"So… where was I?" Avery's voice rang out clear and confident. The guests, dressed in their finest attire, turned their attention to her, curiosity piqued.
Before she could continue, a soft, sweet voice chimed in from her left, dripping with amusement and a hint of mischief.
"Cassian being a dog," Miya said with a teasing smile, eyes sparkling as she looked directly at Cassian.
Cassian's head snapped toward the voice, confusion and slight irritation flickering across his face. His gaze landed on Miya, who was standing gracefully with the earlier man, calm and poised, as if she had been waiting for this exact moment for years.
Avery smiled warmly at Miya, the smile carrying an unspoken gratitude. "Thank you!" she said gently, before turning back to the crowd with renewed confidence. "Yes, he followed me like a dog in college, and for a while, I foolishly accepted it. But now, with all of you here as witnesses, I want to make one thing very clear: my standards are far from low enough to get engaged to a gold-digging dog.
Her words hit like a thunderclap. A wave of stunned silence rippled through the room. Eyes widened, jaws dropped, and whispers began to swell beneath the surface. Most guests froze, caught off guard by the boldness of Avery's declaration.
Only two faces betrayed no surprise: Elias and Declan. They exchanged a knowing glance filled with quiet pride, fully aware of the storm about to unfold.
Cassian, however, was visibly shaken. He stepped forward abruptly, trying to mask his panic with forced calm. "Avery!" His voice was low but urgent. He reached out to grab her hand, desperate to regain control of the situation.
But before he could say another word, Avery jerked her hand away with a flick of irritation. The crowd's attention sharpened, sensing the escalating drama.
"I don't think you're worthy of holding my hand," she said sharply, anger flashing in her eyes. And then, just as suddenly, her expression softened into a disarming smile — the kind that made people lean in closer, intrigued.
"So, ladies and gentlemen," she began, gesturing toward Miya with a theatrical flourish, "to prove beyond any doubt that the man standing before you is truly a gold-digging dog, I want to introduce you to my very dear friend, Miya."
The room buzzed with anticipation as Miya stepped forward gracefully, accepting Avery's outstretched hand. She took her place at the center of attention, ready to share her truth.
Avery's voice rang clear and steady. "For those who don't know, Cassian and I have known each other since college. Back then, he was always fawning over me, chasing after me like a puppy, because I was rich and could apparently make his pathetic little life worthwhile."
A few gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd, but Avery wasn't done yet.
"But that's not the end of the story," she continued, eyes narrowing with satisfaction. "Before he even set his sights on me, he was already conning Miya Rivera. He made her pay his rent, funded his expensive clothes, and fed his reckless lifestyle, all while pretending to be someone worth admiring."
A murmur of shock spread through the crowd, growing louder as Cassian's friends exchanged uncomfortable glances.
Avery nodded at Miya. "If you don't believe me, Miya is here to tell her story herself."
The room fell into eager silence as all eyes turned to Miya. She gave Cassian a smirk that oozed both triumph and disdain, then began her revelation.
"Oh, I don't have much to say about this con artist," she said coolly, voice steady and cutting. "He's not worth the breath it takes to talk about him. But ladies," she added, casting a sly glance around the room, "I have to admit, compared to the size of his downstairs,his ambitions....., they're as vast as the universe."
The room exploded into laughter, some guests covering their mouths in shock, others openly mocking Cassian. He shrank back, his face paling, feeling like the walls were closing in. Desperately, he looked toward Laila for some kind of rescue — but she took a deliberate step back, avoiding his gaze entirely.
Cassian's eyes locked on Avery,he decided to dio what he was the best at ,playing victim to make Avery take his every word as the ultimate truth .
He moved forward his eyes shimmering with unshed tears and the unmistakable look of a man who felt utterly defeated. "Avery, baby, I'm sorry. I never told you about Miya because I didn't want to hurt you," he pleaded, voice cracking with false sincerity. "If that's what's upsetting you, I'm sorry."
He took a shaky breath before continuing, voice growing more desperate. "But Avery, Miya is lying. She came to me first — you know me, I would never take advantage of you."
Turning sharply to Miya, he spat with contempt, "She's just jealous that I chose you over her. Baby, trust me — she's lying. I admit, before I met you, I was with her, but she was controlling. I had to ask her permission for everything I did. She…"
"Shut up, Cassian!" Avery snapped, cutting him off sharply. Her voice rang with fiery authority, silencing the murmurs instantly. "Do you think I'm a fool? That I'll fall for your pathetic 'poor lover' act every time? That I'll keep buying your lies?"
Cassian's desperate gaze shifted from Avery to Miya and back again, his voice trembling with frustration. "Avery, you're wrong. She's lying! She's just trying to break us apart. If you want proof, ask her—ask her if she has any evidence."
The crowd's whispers swelled like a rising tide, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Everyone's eyes locked on Miya, waiting for her to respond.
But before anyone could say a word, a sudden, unexpected sound cut through the silence — a voice recording playing from behind Cassian. The unmistakable, shaky, regretful tone of his own voice filled the room.
"Please, sir, please give me one more chance! I admit it—I was trying to take advantage of Miya, trying to get her money. But I am just a poor teenager , desperate and foolish. I've learned my lesson! I swear I'll never do anything like this again."
The room froze. Eyes flicked between Cassian and the speaker, disbelief etched on every face. The recording was unmistakably his—his own words used against him.
Avery stepped forward, holding the small voice recorder in her hand like a trophy. Her smile was cold, victorious.
"That," she said with a clear, ringing voice, "is the voice recording I got from the police. The same police who arrested you when Miya's father finally had enough and pressed charges."
The shock was palpable. Cassian's face drained of color, his carefully built fortress of lies crumbling into dust before everyone's eyes.
She raised an eyebrow, voice dripping with disdain. "Any more lies you want to share with us, Mr. Cassian? We're all ears."
Cassian looked like a man drowning in a sea of his own failures, panic rising as the truth devoured his last defenses. The countless hours he'd spent scheming, manipulating, pretending—it was all unraveling.
He swallowed hard, clutching at his final, desperate weapon. "Avery, baby, I'm really sorry! I've changed, I swear. You can't leave me like this—we love each other."
But Avery's eyes glinted with cold steel, her voice unwavering and strong. "I don't love you, Cassian."
Those words struck like a blow, shattering the last shred of hope in his eyes. His shoulders slumped as if she'd physically pushed him away.
"Avery, I know you're lying. You love me..." he pleaded, voice breaking.
His words were abruptly cut off by a low, commanding voice from behind, as smooth and sharp as a dagger.
"She doesn't love you, Cassian. She loves me."
The room collectively turned toward the source of the voice. There, standing confidently with a calm, dangerous smile, was Silas Blackwood.
Avery's breath hitched at the sight of him.
Even now, years later, Silas had that effect on her — a pull that tugged fiercely at the corners of her heart she thought had long been sealed shut. She had told herself that choosing Cassian would bury those feelings forever, that she could move on. But the moment Silas appeared, all the carefully buried emotions came rushing back like a tidal wave, threatening to drown her in memories.
Before Avery could gather her scattered thoughts, Silas was by her side in an instant. His presence was magnetic, overwhelming.
His hand curved possessively around her petite waist, steady and firm, anchoring her to the present. His body leaned toward hers, their faces mere inches apart. The room seemed to fade away, leaving only the charged space between them.
Avery inhaled sharply, caught in the intoxicating scent of him—a rich blend of cedarwood, fresh rain, and something unmistakably his own. It filled her senses, making her head spin.
She struggled to pull herself back to reality, to remember why she was here, to remember Cassian's betrayal and lies.
But Silas leaned even closer, his lips hovering tantalizingly near hers, warm and inviting. The heat from his breath sent shivers down her spine.