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“Home. Smoke is on his way to pick me up. You have something you need to handle.”

If looks could kill, Aella would have been dead on the spot. Cassius’ jaw ticked, and his voice was barely audible when he asked, “You called another man to pick you up from our home?”

“Excuse me?” Zelina’s eyes bulged.

“Your home,” Aella corrected. “The man who provides a home for me wouldn’t allow another woman to access it so easily.”

“Elle,” his expression became unreadable. “You think I’d do some shit like that on purpose?”

Tossing her hair out of her face, she forced her eyes away from his. “It doesn’t matter. I have to go,” she said.

“Are you really just going to ignore me as if I’m not standing here?” Zelina demanded, reminding them that she was still in the room.

Clearing her throat, Aella headed for the door. “Goodbye, Cassius.”

“Elle,” he said menacingly. “You won’t like what happens if you walk out of that door.”

Refusing to give in to his threat, she kept going, unable to escape the minuscule thought that she may have been making a mistake while doing so.

The anger Cassius felt watching Aella walk out the door was unmatched. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d come so close to losing his temper. It took all of his willpower not to go after her, but somewhere deep inside, he knew she needed a moment to sort through her feelings.

Though giving her space didn’t mean that he was accepting her walking out of his life completely. He fully planned to address and fix their issue, but dealing with the elephant in the room was his priority.

“So I take it that’s her,” Zelina sneered, folding her arms over her chest. “The one who magically appeared in your life and made you say fuck me without thinking twice. And what the hell did you mean when you referred to this as y’all’s house?”

“Zelina,” Cassius replied in a controlled tone. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

As upset as he wanted to be with her, he was just as much at fault for her being in his home as she was. He hadn’t erased her access code to the gate because he didn’t think she’d be stupid enough to use it without his permission.

“I told you I wanted to talk to you. I’ve been calling and texting for days.”

“The last time we spoke, I let you know that I couldn’t continue our situation.”

Genuine sadness touched her eyes, resulting in him pulling back—just a little bit.

“I’m trying to understand how things can shift so quickly. I always thought when the time came for you to settle down, it would be with me. What the hell did I do that was so wrong? I wasn’t even an option for you.”

Releasing a frustrated sigh, Cassius attempted to be as kind as possible given the circumstances. “I know this may be hard for you to understand, but it has nothing to do with you, Z. There was nothing you could have done more or less to keep me in the situation. You’re a great woman, and I think I’ve made that clear.”

“Just not great enough?” She huffed. “I’m standing in your living room, fighting for you when the woman you chose over me wouldn’t hear you out. She can’t possibly care that much if she was willing to give up so easily.”

“And that right there is why I chose her. She loves herself enough to walk away from what she feels isn’t good enough for her, while you care more about me than your well-being. You’re practically begging me to pick you after I’ve already told you no.”

Zelina recoiled as if she’d been slapped.

“I’m not saying any of this to hurt you,” Cassius immediately explained. “I only want you to hear how this sounds out loud. You are worth more than what you’re trying to settle for, Z. You’d never be happy with me.”

“How can you know that when you won’t even give us a chance?” She insisted.

“Because if I were to end up with you, I’d spend the rest of my life pining for her,” he admitted freely, rubbing the back of his head.

“Wow,” Zelina scoffed, at a loss for words.

“Zelina, from the bottom of my heart, I’m genuinely sorry if I ever made you feel that things between us would evolve into more. I completely understand if you want to hate me for that or paint me as the villain in your story.”

“You never answered my question earlier,” she replied, momentarily confusing him.

“What are you talking about?”