Dodged a Lifetime Disaster

Luke called out of nowhere.

"Wanna hang? Cassie just put Lucas to bed."

He never shopped with me, never just hung out. This had to be his version of a grand gesture. Maybe guilt finally pushed him to throw me a pity favor.

I was seconds from hanging up when I heard her in the background—flirty, smug.

"It's so late and you're still sweet-talking your princess? I'm beat. Come rub my shoulders. It's your fault—I'm handling the kid and you."

Luke cut in fast. "Alright, next time," then hung up.

The call cut off, leaving a nasty pit in my chest.

If I'd just shut it down—stopped them from getting close—maybe none of this would've happened.

The next day, the wedding was officially off. Luke set up a class reunion. I went, thinking maybe it'd be my final goodbye to this trainwreck.

People were mingling, chatting like nothing happened. Then they spotted Cassie holding Lucas, and someone piped up—loud on purpose:

"Cassie's got a kid? When'd you get married? We didn't hear a thing."

"Who's the dad? He skip the invite?"

Their voices were sweet, but sharp. Cassie pulled the 'poor me' face.

Luke shot me a cold look, grabbed Lucas from her arms.

"I'm the father."

All eyes snapped to me.

Whispers kicked up fast.

"I heard Cassie and Luke were a thing first, but something went down and he ended up with Arya. And yeah, Cassie's kid is totally two."

"So Arya's the homewrecker?"

My whole body shook. I swallowed the burn in my chest.

I stood to grab some water. Cassie "accidentally" stepped on my dress hem.

I hit the floor, palms smacking down, knees slamming hard. The room exploded with laughter.

Pain ripped through me—my knees already bruised. I struggled to get up.

"Look at her," someone snorted. "On her knees? Guess she's finally owning the homewrecker title."

Luke just shot me a look of disgust and stayed quiet.

I clenched my teeth, eyes locked on Cassie. Anyone actually watching would've seen her step on my dress.

The rage I'd buried finally cracked. I raised my hand to slap her—

But Luke beat me to it.

He hit me. Hard.

Smack.

Silence dropped like a bomb.

Blood trickled from my lip. My ears rang.

I stared at him, then slapped him right back.

"Luke Murray, we're done."

I didn't wait for his reaction. Just held my cheek and walked out.