"Who's Easton?" The guy sitting across from Cassidy asked, looking puzzled. His voice was low and raspy, not like Easton's, and his clothes were different from what Easton wore today. Clearly, this guy wasn't Easton.
Cassidy let out a sigh of relief. Since he wasn't Easton, she could talk more freely.
Chatting with a stranger was actually pretty relaxing, and before they knew it, they were talking about college life.
Cassidy grinned as she brought up her college crush on a senior.
"A crush on a senior?" The guy's tone perked up, showing he was interested.
For Cassidy, that crush was ancient history, so she didn't mind sharing. She nodded. "Yeah, when you first feel those love butterflies and meet a cute guy, it's only natural to fall for him."
"Did you ever tell him?" His question came out a bit urgent, and if you listened closely, there was a hint of annoyance.
But the lively ball distracted Cassidy a bit, so she didn't catch the change in his tone right away. Still, his question pulled her back to those old memories. She waved her hand dismissively. "Of course not. He was so popular that even if I confessed, he wouldn't have cared. I heard lots of pretty girls confessed to him, but he turned them all down, even made some cry with his blunt rejections."
"Really?" The guy asked slowly, rubbing his glass.
Cassidy nodded, laughing as she remembered her lonely crush days. "I even did some silly stuff to get his attention back then."
"Really?" His voice got deeper, almost like a warning. "What did you do?" He sounded like a seasoned hunter, coaxing his prey to spill the beans.
Cassidy's mind drifted back to those days. It was her first crush, and even though he was kind of a jerk, she was determined to get noticed. She found out where he'd be, noted down events he might attend, and places he hung out, all to create a chance encounter.
She even had a notebook full of his likes and schedules. Once, she found out about his birthday and wanted to go to his party, but as a shy admirer, she could only sit outside the club with her carefully prepared gift, imagining giving it to him.
But while she was outside, some random guy tried to force her to leave with him. No matter how much she refused and explained, he wouldn't leave her alone. She screamed in fear, and just then, her crush came out. She gathered the courage to ask for help, and he didn't hesitate to save her.
Cassidy was overwhelmed with a mix of fear and relief. Seeing her crush right there, her heart raced, and she felt a wave of excitement wash over her. Her ears turned red with the sudden rush of emotions. She remembered the gift, but it had already fallen and shattered.
Her crush didn't know she was there to give him a gift and just saw her as a random girl, leaving before she could even thank him.
But Cassidy liked him even more after that. Even if he never noticed her, she kept watching him from the shadows.
Cassidy leaned on one hand, reminiscing about her brief encounters with her crush. She never had the guts to tell him how she felt, always just admiring him from afar.
Her marriage to Ashton, though not particularly long or short, had made her forget about that old crush. So now, she could share her past with a stranger, smiling.
"Didn't you ever think about confessing?" The guy pressed on, but he was struggling to keep his emotions in check. The idea of Cassidy once being head over heels for another guy, even hiding just to catch a glimpse of him, made him insanely jealous.
"Why confess?" Cassidy shook her head firmly. "I knew the gap between us. Even if he liked me back, we could never be together. We just weren't a match."
Cassidy summed up their non-existent future with a calm resignation.
"Do you still keep in touch with him?" He asked, almost gritting his teeth.
Cassidy noticed his change in tone but was too caught up in the conversation. She laughed, "You might not believe it, but he's now my stepson."
Cassidy thought she saw a flicker of hesitation in the guy's eyes after she said that. She smiled, thinking he was just surprised to find out she was married. She stood up to leave, but he grabbed her wrist. She looked back, confused.
The next second, he pulled her towards a secluded corner.
His grip was tight, and he moved quickly, making it hard for Cassidy to keep up. She almost twisted her ankle a few times trying to match his pace.
"Where are you taking me?" Cassidy asked, panicking. She had been too trusting, thinking the ball was just for students and that everyone there had good intentions.
He ignored her question and dragged her into an empty lounge.
The room was dark, making everything hard to see. Cassidy's anxiety spiked, and she struggled even more.
He pulled her into his arms, then quickly turned and pinned her against the wall. He yanked off his mask, and as Cassidy realized he was about to take off hers, she tried to stop him, but she was too slow.
The mask hit the floor, and before Cassidy could say anything, he pressed his lips to hers in a rough kiss.
As his breath got closer, Cassidy turned her face away, but he grabbed her, forcing her to endure his kiss.
He held her wrist with one hand, biting her lips, and groping her through her clothes, while his leg wedged between hers, making it impossible for her to fight back.
Cassidy never thought a simple chat would lead to this. She tried to bite his tongue, but he dodged every time.
While kissing her roughly, he also tried to pull off her clothes.
When his fingers touched her underwear, Cassidy finally managed to break free from his kiss and freed her hand. Without thinking, she slapped him hard across the face.
The slap echoed in the lounge, breaking the silence. As Cassidy pulled her hand back, she accidentally hit the light switch, and the room lit up, revealing the man's face.