me seemed to stop.

"What?" I stuttered.

Josephine's stare turned into a murderous glare. "You're playing innocent here, bitch?"

My mouth dropped open, no sound leaving my throat.

"You're one of those girls who can't just leave Luke alone," she said with an annoyed expression. "Gosh, I'm so tired of this. When will these girls learn that he's not available?"

I was still trying to comprehend what she said when her next words shocked me to the core.

"I'm his fiancée," Josephine stated.

My mind was spinning. "No," I whispered. "No, it's impossible. Luke didn't tell me—"

"I knew that the trip to Hallstatt had something to do with this," Josephine cut me off.

Her eyes were now filled with angry tears, and that made my breath catch in my throat.

"He had too much fun playing around. But in the end, it's me who he keeps coming back to.

He can't live without me. We've been in love since we were children. "

The lack of air in my lungs suffocated me.

What the hell is she talking about?

Before I could respond to her words, Josephine took out her phone, went through it and tossed it to me, as if she wanted me to see what was there on the screen.

My eyes widened as I saw an article about them on the web. It read, ‘The heir of Klein Enterprise, Lucas Klein, is expected to tie the knot with Josephine, a supermodel and daughter of conglomerate Howard Radcliffe.’

And it was from a trusted business news website.

My heart was crushed. Everything around me crumbled. My whole body was shaking.

Luke had been betrothed to another woman.

I still remembered Luke's words echoing in my ears. "Cassie, I swear to God that I'm not committed to another girl. It's only you, and it will only be you."

He was lying. A tear dropped onto my cheek.

"Are you planning to trick him?" She stared at me in disgust. "By telling him that you're pregnant with his child? What a disgrace. Have you run out of ideas to make him yours? Are you not embarrassed to stoop that low?"

More tears rolled down my face.

"But," I choked. "But this is really his child." My voice was barely a whisper. "Luke and I—"

I couldn't finish my sentence. How stupid I was. How foolish.

Josephine's glare turned even colder and more piercing, her jaw clenched. "Do you think that Luke would ever want to be with a girl like you? It was a mistake. You're just trash he picked up on the street before he realized how disgusting it was. Luke belongs to me, always did and always will."

I shook my head in denial, the lump in my throat hurting me to the core. Was it just a game for Luke?

It was just fun to him. Nothing more.

"No," I cried.

"Can't you see?" Josephine continued. "We're engaged. Our families have a strong bond, so strong that his father would even disown him if he ever broke it. Do you think that he would ever choose you and sacrifice his family?"

I was speechless. This was too much for me. I got what she was trying to say. It didn't make sense. Luke would never make such a stupid decision to be with me.

It was just an empty promise, and I'd foolishly believed him. I must have looked so stupid when I'd fallen right into his act.

"You don't belong in our world." With that said, Josephine stood up and left me staring blankly ahead with tears streaming down my face, heart shattered.

???

I dragged my feet across the pavement, feeling like I was about to collapse, but I kept pushing forward. I couldn't stop my sobs.

I felt people's gazes on me as they looked at me with worry, but no one made a move to approach me or stop me—they were too busy with their own business.

I hugged my belly, and more of my tears fell as I stared at our promise ring. Why am I still wearing it?

I'm sorry, my child. I couldn't keep my promise to bring you to meet your dad. I'm so sorry.

Luke didn't even wear the ring anymore. He'd trashed it, just like he would do to me and our baby.

What am I going to do now? I have nowhere else to go .

I didn't have any money to buy the plane ticket back to LA. I didn't even have any money to stay for a night. I was such a mess.

The only way out might be to call Morgan, but she would surely lash out at me. She might not want to help me and would probably let me die here with my baby instead.

I halted at an intersection, in the middle of people who were waiting to cross the street. I had no idea where I was going.

The sun was burning, and it made me feel even dizzier. The world felt like it was spinning slowly, everything around me a blur.

People started to cross the street while I still stood in the same spot. I flinched, trying to adjust my sight.

Why couldn't I see clearly?

I wiped my eyes. It wasn't just because of these tears—I felt like my soul was leaving me, as if it died without Luke.

Slowly, I stepped toward the street, unaware that the lights had changed. I could barely hear people yelling at me, trying to warn me.

But it was too late.

The moment I turned my head to see the car that was speeding toward me, everything felt like it was in slow motion. I was thrown into the air, feeling extreme pain all over my body before my head smacked something hard.

And the next thing I knew I was lying down on the asphalt, every part of my body numb.

My lips trembled, a tear sliding down from the corner of my eye as I stared at the sky. I tried to move my shaking finger, but even that was impossible.

My baby...

" A pregnant woman been hit by a car! " someone's voice boomed, while frantic shouts and whispers started to fill the air around me.

It hurt. Everything on my body hurt, just as painful as the hole in my heart from losing Luke.

Help. Help us.

I could feel my life being taken away from me no matter how hard I tried to fight death. But I had to .

What about my baby? What if he didn't make it? I couldn't let him die.

I couldn't live if he didn't make it. He was the only thing in this world that I had.

Please, somebody. Save him. Save my baby. Save this little soul.

I tried again to move my finger. I needed to feel my baby. I needed to make sure that he was okay, that he wasn't hurt.

Please . Save him. Anybody.

While my consciousness began to leave me, I could hear my own sobs. My baby didn't deserve this. He was just an innocent little soul.

And in this heartbreak and pain, there was only one person in this world that I longed to see. That I hoped would come back for us and tell us that everything was going to be alright. That I missed the most.

Luke .

???

My eyelids flickered. I tried to open my eyes but winced when I was greeted by a blinding light. I tried to do it again, slowly, but everything was still too blurry.

I could barely make out anything.

After a while, my vision gradually got better. I was staring at a white ceiling and then a room.

I was in the hospital.

Something moved beside the bed, and when I tried to turn my head, a sudden pain struck it, making me wince in pain.

"Are you alright?" It was Morgan's voice.

Carefully, I turned to my side and found Morgan looking at me with concern. Confusion engulfed me.

What happened? What am I doing here? Why am I in a hospital?

"Morgan?" I whispered, my voice sounding weak and hoarse. "What is happening? "

Morgan took my hand in hers, caressing it. It had been such a long time since she showed me this kind of affection, and hope filled my heart.

"Why am I in a hospital?"

Morgan stared at me like she was trying to read me. "What's the last thing that you remember?"

I frowned, trying to sit up, but again, my head pulsed with sharp pain. This time, I groaned.

"Oh, God. Something is seriously wrong with my head." I touched it with my shaking hand. "Why am I lying here?"

Morgan still stared at me without blinking, and then something crossed my mind. I cursed.

"I'm doomed," I said in horror. "I must have skipped the last week of my exams."

Panic began to fill my insides.

I couldn't imagine if I'd failed high school because of that. Would I be required to repeat another year?

Now, amazement skated all over Morgan's face.

"Cassie, you've passed all of your exams." Her eyes were twinkling with something that I didn't understand.

My brows furrowed. That was a good thing, but I didn't remember that fact. Chills suddenly ran through my body, and I began to think about what might have happened to me with dread.

Before I could ask her another question, Morgan burst into tears.

I hadn’t seen her cry since the day Dad died, so this sight startled me.

Morgan tightened her hold on my hand, wiping her tears away. "Cassie, you had an accident. In New York."

My mouth dropped open. "New York?" I echoed. "How come? Are we—"

"Yes, we're in New York now." Morgan nodded.

This was very absurd. Why were we in New York?

Morgan seemed to read my mind .

"We were having a little vacation here," she said. "I knew that it was late to celebrate your graduation. It's autumn, the year after. But I still wanted us to take a holiday. You deserved it."

I jerked. "Autumn?" It meant that almost one year had already passed.

What kind of nonsense is this?

Morgan let out a soft cry again, and that worried me.

"I never thought that the accident would happen." She sniffed. "You were crossing the street, too excited to get to the other side, and I couldn't prevent it. A car sped off in your direction, and—" Her sobs broke, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

My heart seemed to stop.

When Morgan looked up at me, her eyes were glistening with tears.

"You hit your head pretty hard due to the crash. Cassie, you—" She took a deep breath. "You lost a part of your memory."

I was stunned.

"What?" I stuttered. "No, I couldn't have possibly lost my memory. Something like that couldn't have happened to me—" But I stopped short.

The look on Morgan's face as she looked at me sadly made me believe her.

My hands were shaking when I buried my face in them. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God."

Silence crept between us.

"That's not possible," I stammered. "What have I forgotten? What has happened that I don't remember?"

Morgan slowly took my hands off my face and looked at me tenderly. She'd never had that kind of loving expression before, and my fear began to fade away.

"Don't worry, my dear." A soft smile touched her lips. "Nothing important happened."

I scrutinized her, trying to believe every word.

"Nothing."