Chapter 484

She trailed behind him as Sebastian slammed the office door with a deafening crash. Two seconds later, he yanked it open again, glaring at the stunned employees outside.

"Don't you have work to do?" His voice was a thunderous growl. "If you're this free, consider staying late tonight!"

The employees froze.

Not a single pair of eyes dared to lift. Heads bowed, they scrambled to look busy—or at least pretended to.

Bang!

The door shut again, the sound making everyone flinch. The tension was palpable. When the boss was in a mood like this, stepping out of line was suicide.

And Sebastian was definitely in a mood.

His dignity had been shredded, dragged around like some unruly pet. Worse? It was his sister doing the dragging. He couldn’t yell at her. Couldn’t discipline her. The frustration was eating him alive.

At this point, secrecy was pointless.

With a sharp inhale, he lit a cigarette and exhaled smoke in a slow, deliberate stream. "Fine. Yes, I met with Alexander."

A pause.

"Or rather, I tried to. His fiancée was the one who showed up."

He chose the term carefully. Fiancée. Official. Respectable.

Cassandra’s hands clenched into fists, nails biting into her palms. She forced herself to stay still, but her voice was pure venom.

"That witch?" The words were gritted out between her teeth.

Sebastian didn’t doubt that if Evelyn Carter were standing in front of them right now, his sister would tear her apart with her bare hands.

"Don’t call her that," he said automatically. "They’re in love."

Evelyn was poised, elegant—nothing like the scheming seductress Cassandra was painting her to be.

But Cassandra’s mind was already made up.

Witch. Homewrecker. Manipulator.

"In love?" She let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. "She stole him from me when I wasn’t looking!" Her voice rose, frantic. "Tell me everything. Her name. What she looks like. Where she’s from. What she does. When did she sink her claws into him?"

Sebastian took another long drag, exhaling smoke rings before speaking quietly.

"Cassandra. Enough."

Her eyes widened, as if he’d just slapped her.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean it." His tone was firm. "Listen to yourself. Do you even hear what you’re saying? Your man? Since when was Alexander ever yours? He’s always seen you as a sister. You know that. You just refuse to accept it."

He rarely spoke this bluntly with her.

But now that he’d started, he couldn’t stop.

"It doesn’t matter who she is. If he wanted you, he would’ve made a move years ago. He wouldn’t have waited for someone else to come along."

The truth was harsh.

And Cassandra hated it.

She’d been rejected before. Over and over. But she’d never given up, convinced that eventually, he’d see her the way she saw him. That she was the only one who truly belonged by his side.

No one else measured up.

So she refused to hear a word of it.

Her hands flew to her ears, fingers pressing hard as if she could block out his voice. "Sebastian, have you lost your mind? I’m your sister! Your blood! If you won’t help me, who will?" Her voice turned suspicious. "What did she offer you? Did she enchant you too?"

A bitter laugh escaped her.

"You still claim she’s not a witch? Then how else could she have you wrapped around her finger? You’d choose a stranger over your own flesh and blood?"

The more she spoke, the more convinced she became.

That woman was a master manipulator. A predator.

And Cassandra would drag her down from whatever pedestal she’d climbed onto.