He Broke My Heart, I’ll Break His

Chapter 2

Vespera felt ice-cold all over, while her chest burned with raging fury that swallowed her heart whole.

Her own family ignored her, the man she loved had broken up with her, and now even her best friend had stabbed her in the back!

Her voice shook as she spoke, "Genevieve..."

Genevieve didn't have a single flicker of guilt on her face. Instead, she stepped forward and took Vespera's hand affectionately, "Vesper, I'm so glad you're back."

Her smile looked perfectly genuine, but to Vespera, she might as well have been a venomous snake lying in wait.

Vespera yanked her hand away and asked in a voice so low only the two of them could hear, "Why? You know exactly how things were between him and me..."

"I did this all for you, you know," Genevieve cut her off, her smile widening instead of fading. "Vesper, I begged Mr. Thorne for ages before he agreed to let you come back. You should be thanking me."

Vespera could barely believe her ears. She automatically looked past Genevieve to Cassian.

Even sitting in a wheelchair, the innate, domineering aura that made him look down on everyone and everything around him hadn't dimmed in the slightest.

It was exactly the same as it had been two years ago, when they were together. Not a single thing had changed.

He had never actually cared about her at all, had he?

A dull, stinging ache swelled in Vespera's chest.

Just then, Cassian spoke, "The Kane family didn't leave you a key. You'll stay here with me until they get back."

Vespera turned him down without a second thought, "I won't trouble you, Uncle Cassian. I can just book a hotel..."

Cassian completely ignored her refusal and ordered the estate butler standing nearby directly, "Go get the suite in the east wing ready."

Genevieve wheeled him straight into the Thorne estate right after.

Vespera stayed rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

She couldn't even count how many times she'd been forced to go against her own wishes like this.

The Thorne family's head butler had watched Vespera grow up. He spoke to her gently, trying to persuade her, "Miss Vespera, you know what the master's temper is like. Please, come inside."

Of course Vespera knew.

The last person who had crossed Cassian Thorne had their entire family completely blacklisted from all elite circles in Capital City.

In the end, she had no choice but to follow them inside.

Inside the Thorne family estate.

The moment they spotted Cassian, all the distant relatives of the Thorne family who had been sitting on the terrace having tea shot to their feet immediately.

"Mr. Thorne."

"Lord Thorne."

Cassian didn't even glance their way. He was wheeled straight past them and into the private quarters of the main residence.

At the bedroom door, he dismissed Genevieve. "Vespera, come in with me."

Vespera caught the sharp, jealous glint in Genevieve's eyes, then stepped out the room without a word.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, the rich, woody scent of cedarwood wrapped around her completely.

Cassian tugged loose his silk tie and spoke in a calm, flat voice, "Thorne Enterprise's fashion design division is short-staffed right now. Report for work tomorrow."

The design division?

Vespera froze dead in her tracks, her thoughts rocketing straight back to two years ago.

Back then, she had just graduated from university, brimming with passion for couture and fashion design. She'd wanted to make a name for herself in the luxury industry, and prove to her family that she was just as accomplished as her older sister.

But before she could even get her dream off the ground, she'd been banished to Iceland.

No one in the Kane family cared about her, so, of course, no one knew what she loved doing.

She never would have guessed that Cassian still remembered.

For a moment, a mess of conflicting emotions churned in Vespera's chest, and all the feelings she had worked so hard to suppress came surging back to the surface.

But when her fingers brushed the cool agarwood beads wrapped around her wrist, all those swirling emotions died down as quickly as they'd flared up.

Vespera lifted her eyes to look at the impassive Cassian. All the things Genevieve had said earlier echoed in her head, and she couldn't hold back the question.

"Uncle Cassian, is it really true that Genevieve begged you to let me come back?"

Cassian unhurriedly undid his diamond-encrusted cufflinks, then lifted his gaze with that same cold, distant look on his face. "Does it make a difference?"

How could it not make a difference?

Her heart clenched hard in her chest, sharp and sudden, as the memory of Genevieve kissing him outside the car flashed through her mind.

The words slipped out before she could stop them. "So... are you two really..." together?

Before she could finish the question, Cassian tossed the bespoke cufflinks onto the marble table like they were nothing more than cheap trinkets.

Clink.

The crisp clatter cut through the quiet of the room, followed closely by his frigid voice. "What about me and her? Is there something wrong with that?"

Vespera's breath caught in her throat. Shock, hurt, bitter resentment... all of it roiled in her eyes as she stared right at him.

All the feelings she'd been forcing down crashed to the surface all at once, and the last frayed thread holding her composure together snapped entirely.

"Why? You can be with her out in the open for everyone to see, so why couldn't we?!"