Bound By A Broken Night novel Chapter 28

“I can see that, Miss Loew,” Cassie replied, tilting her head slightly in polite acknowledgment, her smile composed and graceful.

Nissa turned back to her, lips curving into something deceptively charming.

“Then tell me,” Nissa said lightly, “what is a plain housewife doing here?”

The words were wrapped in honey, but the sting beneath them was unmistakable.

Cassie did not flinch. She didn’t look away, didn’t stiffen, didn’t grant Nissa the satisfaction of reaction. Her gaze remained steady–calm, unwavering, superior.

“CEO Zandrie Wallace needs a respectable woman by his side,” Nissa continued, leaning closer, her whisper intimate and deliberate, “especially when he stands beside his father to claim tonight’s success.”

Her smile widened–perfect, poisonous.

“Not a housewife who stays at home doing nothing. Or perhaps you are doing something…”

Her eyes swept over Cassie with feigned curiosity, her voice dropping to a murmur.

“Laundry. Cleaning. Cooking.”

The insult hung between them precise, calculated.

Cassie’s smile never wavered.

“So,” she said calmly, her voice smooth as silk, “are you implying that you are the one meant to stand beside Zandrie Wallace, Miss Loew?”

A soft smile curved her mauve–painted lips as she regarded Nissa with measured interest. For a fleeting moment, Nissa found herself unable to respond.

“With all these people present,” Cassie continued, leaning in just enough for her words to strike cleanly, “do you truly believe you could even come close to him tonight?”

She straightened, her posture effortless, her smile unbroken–polished, graceful.

“You may boast all you wish, Miss Loew. Arrogance seems to come naturally to you.”

Then her eyes narrowed slightly, the warmth draining from them, replaced by something cold and lethal.

“But think carefully,” she added. “At best, you only ever have Zandrie Wallace’s attention in private.”

Her gaze flicked briefly toward the glittering hall before returning to Nissa, sharp and unyielding.

“Not at events like this. Not in rooms governed by power, legacy, and consequence.”

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Cassie’s lips curved again–this time with quiet mockery.

“You’re convenient behind closed doors,” she said lightly. “Someone to warm his bed. Nothing more.”

A soft chuckle escaped her.

And when she saw the fury flash through Nissa’s eyes–cold, unrestrained, stripped of all pretense

-Cassie almost laughed aloud.

“Yes,” Cassie continued smoothly, watching Nissa teeter on the edge of her temper, “I do the laundry, the cleaning, and the cooking as a devoted wife.”

Her smile sharpened.

“I may not indulge in the frivolities of Zandrie Wallace’s world the way you do,” she said coolly, but remember this, Miss Loew-”

Her gaze hardened, slicing clean through the air between them.

“No matter how warmly you keep his bed,” she said softly, “no matter how boldly you parade yourself as his woman, you are still only a bed warmer.”

A pause.

“A paramour.”

The word landed with surgical precision.

“Bitch,” Nissa muttered under her breath, her composure finally cracking.

Cassie merely arched a brow, a smug smirk playing at her lips.

“And at events like this,” she added calmly, turning slightly as if the matter were already settled, ” the wife is still the one who stands beside him.”

Cassie’s words poured fuel onto Nissa’s barely restrained fury. Nissa bore into her with a fuming stare, her carefully crafted poise cracking under the weight of humiliation.

They stood locked in silence, cold gazes dueling–until the moment shattered.

A sudden stir rippled through the hall.

“CEO Jefferson Holt and CEO Zandrie Wallace have arrived together.”

“It’s becoming obvious who CEO Holt favors among his children.”

“Needless to say, CEO Zandrie Wallace will inherit Holt Corporation from his father.”

“Madame Zabrina looks stunning tonight. That pride suits her perfectly.”

Hushed murmurs swelled as the family entered, every step radiating prominence and power. They

were the embodiment of legacy–refined, confident, untouchable.

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Zandrie Wallace, in particular, drew every eye. Admiration followed him like a tide, making more than a few women visibly swoon. Neither Cassie nor Nissa missed it.

Cassie turned slowly back to Nissa, a knowing smile curving her lips.

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