Page 185 of King of Sin
Unable to look at him any longer, she abruptly turned away. Her movements were sharp and stiff as she threw the blanket aside and climbed out of bed. Without saying another word, she strode toward the door, her bare feet hitting the floor harder with each step. She didn't look back even once. A second later, the loud slam of the bedroom door echoed throughout the entire house.
Silence followed.
A heavy, suffocating silence.
The mansion, usually filled with warmth and life, suddenly felt unbearably empty.
Juliet never returned to the bedroom that night.
Instead, she curled up on the couch in the living room, hugging a pillow tightly against her chest as though it could somehow hold together the pieces of her shattered heart. The room was dark except for the faint glow of a lamp in the corner, casting long shadows across the floor. She lay there staring blankly at the ceiling, replaying every word Cassian had said over and over again in her mind. Several times, she heard footsteps upstairs and found herself instinctively glancing toward the staircase, only to force herself to look away again. Eventually, exhaustionovercame the turmoil inside her, and sometime in the early hours of the morning, she finally drifted into an uneasy sleep.
When Juliet woke the next morning, she frowned in confusion.
The mattress beneath her felt far too soft.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she froze.
She was no longer on the couch.
She was lying in the bed.
Startled, she immediately pushed herself upright, the blanket slipping from her shoulders as her gaze darted around the room. Her heartbeat quickened as she searched for Cassian, but there was no sign of him anywhere. The bedroom was empty, and the entire house was silent.
He had probably already left for work.
The realization made her expression falter.
Normally, no matter how busy he was, Cassian always stayed long enough to have breakfast with her before leaving. But today, there wasn't even a trace of his presence left behind. It was obvious that he had left much earlier than usual.
Juliet remained sitting on the edge of the bed for a long moment, absentmindedly gripping the blanket in her hands. Her emotions twisted painfully inside her. Anger still simmered beneath the surface, but so did the hurt. She tried to cling to her pride and convince herself that she didn't care whether he had left early or not.
But no matter how many times she repeated those words to herself, she couldn't make herself believe them.
In the end, gritting her teeth, she reached for her phone and called Amara, asking her to meet.
Later that afternoon, after the two of them had settled into a quiet café tucked away from the busy streets, Juliet finally told Amara everything that had happened.
Amara listened quietly the entire time, occasionally reaching across the table to squeeze Juliet's hand whenever her voice wavered. By the time Juliet finished, she looked emotionally drained.
Amara let out a soft sigh and gently stirred her coffee.
"What Cassian did was wrong," she said honestly, lifting her gaze to Juliet. "He crossed a line he never should have crossed. But maybe he was angry for a reason."
Juliet lowered her eyes to the untouched coffee sitting in front of her. Her fingers tightened around the warm cup until her knuckles turned white.
She couldn't forgive him.
A part of her had died the moment he accused her without hesitation. The moment he had looked at her with those cold eyes and implied that she had slept with Vincent simply to gain something for her fiancé.
How could he think so little of her?
How could he believe she was capable of doing something so disgusting?
Cheap.
The word still echoed relentlessly inside her mind.
No matter how hard she tried to push it away, it always returned, replaying over and over until it wrapped itself around her chest so tightly that it became difficult to breathe.
