Chapter 58

Everything stopped.

Sienna stared at him like the words didn't make sense—like the letters had come out in the wrong order. The air around them felt thick, distorted, like it had been sucked out of the room. There was no more couch. No walls. Just the echo of what he'd said.

She blinked. Once. Twice.

"What did you just say?" Her voice came out low, barely audible.

Cassian opened his

"She said… she said I'm the father."

Sienna stared at him, her breath caught mid-throat. "What?"

He swallowed. "Nichole said she's pregnant. And she says… I'm the father."

Sienna blinked again, her heart thudding louder. "What did you say to her?" mouth, hesitated.

"I said…" He coughed as if he had something in his mouth. His skin, paler than she'd ever seen. "I asked her for proof. A DNA test."

Sienna blinked slowly. Then her head tilted just slightly, like she needed to confirm she'd actually heard it.

"Wait. What?"

Cassian opened his mouth again. "I told her I need a DNA test."

She recoiled. "You told her that?"

The words hit hard. He might as well have slapped her.

Sienna stepped back slowly, breath catching like she'd been punched in the ribs. She lowered herself onto the armrest, her knees suddenly weak.

A hand reached out for her. She flinched.

"Don't touch me."

Cassian froze. "Sienna—"

"What the fuck do you mean 'you need a DNA test?'" she asked, voice shaking. "Why the fuck is that your response?"

His lips parted, but he looked cornered now, like he'd said something too fast, too carelessly, and couldn't take it back.

"I didn't mean it like—"

"No," she snapped. "Why the fuck do you need DNA."

He ran a hand through his hair, pacing. "I just… I need to know if it's true. If the baby is mine. She's saying it is, and I—"

"You didn't even say it wasn't," she whispered, then laughed—a sharp, bitter sound. "You should have said, No fucking way, you ugly ass bitch.' But nooooo.."

She looked at him smiling with her hands up. "You just went straight to swabs and lab tests."

Cassian moved toward her again, voice gentler. "I panicked, Sienna. I—"

She stood abruptly, backing away. "Don't. Don't give me that 'I panicked' line. You didn't panic, Cassian. You processed. You calculated. You decided."

He reached for her again, but she was already walking to the other side of the room.

"I need air," she muttered.

"Sienna, please—"

She turned, and her eyes were glassy now. "Why do you need a DNA?"

His face crumpled at that. "I—"

Silence.

A pause that stretched too long.

Her hands trembled. His did too.

Everything felt like it was falling apart in the most ordinary setting—their cozy apartment, the same couch they made dinner on, the same living room that had once felt like home.

Now it felt like a stranger's place.

She turned toward the door, unsure of where to go, only knowing she couldn't breathe here anymore.

But before she could walk away, Cassian's voice broke through the silence.

"Remember when I went home last time? When you didn't come with me?"

Sienna turned slowly, crying now. "I didn't come because you didn't ask me to. And don't you fucking turn this around."

Cassian's hands gripped his hair as he stepped forward, visibly unraveling. "No.... No....I didn't ask you to come because I thought we needed space—because I thought you needed space. I just thought space would make you realize you needed me. Not because I had any plan to be with someone else."

She laughed then. Dry. Bitter. "Oh god. Is that what you planned? Telling me you liked me and then going home to fuck another girl?" she said, tears now rolling down her cheeks.

Cassian flinched like she'd slapped him. His eyes are watering now too. 

"No, no—I didn't," he stammered, his voice cracking under the weight of her accusation. He looked around like the walls were closing in on him, trying to grab onto something solid, anything to anchor him.

Sienna took another step back, eyes wide with disbelief.

Cassian moved forward quickly, hands holding hers. "I can't live without you Sienna. Please, Sienna. Please just let me explain."

She didn't respond, just stared, waiting for him to say something that might fix what felt like a sinking floor beneath her feet.

" Just—listen. That night… after I went home," he said, voice trembling now, "you remember? I called you around two a.m.?"

She didn't move.

"We were already drinking by then," he said, breathing hard. "But after that, we drank more. Everyone stayed. We were partying and I woke up the next morning in bed with her. Naked. I didn't know what happened. No one else saw. I slipped out before anyone knew I was there."

She let out a soft, bitter laugh that barely sounded human. "You really expect me to believe that? That you just woke up naked in her bed and 'don't remember'?"

He looked pained. "I'm not lying—" He paused as if finding words to tell her, make her believe. "I didn't know what happened. I don't remember it. And I couldn't believe it. I still can't. But now she's pregnant and saying it's mine and I—"

She shook her head, her voice a whisper now, flat and disbelieving. "You don't remember?"

"No."

"And you say that like it excuses anything?"

Cassian took another step, but she raised a hand. "You said the night we first slept together—that it was the best night of your life."

He nodded, eyes begging.

"Then how could you say that when apparently you spent a night with another woman before me?" she spat.

He opened his mouth but no words came.

"Was that a lie too?" she asked, voice cracking now, her chest rising and falling.

And Cassian… said nothing. Just stood there, broken, crying while she turned away again, her whole body trembling like she was about to fall apart.

He took a shaky step forward. "Sienna, please. Believe me. I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't want it. I didn't even know it did happen. You have to believe me."

But Sienna just snapped.

She lunged forward, fists pounding weakly against his chest, tears finally breaking loose as she cried out, "How could you do this to me? How could you say you love me and still ruin everything like this?"

Cassian didn't fight her off—he let her hit him, let her sob into the air between them. He tried to grab her arms to calm her, but she shoved him back.

"I fucking knew it," she said, voice breaking. "I knew you'd hurt me eventually. I knew you'd wreck me. But not like this. Not like making another woman pregnant."

"Sienna," Cassian choked, his voice raw, "please… please don't say that. I didn't want this. I didn't plan this. I swear to God, if I could undo it—"

"You can't!" she screamed, chest heaving. "You can't undo this. You can't make this un-happen. You can't take back a fucking baby, Cassian."

He was crying too, the sound of it guttural and cracked. "I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. I can't lose you. Please. Don't walk away. Don't let go."

But she was already stepping back, hands trembling, staring at him like she didn't recognize him at all.

The pain in the room was unreal. Not loud. Not dramatic. Just… thick. Sharp. Unbearable.

Sienna staggered backward, her breathing shallow, vision swimming as if the room itself had tilted sideways. She gripped the edge of the table behind her just to keep from collapsing.

Cassian tried to move toward her again, but the devastation in her eyes stopped him cold.

"You said you loved me," she gasped through her sobs. "You looked me in the eye and told me I was it for you. You made me believe you were different—safe. I didn't even want to fall in love, but I did. With you."

Cassian's face crumpled, tears running freely down his cheeks. "You are it for me. You still are—Sienna, please—"

She laughed again, broken and disbelieving. "God... How could you do this Cassian?!" Her voice broken as if all her anger disappeared and all that's left is acceptance

He dropped to his knees in front of her like begging might change something. "I didn't remember. I didn't even know. If I had, I would've told you. I swear—there hasn't been anyone else, not since you."

"You don't even know if there was someone else," she spat, stepping away from him again. "That's what kills me. You don't know—and now there's a child. A permanent consequence of your fucking carelessness."

"I didn't mean for it," he whispered. "I was drunk. I was stupid. But I never wanted to hurt you. Never this."

"But you did!" she shrieked. "You did hurt me, Cassian. More than anyone ever has."

He covered his face, sobbing now, desperate. "Please don't go. Don't leave me like this. I'll do anything—whatever you want. Just don't walk away. I can't—I can't lose you."

She stared down at him, heart in pieces, lungs refusing to work.

"You already did," she said softly.

Then her voice dropped even lower—dangerous in its calm.

"Get out of my house, Cassian."

He looked up at her, eyes swollen, mouth parted in disbelief. "Sienna—please…"

"Get. Out." Her voice didn't rise, but it cut through him all the same. "I can't even look at you right now."

Cassian stood slowly, shoulders shaking, but he didn't fight her anymore. The room was quiet except for both their shallow breathing and the ghost of everything they once were. He backed away, one step at a time, tears still falling, until he reached the door.

And with a final, broken look, he left.