Chapter 23
Kristen's POV:
I was deep in a dream when a piercing scream jolted me awake.
"Kristen! Get up, look at this!" Lily's voice was urgent, filled with a tension I'd never heard before. Groggily, I sat up, my head still foggy from sleep. Before I could fully awaken, Lily was in front of me, brandishing her phone, her face a mask of anxiety.
"What's going on?" I rubbed my eyes, trying to gauge her expression, but her sheer agitation made me uneasy.
"Just look!" She slid her finger rapidly across the phone screen and then thrust it at me. My eyes focused on the screen, and my heart seemed to clench as if gripped by an invisible hand—there it was, a headline about Cassius and me.
The headline screamed: [Mystery Companion Revealed? Trouble in Paradise for Cassius and Saia?]
The bo
