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501words
The date for my engagement to Cassius was set: next Thursday.
The timeline was tight, but for the Thorne family, logistics were never an issue.
My mother also planned to use the occasion to formally announce my status as the Thorne heiress.
As it was a Mantel family engagement, Jude was required to attend.
Cassius was out front, finalizing the details with the event coordinator.
I was in the dressing room, fussing with the magnificent gown I was meant to wear.
It was a stunning, heavily embroidered custom piece, beautiful but undeniably heavy.
Just as I was about to change, a staff member rushed in, looking flustered.
"Miss Thorne, Mr. Mantel has something urgent to discuss with you. He asked you to meet him."
When I arrived at the designated room, the door was abruptly slammed shut behind me. A hand clamped a cloth soaked in a sweet, cloying chemical over my mouth and nose.
The drug hit me fast.
My body went limp, my limbs turning to lead.
I was thrown onto a bed, and as my vision cleared, I saw Jude standing over me.
He gently caressed my cheek, a crazed, obsessive light in his eyes.
"When Cassius sees what we've done, he'll never marry you," he whispered.
"You'll have no choice but to marry me."
Rage, pure and hot, surged through me. I couldn't believe he would stoop to this.
"Are you insane? An act like this will disgrace both our families!"
His lips tightened as his fingers moved to the top button of my blouse.
"Why were you so quick to marry someone else? I'm telling you, Sloane, you belong to me."
His audacity was so staggering I almost laughed.
I tried to slap him, but my arm was weak, my hand merely grazing his cheek.
"You were the one who chose to marry someone else at our engagement party. And now you're blaming me?"
His gaze was intense. He leaned down, his mouth nearing mine.
"I was wrong. I realize it now. I've always loved you. Seraphina was just a temporary diversion."
Just as he was about to rip my dress, the door crashed open.
Cassius stormed in, grabbed Jude by the hair, and slammed him to the ground with brutal force.
Our eyes met for a second before he swept me up into his arms and carried me to another room.
I was too weak to proceed with the ceremony.
I summoned the personal assistant my mother had assigned to me and whispered a few instructions in his ear.
A short while later, a commotion erupted in the hallway—the sound of a woman screaming, a man shouting curses.
Cassius returned and found me regaining some of my strength.
He leaned against the doorframe, watching me with an amused glint in his eye.
"You had someone drug him?"
I managed a weak smile, pushing myself into a sitting position.
"Just returning the favor."
