Page 14 of Vows of Deceit
But didn’t type.
That evening, Damien arrived home to find Cassie curled on the couch, a book in her lap, jazz playing low in the background. The fire crackled. The lights were dimmed. And everything smelled faintly of vanilla and something warmer, comfort, maybe.
She looked up with a smile. “Dinner’s almost ready. I made mushroom risotto.”
He paused in the doorway, uncertain.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
He nodded slowly. “I’m just… surprised. You’ve been incredible lately, Cass.”
She stood and walked to him. “I want us to be happy again.”
He kissed her forehead, his guilt bubbling and she held him like she didn’t know. Like she hadn’t watched every lie unravel in slow motion but beneath the calm surface, Cassie was a storm biding its time.
Chapter Ten
Her New Vow
Cassie stood in front of the mirror in her dressing room, the silk slip she wore clinging to her frame as early morning light filtered through the sheer curtains. Her eyes were steady, her face unreadable, her reflection not quite familiar.
She hadn’t cried. Not once. Not since the video. Not since watching her husband with her sister, their bodies intertwined in betrayal, the truth laid bare in a recording that felt more like a scar than a memory.
But as she held her gaze in the mirror now, she whispered to her reflection, “I will not cry for them.”
It wasn’t a plea.
It was a vow.
The vow renewal had been Damien’s idea, months ago. A grand celebration to mark their second anniversary. A public display of devotion for the man who couldn’t keep his promises in private.
She hadn’t agreed to it then but now, it was perfect.
Collin Media.
Grayson.
She would need him. Not just for his connections, but for the quiet way he looked at her like she wasn’t broken, but blazing.
Later that day, she met with Jared, her family’s PR strategist, at The Kings Hotel’s rooftop lounge. The sun cast long golden rays over Manhattan as Jared flipped through the mock-ups.
“Legacy Celebration,” he read off the proposed headline. “Are we sure we want to spin it as a vow renewal? It’s been done.”
Cassie smiled. “Not like this.”
Jared blinked. “What are you going for, exactly?”
“Something that rewrites the narrative.”
He narrowed his eyes, studying her. “This about Kelly?”
Cassie didn’t answer.
But her silence was enough.
That evening, she and Damien attended a gallery opening for a mutual friend. Cassie wore a black velvet gown that skimmed her shoulders and dipped low in the back. Damien stayed close to her side, his arm around her waist, his voice low and sweet in her ear.
“You’ve been incredible lately,” he murmured. “It’s like we’re back to who we were.”
