Chapter 252
Sarah's POV
Then I heard it.
Her voice. Through the phone speaker. Crystal fucking clear.
"Cassian?"
My entire body went rigid. That soft, breathy tone—the one that used to make both brothers melt like butter on hot pavement. The one I'd tried to replicate a thousand times in front of the mirror, never quite hitting that perfect note of vulnerability mixed with strength.
But what made my stomach drop wasn't her voice.
It was the way Cassian's face transformed.
His ice-blue eyes—the ones that had been looking at me with barely contained disgust seconds ago—suddenly lit up like someone had flipped a switch inside him. His entire expression softened, the hard edges melting away as his lips curved into this small, genuine smile I hadn't seen in months.
"Elowen," he breathed, and the reverence in that single word made me want to vomit. "You're okay?"
No, Ivy whimpered. No no no no no—
"I'm fine," Elowen said, and I could hear something different in her voice. Something harder. Sharper. "I heard what your little home wrecker was saying. Thought I'd save Kade the trouble of having to deal with her screeching."
Home wrecker.
Home wrecker.
The words hit me like a physical blow, stealing the air from my lungs. My face flushed hot with rage and humiliation because—fuck—she wasn't wrong. Everyone knew it. The whole pack knew exactly how I'd gotten into Cassian and Casper's bed.
But hearing her say it out loud, with that calm, dismissive tone, made something inside me snap.
"You bitch—" I started, but Cassian cut me off with a single raised hand, his attention completely focused on the phone.
"How are the babies?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly on the last word. "Are you eating enough? Getting enough rest?"
I watched, horrified, as his eyes actually started to glisten. This cold, untouchable man who barely looked at me was on the verge of fucking tears just from hearing her voice.
"They're perfect," Elowen said, and I could hear the smile in her tone. But it wasn't the shy, uncertain smile I remembered. This was confident. Settled. "Kicking up a storm. Alaric says they're going to be little soccer players."
Alaric. One of those pretentious Alpha brothers. I felt bile rise in my throat.
Cassian let out this soft laugh—this genuine, warm sound I'd never heard directed at me. "That's... that's good. That's really good."
"Cassian," Elowen said, and her voice shifted again. Harder. "I need you to understand something."
"Anything," he said immediately. Desperately.
My nails dug deeper into my palms, drawing blood beneath the red polish.
"They're not yours," Elowen stated flatly. "These babies. They belong to me. Everything you and Casper had—it's hers. I don't want it. I don't need it."
The words hung in the air like a guillotine blade.
Cassian's face went deathly pale. "Elowen, please—"
"I mean it," she interrupted. "You made your choice. You both did. So stop calling. Stop checking on me. Stop pretending you give a fuck when we both know—"
I couldn't take it anymore.
White-hot rage consumed every rational thought as I lunged forward and ripped the phone from Cassian's hand. Before he could react, before I could think, I hurled it toward the ground with everything I had.
The phone hit the concrete with a satisfying crack, the screen shattering into a spider-web pattern. Pieces of glass scattered across the parking lot, glittering in the afternoon sun.
Silence.
Complete, deafening silence.
Then Cassian's voice, low and lethal: "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
I looked up at him, my chest heaving, suddenly aware of what I'd just done. But the rage was still there, burning hot and bright, drowning out any fear or regret.
"Oops," I said, my voice dripping with false sweetness. I examined my nails, picking at a chip in the polish. "Guess you'll need a new one. Good thing you have that gold card, right, baby?"
Cassian stared at me for a long moment, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping beneath his skin. Then, without a word, he turned and started walking toward the shopping mall entrance.
"Where are you going?" I called after him, my stilettos clicking against the pavement as I hurried to catch up.
"To buy a new phone," he said flatly, not looking back. "You can fuck off."
The casual dismissal stung worse than a slap. I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. "Why can't we go together? We could make it a—"
"I'm buying a phone, Sarah. Not spending quality time with you." He yanked his arm free. "Go home."
"But—"
"Go. Home."