With a sharp slap, I fell to the ground. clutching my face, I looked up at Sebastian in disbelief. "You actually hit me!"
Elara leaned into Sebastian's embrace, looking at me provocatively.
Sebastian stared down at me, his face etched with disappointment. "Cassandra, I thought you were just stubborn and willful, but I didn't realize you were also a liar. If it weren't for Elara telling me she's the rightful heir to the Winters family, I would have continued to be deceived by you."
Could it be that he pursued me not for who I am, but for my supposed status as the Winters family heir? But I am indeed the rightful heir. Why does he now believe Elara is the Winters family's successor?
"I am the real heir..." I tried to assert my truth to Sebastian, but before I could finish, Elara interrupted.
She looked at me with feigned concern, saying, "Cassandra, I know how much you want to be the heir of the Winters family, but blood ties can't be altered. Delusional disorder is a condition that needs treatment."
Unable to contain my anger, I retorted, "You're the one with delusions, your whole family is delusional."
My words barely left my lips when Elara began to cry. "Cassandra, I understand you're jealous of my affluent background and Sebastian's love for me, but that doesn't give you the right to insult my family like this..."
Sebastian cast a tender glance at Elara before turning to me with a look of utter disgust. "Cassandra, I will never marry you. Get that idea out of your head." With that, he wrapped his arm around Elara's waist, intending to leave. "Let's go, Elara."
However, Elara had no intention of leaving immediately. "Sebastian, you go ahead. I'm worried Cassandra might do something drastic out of distress. I want to talk to her."
"Elara, you're just too kind. Some people simply aren't worth your compassion."
Elara whispered in my ear, "Cassandra, I advise you not to be ungrateful." Her hand caressed her stomach. "I'm carrying Sebastian's child. The future fiancée of the Blackwood family heir can only be me."
I almost laughed in disbelief. So, she had snatched Sebastian away, thinking he was the heir to the Blackwood fortune. Unfortunately for her, she didn't know that Sebastian's father was born out of wedlock. In the Blackwood family, a child born out of wedlock has no right to inheritance. The real power within the Blackwood family was now in the hands of his uncle, Dominic Blackwood.
The irony of their situation was almost amusing. Both Sebastian and Elara were together under the false belief that the other was an heir to a vast fortune, completely oblivious to the fact that they were deceiving each other.
Finding no satisfaction in her attempts to provoke me, Elara pinched herself hard, tears streaming down her face. "Cassandra, I was just trying to give you friendly advice. How could you say such things about me?"
Sebastian, who had been waiting nearby, immediately stepped forward upon seeing this. He swiftly picked Elara up in his arms. "I've told you before, some people are just not worth your kindness. What if the baby got hurt?"
At his words, Elara shuddered, her tears falling even faster. "I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault for being kind," he said, looking at her tenderly. After giving her a peck on the lips, he turned to me with a look of disgust. "Cassandra, you malicious woman, I will never marry you in this lifetime!"
With those final words, he carried Elara away.
After they left, the tears I had been holding back finally broke free. I had truly loved Sebastian with all my heart over the years, only to end up with this bitter outcome.
Heartbroken, I went to a bar to drown my sorrows in alcohol. But through my blurred vision, I thought I saw Sebastian's face. "Sebastian, you jerk, playing with my feelings and then dumping me! Why did you do this to me! Why!" I exclaimed.
His lips moved, but with my ears ringing and the bar's noise overwhelming, I couldn't make out his words.
I leaned closer, pressing my ear to his mouth. "Speak up, I can't hear you."