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His expression darkens, and his jaw clenches as he regards me coldly. “That’s none of your business.”
“None of my business?” I seethe, my hands balling into fists at my sides. “She’s everything to me, and you had no right to touch her. You know how I feel about her, and you just used her.”
“Look, whatever happened between Annalise and me is between us,” Damian retorts, attempting to regain control of the situation. “And if you have a problem with that, take it up with her, not me.”
“Annalise didn’t ask for this!” I shout, feeling my control slipping with every word. “You took advantage of her, and now you’re going to pay for it.”
“Okay, enough,” Annalise interjects, stepping between us. “We’re all adults here, and we can handle this like rational human beings. Right?”
The air crackles with tension as my rage roars to life, overtaking any sense of rationality. With one swift movement, I reel back and punch Damian square in the face, his head snapping back from the impact. His eyes widen with shock, but it’s not enough to quell the fire burning within me.
33
ANNALISE
My heart races, a wild animal trapped in my chest, as I watch the confrontation between Cassius and Damian escalate before me. The air is thick with tension, and I feel helplessly caught in the middle of their fiery exchange, my emerald eyes darting back and forth between them. My mind struggles to keep up with the rapidly unfolding events, my thoughts a chaotic whirlwind that mirrors the storm raging between the two men.
“Damian, you bastard!” Cassius roars, his voice laced with bitter betrayal. He lunges forward, throwing another punch at Damian with all the force he can muster. His striking blue eyes blaze with fury, reflecting the intensity of his anger and frustration. “How could you sleep with Annalise?” he accuses, his words a slap across my face, leaving me reeling. It’s clear that Cassius’s protective nature toward me has reached its boiling point, and I’m both touched and terrified by it.
“Enough, Cassius!” Damian shouts, ducking just in time to avoid the blow. His muscular frame, tense and coiled like a predator ready to strike, clashes with the reluctance that flickers in his piercing blue eyes. “I don’t want to fight you, especially not over Annalise.”
My breath catches in my throat as I watch the scene unfold, feeling as though I’m trapped in a whirlwind of emotions. Confusion and disbelief war within me, fueled by Cassius’s accusations and Damian’s responses. My heart thuds painfully against my ribs, each beat echoing the hurt I can’t escape.
“Damian, you have no right,” Cassius spits venomously, his anger still palpable. “You were engaged to someone else when you slept with her. How can you expect me to stand by and accept that?”
“Engaged?” The word slips from my lips before I can stop it, the shock and hurt crashing through me like a tidal wave. In all our encounters, Damian has never mentioned an engagement. How could he keep something so significant hidden from me?
“Betrayal, Damian? That’s what this feels like,” Cassius growls, his blue eyes filled with hurt and anger. His fists clench at his sides, the veins in his forearms bulging with tension. “How could you do this to me? To us?”
“Listen, Cassius—” Damian starts, his voice low, but his brother cuts him off.
“Shut up!” Cassius snaps, stepping closer, his face inches from Damian’s. “I’ve always been in your shadow, always had to follow in your footsteps. And now, when I find someone who makes me feel alive, someone who’s mine, you just swoop in and take her too?” The pain in his voice is palpable, and it twists my stomach into knots.
“Annalise isn’t a possession,” Damian argues, his expression conflicted. “You know that’s not how I see her.”
“Then why did you sleep with her?” Cassius demands, his voice breaking under the weight of his emotions.
“Because…because I couldn’t help myself,” Damian admits, his gaze flickering to me for a moment before returning to Cassius. “I didn’t plan on it. It just happened.” He swallows hard, struggling with his own turmoil.
“Enough!” a third voice suddenly booms through the room, commanding attention. Nikhil strides into the scene, his icy blue eyes locked on his brothers as he steps between them. With one arm, he pushes Damian back while gripping Cassius’s shoulder with the other hand, effectively separating them.
“Both of you need to calm down,” Nikhil orders, his voice cold and controlled. His eyes dart between the two men, assessing the situation. “Damian, step away. Cassius, take a breath. We’re not going to solve anything by tearing each other apart.”
Cassius glares at Damian, his chest heaving with the effort of controlling his emotions. He looks like a wounded animal, cornered and desperate. And it’s all because of me.
“Thank you, Nikhil,” I whisper, my heart pounding in my throat as I watch the tension between the brothers dissipate under his intervention. The weight of their conflict bears down on me, pressing against my chest, making it difficult to breathe.
Nikhil turns his attention to me, his eyes softening with concern. “Are you alright, Annalise?” he asks gently, his voice barely audible above the heavy silence that has settled over the room.
“I…I don’t know,” I admit, shaking my head as I try to process everything that has just happened. My world has been turned upside down, and I’m left reeling from the revelations and the raw emotions that have been unleashed.
The air is thick with tension as I feel the weight of their conflict crushing me. Nikhil’s intervention has stopped the fight, but the room still buzzes with the electricity of their unresolved emotions. Nikhil leads Cassius out of the room, and I take a deep breath and find my voice.
“Damian,” I say, my tone firm and resolute. “Why did you sleep with me if you were engaged to someone else?”
My question hangs in the air like a live wire, crackling with the energy of the hurt and anger that fuels it. Damian’s piercing blue eyes lock onto mine, the intensity of his gaze making me feel exposed and vulnerable.
“Annalise, it’s not that simple—” he begins, but I cut him off.
