7
I hadn’t replied to a single one.
Just as I picked up the phone, it rang again. It was her. I didn’t want to answer, but my thumb pressed the green button out of pure habil.
Cassandra’s frantic voice immediately filled my ear. “Daniel, where the hell are you? Why haven’t you answered my calls or texts all night? And who was that woman who picked you up yesterday? You’ve never told me about her! What is she to you?”
“Daniel, say something! Answer me!”
I have to admit, hearing the pure, unadulterated panic in her voice was surprisingly satisfying. For years, I had been the one driven to madness by her toxic entanglement with Scott.
Now, she was finally getting a t
a taste of her own medicine.
“Who she is,” I said coolly, “is none of your business. In case you’ve forgotten, Cassandra, we are divorced. Even if I found a new woman, it would be perfectly reasonable.”
“Or are you allowed to have your messy relationship with Scott, while I’m not allowed to move on?”
Cassandra didn’t know Anna. After I defied the professor’s wishes to marry her, I had subconsciously everything related to my old life. Anna was my professor’s daughter, my respected senior. She had been in the middle of a critical cut ties with everyone and experiment when Cassandra and I got married, so she had only sent a gift and hadn’t attended the wedding.
the would be the reason for Cassandra’s meltdown.
I never imagined that today, she
There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then, her voice came back, thick with tears. “Daniel, don’t scare me like this. There‘ s nothing going on between me and Scott. He’s like a little brother to me. That’s all.”
I shot back without hesitation. “And there’s nothing going on between us either. She’s like a big sister to me. We’re just like you and
him.”
Cassandra sounded like she was about to lose her mind. I could hear her ragged breathing, the sound of her holding back a sob.
And then, I hung up.
It was a new day, and I was in a wonderful mood.
I never expected that my words, meant only to annoy her, would be taken as gospel truth.
In the following days, with the professor’s help, I returned to the research institute. To get back into the swing of things, I threw myself into my work, practically living in the lab and cutting off almost all contact with the outside world. I even turned off my pho- de. Anna was there with me every step of the way, guiding me through refresher training and answering any questions I had.
I had no idea that Cassandra, having lost all contact with me, was going mad. She had someone investigate Anna and had started
staking out the institute.
One evening, after I’d been working for over ten hours straight, Anna finally dragged me out of the lab. Even as we left, my mind was still on the project I’d been working on.
Anna looked at me with a helpless sigh. “Daniel, I know you’re eager to catch up, but your health is important too. If you keep this up, working for over ten hours without eating or drinking, you’re going to collapse long before you make any breakthroughs.”
I just nodded vaguely, my eyes unfocused, clearly not paying attention.
Neither of us noticed Cassandra standing a short distance away, her eyes red with fury.
She lunged at us, her nails raking across Anna’s face. A red line instantly appeared on Anna’s cheek, welling with blood.
Cassandra looked at myjexhausted, dazed state and then stepped in front of me protectively, her voice trembling with misplaced heroism.
“Daniel, don’t be scared! I’m here now! I’ll protect you!”
