Chapter 7: The Past Returns
1462 Words
Chapter 7: The Past Returns
Cassy stood at the kitchen counter in her cozy home, cutting vegetables for dinner while her thoughts raced. The confrontation with Isaiah had left her shaken in a way she hadn’t expected. She had done everything in her power to keep her past from intruding into her present, but now, with Isaiah’s sudden appearance and his furious demands, she felt as though the carefully built walls around her life were beginning to crack.
Isaiah Colewood wasn’t a man who accepted being kept in the dark. His anger was understandable—she had kept his sons a secret for seven years—but his desire to take control of the situation unnerved her. He had stormed into her world with the confidence of someone used to getting what they wanted, but Cassy wasn’t going to let him take charge. She had fought for years to build a life of her own, and she wouldn’t let anyone—not even Isaiah—upend it.
Her sons, Nathaniel and Nicholas, were the only thing that mattered now. She glanced toward the living room, where they were playing quietly, completely unaware of the storm brewing around them. They were her world. Everything she did was for them.
“Mama?” Nathaniel’s soft voice broke into her thoughts.
Cassy smiled and turned toward him. He stood in the doorway with his brother close behind, both of them eyeing the vegetables with clear skepticism. “What are you making?” he asked, his nose wrinkled as he eyed the cutting board.
“It’s dinner,” Cassy replied, her smile widening. “You’ll like it.”
Nicholas leaned in, peeking at the chopped veggies. “Does it have vegetables in it?”
“Yes,” she said, laughing at their identical looks of dismay. “You need them to grow strong.”
The boys groaned, but the warmth in her chest grew. These small moments of normalcy were what kept her grounded, even as the world outside threatened to crash down around her. No matter what happened, she had to protect them.
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Isaiah’s POV
Isaiah Colewood paced the length of his office, anger and confusion swirling inside him. Discovering he had twin sons had shaken him in ways he hadn’t anticipated. He’d spent years haunted by the memory of that night with Cassy, trying to piece together the fragments of his memory, but never had he imagined that it had resulted in this—two boys, his sons, growing up without him.
He couldn’t shake the fury that had gripped him when he first saw them. Nathaniel and Nicholas were his, and yet Cassy had kept them hidden, living her life without telling him. Every time he thought about it, the anger flared back up, even though a part of him understood why she had done it. She had her reasons—reasons she still refused to share.
But Isaiah wasn’t the kind of man to back down. He needed answers, and he needed to be involved in his sons’ lives. No matter how fiercely Cassy guarded them, he wouldn’t allow her to keep them from him.
Isaiah dropped into his chair, pulling up the report his investigator had compiled. There was so much he still didn’t know about Cassy’s past. Her marriage to Byron Lanchester had ended badly, but the details were murky, and Byron himself was known for his cruelty and manipulation. Isaiah had a bad feeling about Byron re-entering Cassy’s life, especially now that he knew the truth about the twins.
He clenched his fists at the thought of Byron. Cassy hadn’t left Byron—Byron had left her, casting her out after setting her up and framing her for infidelity. Isaiah had pieced that much together. Byron was a snake, and if he was still lingering in the shadows, Isaiah knew it could spell trouble for Cassy and the boys.
He picked up his phone and dialed his assistant. “Get me everything you can on Byron Lanchester. I don’t care how small the detail, I want to know everything.”
As soon as he hung up, Isaiah’s thoughts drifted back to Cassy. Despite the fury he felt over being kept in the dark, he couldn’t deny the attraction that still lingered between them. It was impossible to ignore, even as their argument had raged. But he couldn’t let those feelings cloud his judgment. His focus had to be on the twins and the threat Byron posed.
He wouldn’t let Byron destroy what was his. Not this time.
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Byron’s POV
Byron Lanchester sat in his sleek, modern office, his lips curling into a smirk as he leaned back in his chair. The news that Isaiah Colewood had reappeared in Cassy’s life had reached him, and it was all he needed to reignite the flames of his old grudge. Seven years had passed, but Byron hadn’t forgotten how Cassy had defied him. She had been nothing but a pawn to him, someone to manipulate and discard when he was done.
He had never imagined she would go on to build her own life, and he certainly hadn’t imagined Isaiah Colewood would become involved. The idea of Isaiah—the most powerful man in Riversedge—having a connection to Cassy made Byron’s blood boil. How had things slipped so far out of his control?
His current girlfriend, Talia, sauntered into the room, her sharp eyes catching the glint of anger in Byron’s expression. She was sleek and stylish, every bit the woman who matched Byron’s icy demeanor. “Bad news?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she approached him.
“Interesting news,” Byron corrected, his smirk widening. “Isaiah Colewood has a personal stake in Cassy’s life now.”
Talia crossed her arms, her smile cold. “And that bothers you?”
“Not at all,” Byron said smoothly, though his eyes gleamed with malice. “It just makes things more… complicated.”
He stood and walked to the window, staring out at the city below. “Isaiah thinks he can sweep in and claim what’s his, but he’s wrong. Cassy may think she’s escaped me, but she hasn’t. I’ll remind her exactly who’s in control.”
Talia chuckled softly. “And how do you plan to do that?”
Byron’s smile darkened. “Isaiah doesn’t know everything about Cassy’s past. And neither do her boys. But I do.”
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Cassy’s POV
Later that evening, after Nathaniel and Nicholas were asleep, Cassy sat at the kitchen table, her thoughts heavy with everything that had transpired over the past few days. Isaiah’s sudden presence in their lives had thrown everything into turmoil. She couldn’t deny that he had every right to know about his sons, but she wasn’t willing to let him—or anyone—take control of her life again.
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen. A message from Lorraine.
"Be careful. Byron’s back in Riversedge. I’ve heard whispers."
Cassy’s heart sank. She had feared this day would come. Byron had always been a looming shadow, and now, with Isaiah involved, things were even more precarious. She couldn’t let Byron manipulate her again. She couldn’t let him ruin the life she had worked so hard to rebuild.
She stared out the window into the darkness, her mind racing. She had fought too hard for too long to let her past destroy her future. But with Byron lurking in the shadows and Isaiah demanding his place in the boys’ lives, she wasn’t sure how long she could keep everything from falling apart.
One thing was certain—she couldn’t run anymore.
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Isaiah’s POV
Isaiah stood outside Cassy’s house, watching as the lights flickered inside. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and his mind was a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts. He was still furious, still confused, but there was something deeper—an intense need to be a part of Nathaniel and Nicholas’s lives. He wouldn’t let Cassy shut him out, no matter how much she tried to push him away.
But there was something else gnawing at him, something that unsettled him more than Cassy’s guarded attitude: Byron. If Byron was back, it meant trouble. And Isaiah wasn’t going to let that man come anywhere near his sons.
He turned away from the house, determination flooding through him. This wasn’t over. He wasn’t going to walk away from Cassy or the boys. He would find a way to protect them—all of them—from the ghosts of the past.
But first, he needed to face his own.
As Isaiah walked into the night, his resolve hardened. He wouldn’t let Byron win. Not this time. Not ever again.
- Writer
