OUR DIRTY STEP-SECRET

CRACKING THE FOUNDATION

Cassie’s pov

The second Richard stood up from the head of the table to look for a bottle opener in the den, Cassie bolted."I'll handle the dishes, Mom," she said, her voice a little too high, a little too fast.She didn't wait for a response or give anyone at the table a chance to look her in the eye. Her chest was so tight she could barely draw a full breath. She snatched up two greasy plates, a handful of silverware, and practically ran into the kitchen, her sneakers skidding slightly on the polished floor. The swinging wooden door shut behind her, cutting off the sound of her mother’s cheerful voice, but the sudden silence did nothing to quiet the frantic racing of her heart.The kitchen was bright, sterile, and mercifully empty. Cassie set the dishes down into the porcelain sink with a loud, clattering crash that made her ears ring.Her hands were shaking so violently she could barely grip the smooth metal handle of the faucet. She turned the tap on full blast, letting the water run until it turned scalding hot, steam quickly rising up to fog the glass window above the sink. She shoved her hands directly under the burning stream, desperate for any sharp physical sensation that could anchor her back to reality.Her mind was a complete, chaotic blur. Under the table, his heavy leather boot had felt like a brand against her skin—a hot, relentless reminder that no matter how many schedules she drew up, Jace Montgomery owned her body. She had spent her entire life staying in control, calculating her moves, and keeping her emotions in neat, tidy boxes. In less than twenty-four hours, Jace had ripped the lid off every single one of them."Need some help?"Cassie gasped, jerking her hands out of the water and spinning around so fast her shoe squeaked loudly on the tile.Jace was standing in the center of the kitchen. He was holding the large, empty porcelain platter that had held the prime rib. His nonchalant, bored expression was completely intact as he set the platter down on the island. He didn't look flustered. He didn't look guilty. He didn't look like a guy who had just been playing dirty mind games under a dinner table right in front of his own father."Get out," Cassie whispered, her chest heaving as she backed up against the edge of the sink, the hot water still rushing loudly behind her. "I told you we are done, Jace. I mean it. Get out of the kitchen."Jace didn't answer right away. Instead, he walked past the island, his movements slow, heavy, and deliberate. He reached out and grabbed the edge of the heavy wooden kitchen door, pulling it shut until the latch clicked firmly into place.The room suddenly felt half its size, the air growing thick with the scent of roasted rosemary and the sudden, suffocating weight of his presence."Kicking me under the table was a pretty bold move, Cassie," Jace murmured, turning around to face her. His voice dropped into that low, dangerous register, his gray eyes narrowing as he walked toward her. The casual, lazy mask was slipping with every step he took. "Especially for a girl who’s so terrified of getting caught by her mother.""You provoked me!" Cassie shot back, her stubbornness flaring hot in her throat to hide the absolute panic rolling through her veins. "You were touching me right in front of them! You're sick, Jace. You’re completely reckless, and you're going to ruin their marriage before it even starts.""I was testing you," he said, stopping less than six inches away from her. The familiar, frustrating scent of mint and soap crowded her senses, making her head spin all over again. He leaned forward, planting his large hands on the granite counter on either side of her hips, effectively trapping her against the rushing water behind her. "And you cracked. You always crack when I get close.""I didn't crack," she breathed, her chin tilting up defensively, refusing to back down even though her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. "I defended myself from an annoying, spoiled brat who doesn't know how to keep his hands to himself."Jace’s eyes darkened, a heavy, intense focus fixing entirely on her lips. "Is that what I am to you? Annoying?"Before she could answer, he closed the remaining distance. His hand moved fast, his fingers wrapping firmly around the back of her neck, his thumb tilting her jaw upward as he leaned in to kiss her. It wasn't a question; it was a demand, his mouth hot and heavy against hers, trying to pull her back into the same consuming, breathless haze from the hotel room.For a second, her brain melted. Her hands instinctively reached up to grip his forearms, her body wanting to cave into his warmth. But the sheer terror of hearing her mother’s footsteps in the hallway or Richard’s deep voice calling out gave Cassie a sudden, violent surge of strength. She slammed her hands against his chest, pushing him back with everything she had.Jace stumbled back half a step, his breathing rough, his gray eyes flashing with a sudden, angry confusion. He looked at her like he couldn't understand why she was fighting him when her body had been entirely compliant just seconds ago."Stop it!" Cassie cried, her voice cracking as the emotional dam inside her finally broke. The tears she had been fighting since morning threatened to spill over, her face flushing hot with a mixture of anger, guilt, and raw, deeply buried insecurity. "Just stop it, Jace! I don’t... I don’t even know who you are. I don’t know how many girls you’ve kissed before me, or how many rooms you’ve rented downtown just to do this exact same thing."Jace froze, his body going completely rigid, his hands dropping to his sides."You act like nothing matters," Cassie continued, the words pouring out of her before her logic could stop them. She looked down, unable to hold his stare as her voice trembled, revealing the ugly, painful truth she had been hiding behind her anger. "You act like this is just a game to pass the time because you're bored. I’m just... I’m probably just some convenient body to you. Someone you’re using to quench your s****l thirst because we’re trapped in the same house and it’s a thrill. That's all this is to you, isn't it? Just an easy hookup."The silence that followed was suffocating. The only sound in the kitchen was the steady, loud rush of the running faucet behind her.Cassie slowly looked up, her heart catching in her throat.Jace’s face had gone completely pale, his jaw clenching so hard a violent muscle ticked beneath his skin. The intense, hungry look in his gray eyes was entirely gone, replaced by a cold, freezing anger that made him look like a total stranger. He stared at her like she had just slapped him across the face, his eyes drilling into hers with a profound, quiet hurt that she hadn't expected."A convenient body," Jace repeated, his voice dangerously quiet, completely stripped of its usual lazy drawl. It sounded hollow. Real."Jace, I—""If that's what you think of me," he interrupted, his voice cutting through her words like broken glass, "then you really don't know a damn thing about me, Cassie."He didn't give her a chance to explain. He didn't yell, he didn't argue, and he didn't offer a single sarcastic comeback. He just jammed his hands deep into his pockets, turned on his heel, and walked straight out of the kitchen, slamming the swinging wooden door behind him.The door rattled violently on its hinges, swinging back and forth before finally settling into a quiet rhythm.Cassie stood completely frozen against the counter, the hot steam from the sink dampening the back of her shirt. Her chest felt completely hollow, a heavy, sickening weight dropping into the absolute pit of her stomach. She looked down at her hands, which were still trembling, the burning water still splashing over her wrists unnoticed.He had looked so angry. But beneath the anger, she had seen something else—something that looked entirely like betrayal.She reached over with a numb hand and shut the faucet off. The sudden silence in the kitchen was deafening, heavier than it had ever been before. She had spent days telling herself that she wanted him to stop, that she wanted him to back off and leave her alone. But as she stared at the empty space by the island where he had just been standing, a terrifying question kept looping through her mind, making her throat tighten with sudden, agonizing regret.Did I just say something completely wrong?She rubbed her face with her hands, trying to wipe away the heat from her cheeks, trying to force herself to breathe. She couldn't unravel now. She had to clean this kitchen. She had to go back out there and look her mother and Richard in the eye like everything was perfectly fine.Before she could even pick up a sponge, the swinging door creaked open again.Cassie’s heart leaped into her throat, thinking Jace had turned around, thinking he had come back to finish the argument. She spun around, an apology already forming on her lips—but the words died instantly in her throat.It wasn't Jace.Standing in the doorway, holding a stack of dirty cloth napkins, was her mother. Susan stepped into the kitchen, her eyes immediately zeroing in on Cassie’s flushed face, her wide, panicked eyes, and the way her shoulders were visibly shaking. Susan’s brows furrowed in immediate maternal suspicion."Cassie?" her mother asked slowly, looking around the bright room. "Where did Jace just go? He nearly took the door off its hinges on his way out to the hallway."Panic, cold and sharp, cut through the hollow ache in Cassie’s stomach. Her survival instincts kicked into overdrive. She couldn't let her mother see how hard her hands were shaking, and she definitely couldn't let her see her tear-stained cheeks."We... we just had a disagreement, Mom," Cassie lied, her voice thick as she quickly turned her back to her mother. She grabbed a dish towel and began aggressively wiping down the already clean granite counter, using the physical movement to hide the tremor in her shoulders."A disagreement?" Susan walked closer, her tone laced with that specific, heavy worry. "Honey, you look like you're about to cry. Did he say something to you? If Jace is being hostile because we're moving in—""No! No, it's not that," Cassie interrupted quickly, her mind racing to construct a plausible wall of lies. She took a deep, shaky breath, forcing her voice to level out into something resembling normal. "It's just the lingering stress of the move. I was criticizing him for leaving the dinner table so abruptly earlier, and he got defensive. He told me to mind my own business and stop trying to control everything. It just... frustrated me. That's all."Susan sighed, the tense lines around her eyes relaxing slightly as she accepted the cover-up. She reached out, placing a warm, comforting hand on Cassie's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze."Oh, sweetie. I know you're just trying to make sure everything goes perfectly. You've been working yourself to the bone trying to coordinate this whole transition. But you have to give him some time. Jace has always been a bit solitary, and Richard says he handles change poorly. Just try to keep the peace, okay? For me?""I know, Mom," Cassie whispered, the word peace tasting like ash in her mouth. "I'll try.""Good girl. Leave the rest of the dishes, Richard wants to show us the plans for the backyard patio in the den.""I'll be there in a minute," Cassie murmured. "I just want to finish wiping down the island."Once her mother walked out, Cassie slumped against the counter. She didn't go to the den. Instead, she slipped out the back door of the kitchen, taking the servant stairs up to her bedroom to avoid running into Richard or, worse, Jace.She spent the next few hours staring at her ceiling, her phone completely silent on her nightstand. No texts came through. The quiet was louder than any of their arguments.By the next morning, the reality of what she had said hit her full force.When Cassie walked down into the bright, sunny breakfast nook at 8:00 AM, the atmosphere in the house had completely shifted. Richard was sitting at the head of the table reading a tablet, and Susan was happily flipping pancakes at the stove. Jace was already there, sitting in his usual chair, dressed in a plain white t-shirt.Cassie hesitated at the threshold, her stomach twisting into a tight knot. She forced her feet to move, walking over to the table and pulling out the chair directly across from him."Good morning," she said softly, her voice tentative.Richard looked up and smiled. "Morning, Cassie. Sleep well?""Yes, thank you."She didn't look at Richard, though. Her eyes drifted across the table, locking onto Jace. She expected the smirk. She expected the mocking gray eyes, or the lazy drawl, or even another dangerous nudge of his foot under the table. She was prepared to handle his anger.But Jace didn't even look up.He didn't acknowledge her voice. He didn't shift his feet. He just kept his eyes entirely focused on his plate, cutting his food with a cold, mechanical precision. When Susan set a plate of fresh pancakes in front of Cassie, Jace casually reached for the orange juice pitcher. His hand moved smoothly, his fingers completely avoiding Cassie's side of the table.It wasn't the lazy indifference he usually used to annoy her. This was different. This was a solid, freezing wall. He was treating her like she was completely invisible. Like she was air."Jace, can you pass the maple syrup to Cassie?" Susan asked, turning around from the stove with a smile.Jace didn't hesitate. He picked up the glass bottle of syrup, set it down on the exact midway point of the table, and slid his hand back. He didn't look at her. He didn't say a word."Thanks," Cassie whispered, her throat tightening.Jace remained completely silent, finishing his breakfast in less than five minutes. The second he was done, he stood up, placed his empty plate in the sink, and walked straight out of the room without looking back once.The silence he left behind felt heavier than the storm from the week before. Cassie stared at the bottle of syrup on the table, a toxic wave of anxiety and unexpected, painful regret washing over her.She had spent days telling herself that she wanted him to stop, that she wanted him to leave her alone and treat her like a stranger. But now that he was actually doing it—now that he was looking right through her as if she didn't exist—Cassie realized she couldn't stand the cold.