𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝙁𝙊𝘾𝘼𝙇 𝙋𝙊𝙄𝙉𝙏 - 𝙉𝙚𝙮𝙢𝙖𝙧 𝙅𝙧

NINE

⊱ ────── ༻✦༺ ────── ⊰

❝ Look—not every man you let into your life is a bad guy that you can't trust! ❞

⊱ ────── ༻✦༺ ────── ⊰

CASSANDRA STARES INTO the sunset at the beach. She's on a beach chair, fully clothed in a hoodie and sweats. Her hand pulls her hair back as the wind blows through her. She closes her eyes for a second and just breathes. Allowing the sound of the ocean waves and birds take over her mind, she exhales out slowly.

Neymar shuts the car door and starts looking for Cassandra. She finds her alone, sitting in the middle of the beach. Almost everyone has left to go home for the day. He starts running towards her.

There's an empty chair next to her as she's looking out into the distance. Cassandra hears footsteps behind her, assuming it's Neymar. He stops and slowly makes his way closer to her. He hesitates at first, but eventually decides to sit down next to her.

"I'd figure you'd find me here eventually." Cassandra sniffs. She hugs her knees, keeping her eyes on the glistening ocean.

"Cassie..." Neymar whispers out.

"I was engaged." She confesses before Neymar can continue. He immediately looks up at her side, she doesn't flinch at all. Cassandra sighs. "A couple years ago, I had a fiancé... his name was Gabriel, but I always called him Gabo. It was my own little nickname for him." She chuckles softly.

"I had picked out my dress, met up with our wedding planner who was a doll to us almost everyday before our wedding. I had everything planned out. God—I was so thrilled to be marrying the man I've grown to love and trust throughout the years." She scoffs.

Neymar watches her side profile. Cassandra clenches her jaw, she's tense right now. "Then I found out he was seeing another woman behind my back ever since he popped that question." A tear runs down her cheek.

"He was the love of my life." Cassandra starts laughing. "For four goddamn years of my life, I thought he was the person I'd be spending my life with and then I threw it all away. I told myself... I told myself that maybe the reason he started seeing someone was because of me. That I wasn't good enough—I wasn't loving him hard enough. I wasn't trying enough."

Neymar's mouth parts slightly as he listens to her. He had no idea all of this had happened to her. "I pushed him away and that's why he started seeing another woman. All because of me." Her voice breaks at that last sentence.

"We had this whole argument." She gulps, getting a breath of air. "God I was so mad, I was so mad, I started throwing things, breaking things, yelling at him. I—I was a wreck. Then I realized... I wasn't the problem. It was never my fault, I did love him. I did try, I was enough. But to him? Everything about me and Gabo was a lie. A lie that I fell into."

"I don't ever want to feel like that again." She finally turns her head over to Neymar. His eyes meet hers, they're as red as he's ever seen. "He made me feel like shit, Junior." Her lips quiver as tears run down her cheeks.

"Cassie, look." He starts to say, taking her hand. But he immediately pulls herself back from him. "Don't touch me." She chokes her words. Cassandra looks away, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

"Cassandra, please." He begs.

"I can't... I can't look into your eyes." She sobs, crying even more. "Listen." She sniffs. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for last night and kissing you like that. It never meant anything. I wasn't supposed to do that to you. It was stupid of me to do."