Chapter 190
"As Laura Miller climbed the stairs, tears of frustration spilled over. Thankfully, Cassie was right there to steady her.
""Laura, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said those things.""
""The things you said... they’ve been on my mind too,"" Laura said, wiping her tears harshly. ""You've only seen Isla a couple of times and already sensed something off. But I’ve been running into her so often it’s almost as much as my dates with Ben.""
Cassie was shocked; she had been studying abroad and wasn't entirely caught up on her friend's dating life.
Laura managed a bitter smile. ""Almost every time Ben and I plan a date, Isla tags along seven out of ten times. Even for movie nights, she's there. And on the rare occasions it's just the two of us, Isla's calls have a way of cutting it short.""
""Why didn’t you tell me sooner?"" Cassie said, her voice full of concern and anger. ""Had I known, I wouldn't have been so diplomatic. I would've given him a piece of my mind.""
""I didn’t want you fighting with Ben over me,"" Laura said gloomily. ""I really like him. I chased him for a long time. I even told my family about him, planning to bring him home for Thanksgiving with the intention of getting married.""
""I think you need to think this through. Can you rely on a man who's always looking after someone else? That Isla's trouble, you can tell. You need to make Ben understand who's more important: his girlfriend or Isla.""
Fuming, Cassie added, ""If he always sides with Isla, even if you somehow end up married, it'd probably lead to a divorce.""
Laura was taken aback, and it took her a moment to nod slowly in agreement.
""Stop overthinking it now. We'll have a couple more drinks to shake off the mood, then I'll get you home,"" Cassie said, pulling her toward the private party room.
They opened the door to a lively room holding about a dozen people, both men and women.
She only recognized a few - Noah Collins, Sam, and sitting in the corner... Joseph.
The heater was on, and Joseph was in a crisp white shirt, holding a glass in his left hand – his mature elegance was impossible to ignore.
He always stood out; even in a crowd, he shone the brightest.
But even with her entrance, he didn't spare her a glance.
Cassie felt awkward, suddenly regretting her own arrival.
""Ha! The belles of the ball have arrived,"" Noah greeted them warmly. ""Come on, take a seat by Joseph.""
Pausing briefly, she leaned in closer to Cassie’s ear and whispered, “Joseph’s been in a sour mood these past few days. Go cheer him up, will ya?”
Cassie was silent. Her mood was even fouler; why should she be the one to mollify him? She certainly couldn’t bring herself to approach him with a thick skin when he’d been acting like he didn’t even know her.
As Cassie hesitated, Sam waved from across the room and called out, “Cassie, come over here, take a seat!”
The commotion turned heads, yet Joseph kept chatting with someone beside him, as if uninvolved.
With resolve steeling her heart, she grabbed Laura Miller and made her way towards Sam.
“Cassie, let me buy you a drink. I’ve been wanting to apologize,” Sam said earnestly. “I misunderstood you last time, almost got you into legal trouble. I lost the case, but at least we figured out who set me up.”
“I told you, I had my part in it too,” Cassie replied, knowing Sam’s nature—quick to hate wrongdoings but not ill-intentioned.
“Let’s call it even then.”
They took a drink together, and Sam started talking about some follow-up matters related to the hotel.
Joseph, seated at a distance, watched them laughing and chatting, feeling a surge of anger compressing his chest."
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