Page 90 of The Rented Bride

How could she answer that? “Mom, you don’t need to worry.”

“I see,” her mother said. “Fooling around with an engaged man is the same as—”

“I know,” Cassie cut in. “It’s fornication. But that’s not what happened. He isn’t engaged to another woman.”

“Then why is Lindsey Fremont saying he is?”

“People lie, Mom.”

Her mother was quiet for a long moment. “Come home, Cassandra. We need to talk.”

“Not now, Mom. I’m sorry. I’ll call you. Please, just trust me.” She didn’t wait for an answer, but ended the call. Once she arrived at Sophia’s, she checked in with Leonard, the doorman, then let herself into the apartment and crawled into bed.

Please, God, she prayed, don’t wake me until this nightmare is over.

***

“Cass. Cassie.”

Cassie started awake. A blurry form hovered over the bed. She cried out and scrambled to the other side of the bed.

“Cassie, it’s me.”

Her brain finally registered the voice. Her brother Bobby stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

Heart pounding, she clutched the blanket. Cassie glanced to the clock and groaned. She’d slept for four hours.

“What’s wrong with you, Cassie?” he demanded.

“What’s wrong?” she snapped. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“You aren’t answering your phone. We’ve been worried, wondering where the hell you were.”

Blinking, she glanced at the doorway. Oh god, it just got worse. Her mother, Sophia and Mia stood behind Bobby. “What are you all doing here?”

“It’s my house,” Sophia said.

“You know what I mean,” Cassie said.

“We’ve been searching for you for hours,” Mia said. “We called your friends and your boss.”

“If we could have found him, we would have called your husband!”

Her brain barely comprehended Bobbie’s words.

Her mother stepped forward. “Is it true Cassandra? Are you married to this Trent Weston?”

Cassie blinked. “What?”

“Are you married to Trent Weston?” Her mother turned to Mia. “Give me that paper.”

Mia handed their mother a newspaper and she thrust it in front of Cassie. Cassie glimpsed the paper’s name, After Hours, then gasped at sight of the headline

Hollywood Homewrecker or Billionaire Bride?

A picture of her and Trent on the dance floor at Castillo del Paraíso dominated the page. She quickly read the article.

Only yesterday, Lindsey Fremont announced her engagement to Trent Weston. However, Ms. Fremont clearly wasn’t aware that the billionaire playboy had already tied the knot. Apparently, Ms. Freemont wasn’t invited to the private ceremony at Brettonwood, Trent Weston’s family estate in Colorado.