Chapter 75 Suspicions About Owen
Easton thought to himself, 'You don't want to have my child? Then I'll make sure you do, no matter what it takes!'
Cassidy wasn't leaving that room until she was pregnant with his child. That was Easton's resolve.
"Chase, she ran away on purpose," Easton growled. "She used my plan against me because I wanted her to have my child! When I find her, I'll make sure she regret it."
Easton kicked the table hard, sending a bottle of whiskey crashing to the floor, shattering into pieces. Chase watched the shards scatter, unsure of what to say.
He knew the relationship between Cassidy and Easton was far from normal. He hoped Easton would move on from this unhealthy obsession.
But from the looks of it, Easton couldn't live without Cassidy. If they didn't find her soon, Easton might spiral into a deeper despair.
Chase thought, maybe Easton had forgotten his most important goal right now: securing the Cooper family's leadership.
After Cassidy had kicked Owen out, he was in a terrible state. He hadn't expected Cassidy to openly declare her relationship with Easton, using it to push him away.
Owen returned home dejectedly, finding Declan and Ryder in the living room.
Declan noticed Owen's disheveled appearance and was curious. "Owen, what's got you so down? Did you get your heart broken?"
The mention of heartbreak made Owen's face change instantly. He didn't want his brothers to know about his situation with Cassidy. But then he calmed down, remembering that no one in the Cooper family knew where Cassidy was. They all thought she was dead, except for him. He was the only one who knew she was hiding in a small town, running a little bar.
Owen shook his head. "No."
"No?" Declan's interest piqued. "So, you're not in love?"
"You're this upset, and it's not because of a fight with your girlfriend?" Declan teased. "You refused to marry Scarlett and insisted on breaking off the engagement. I thought it was because you found someone you truly loved."
The mention of the broken engagement brought back Cassidy's words from the night before. She had said he only liked her because he hadn't met many other girls. She believed that if he met more women, he'd realize she wasn't right for him.
But Owen had met plenty of girls. Many had confessed their feelings to him in school, but he liked none of them.
The girls his family arranged for him were all insufferable. Only Cassidy made him feel warm and happy, just by being near him.
He truly liked Cassidy, but she didn't feel the same. She didn't even want to stay in touch, angrily telling him she never wanted to see him again.
"Owen?" Declan called again, snapping Owen out of his thoughts.
Owen shook his head lightly. "No, I'm not in love."
Ryder couldn't help but snicker. "Before you say that, maybe wipe the lipstick off your mouth?"
Owen froze, realizing he hadn't noticed the lipstick marks from kissing Cassidy the night before. His face turned red with embarrassment, feeling caught in a lie and ashamed his brothers saw evidence of his intimacy with a girl.
Declan chuckled. "And there's lipstick on your shirt too."
Owen looked down, seeing the obvious lipstick stains on his clothes, likely from Cassidy brushing against him.
Ryder mocked, "And your neck! Those hickeys are pretty obvious. Who's going to believe you did nothing last night?"
Hickeys? Owen was confused. How did he get hickeys? Cassidy hadn't bitten him. Then he remembered Cassidy pushing him away forcefully, her nails might have scratched his neck.
"It's from being grabbed, not hickeys," Owen mumbled an excuse, then retreated to his room, lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling utterly desolate.
Meanwhile, Easton, having learned Cassidy was still alive, was determined to find her by any means necessary.
Chase mentioned Cassidy had been seen in a village, so Easton sent him to investigate. Easton himself worked on recovering deleted surveillance footage.
The tech team did a great job, restoring the footage. Easton watched intently, trying to understand how Cassidy had escaped.
The footage showed Cassidy following the driver's directions, but soon a street fight broke out, and amidst the chaos, another car pulled Cassidy inside.
Easton replayed the footage slowly, finally catching the license plate number. After some investigation, he discovered the car belonged to Owen.
Could Owen have helped Cassidy escape?
Thinking back to the day Cassidy disappeared, Owen's behavior had been off, but Easton was too distraught to notice.
When had they become so close? Had his warnings to Owen been ignored? Did Cassidy not realize Owen had feelings for her? Or did she feel the same for Owen, leading her to tell Owen everything?
Easton's emotions were boiling over. Anger and jealousy consumed him, burning his heart. He couldn't hold back any longer and stormed home, filled with rage.
Ryder saw Easton return, seething with anger. "Not drowning your sorrows at the bar today?" he taunted.
Since Cassidy's supposed death, Easton had been drinking heavily. Today was the first time he came home.
Ignoring Ryder, Easton headed straight to Owen's room, bursting in and startling Owen.
Before Owen could react, Easton grabbed him by the shirt. "Owen, tell me where Cassidy is! Now!"