NOAH
I didn't even realize I was crying.
It was like my body figured it out before my brain did like my chest collapsed inward and everything crumbled from there. The second that flashlight cut through the dark and landed on them…on him….my whole world cracked.
Leo.
On top of someone else moving like he didn't even care.
Like I wasn't there.
Like I never was.
His head was thrown back, mouth open in a silent moan, hair matted to his forehead with sweat. I think I stopped breathing.
He didn't stop.
He didn't flinch.
Didn't even see me.
Or worse… he did and just didn't care.
The room smelled like heat and sex and betrayal. My fingers were trembling, and something inside me was screaming to turn around, to leave, to run, but my feet were rooted to the ground like I needed proof of this nightmare to feel real.
I'd known something was wrong. I'm not that naive.
Leo had been slipping…disappearing for hours, brushing off my texts, coming home with the glassy eyes and twitchy smiles he swore he gave up. We'd had the talk. The no more drugs talk. He'd held my face and promised.
He promised.
My knees nearly buckled.
My throat tightened until it hurt.
And still… no one noticed.
Then…movement.
A shift in the corner of my eye.
I turned, flinching hard as my light caught something near the window.
Two figures. Sitting casually like they'd been watching the whole time.
One of them—the one with dark curls and too-sharp eyes—smirked. Milo. His eyes glinted like the entire scene amused him.
But it was the other that made my heart stop.
Cassian.
Slouched against the wall like a painting of detachment. One arm draped over the back of the seat, head slightly tilted, face resting on his fist. Eyes locked on mine like I was the punchline to his private joke. There was no sympathy. No apology. Just this… cold amusement. And something darker—disgust. Like he'd expected this from me. Like he wanted to see me fall apart.
And suddenly, I was pathetic, stupid, heartbroken , on display.
I shoved the door open, flashlight clattering to the floor, and ran.
Ran past the bedroom, past the music and the laughing strangers who didn't know that my world had just ended in that suffocating, blue-lit room.
The hallway was quieter. Darker.
But I could still hear the music thumping faintly beneath my feet, like my heartbeat was echoing back at me.
I was halfway down the stairs when I heard footsteps behind me.
Quick, unhurried.
Like they knew I couldn't outrun them.
"Running already?"
Cassian's voice.
I froze.
He caught up easily, stepping in front of me, blocking the stairwell. His smile was soft and mean…..like he enjoyed the wreckage he'd found.
I wanted to think he came to comfort me. Some part of me, still clinging to hope, thought maybe he'd offer a hand or a word. Something.
But Cassian… he didn't do hope.
"Aww," he said, voice low, teasing. "Poor baby saw his prince charming breaking in a new toy, huh?"
I swallowed, hard. "Move."
He didn't.
Instead, he leaned in, one hand resting on the banister beside me, boxing me in with the smell of cigarettes and sin. His lips hovered near my ear, and I hated how warm his breath was against my skin.
"You're even prettier when you cry," he murmured. "Bet Leo thinks so too."
I flinched again.
"Or maybe he's bored of you. Soft little thing like you… all that sweetness must rot after a while."
"Cassian, I swear to…"
"To what?" he cut in, raising a brow. "You gonna cry harder? Scream a little louder?"
He let out a low chuckle, leaning in closer.
"You look like you'd break if someone told you they didn't love you anymore. How cute."
My throat burned. My fists clenched at my sides. I tried to push past him, but he caught my wrist.
"I bet you beg, don't you?" he whispered, smile widening. "Bet you use that little voice, all soft and breathy. Please, Leo, don't leave me. Please, baby, don't cheat again. I'll be better, I promise."
"Shut up."
"You beg like a whore but cry like a virgin," he said, finally letting me go. "Tell me, Noah… do you moan his name when he hurts you too, or is that just for show?"
Something broke.
I shoved him hard, my whole body trembling. "Shut the fuck up!"
Cassian stumbled back a step, only to laugh—low and unbothered. Like none of this touched him.
Like I didn't touch him.
I turned away, tears streaming freely now, but before I could fully escape, I caught sight of something just over my shoulder.
Milo.
Standing in the doorway at the end of the hall.
He wasn't smiling anymore.
He stared at me—eyes narrowed, jaw clenched, mouth a straight line. Not pity. Not shock. Just… something cold. Like I had done something wrong. Like I was a homewrecker.
I didn't understand.
I didn't want to.
So I ran.
Down the stairs. Past the crowd. Past the front door and into the night.
The air hit me like a slap—cool and sharp against my wet cheeks. I didn't stop. Didn't look back.
I kept walking.
Out of the house.
Out of that night.
Out of whatever the hell that was supposed to be.
Because I knew if I stayed a second longer, I'd fall apart in front of them.
And I already gave them enough to laugh about.