Chapter 113

When she got to the living room, Cassian was already whipping up breakfast. She was seriously impressed with this guy! No matter how late he went to bed or how exhausted he was, he always managed to get up and make breakfast. It totally melted her heart. Honestly, she would’ve been fine just grabbing a granola bar or something. But Cassian took it seriously. He felt like since work kept him so crazy busy, he couldn’t take care of her in other ways, so at least he could nail the breakfast game.

“Morning, sleepyhead. Come eat,” Cassian said.

“Coming,” Anastasia smiled and sat down at the table. They chatted while eating together.

After breakfast, Anastasia headed to work. But the second she walked into the office, she could tell something was up. Her coworkers were giving her the weirdest looks… Anastasia froze, wondering if she looked like a hot mess. Especially remembering how Cassian had been all over her neck last night, she felt a surge of panic. He always said her neck was his favorite spot, so… Oh shit! If there were hickeys showing, she’d literally die of embarrassment. Anastasia quickly dropped her bag and bolted to the bathroom to check herself in the mirror. The moment she left, her colleagues huddled together and started gossiping in hushed tones.

“Did you guys see that stuff online? Is it actually true? Ana doesn’t seem like that type at all.”

One woman with way too much makeup rolled her eyes. “Girl, you can’t judge a book by its cover. I totally think it’s real. Don’t let that innocent act fool you—she’s probably a total freak behind closed doors.”

“Right? You guys are just thinking with your dicks because she’s pretty. Classic,” another female colleague said with disgust.

“Hey, that’s not fair. I’m being objective—Ana’s not that kind of person.”

“Same. You’re just jealous,” someone else shot back.

The two women talking shit about Anastasia got pissed. “Jealous? As if!” The group started getting heated, arguing back and forth.

When Anastasia came out of the bathroom, she frowned. She’d caught fragments of their conversation. Were they talking about her? But she’d just done a thorough check in the mirror—everything looked normal. So what the hell were they gossiping about? Someone spotted Anastasia and quickly cleared their throat to warn the others.

18:40 Chapter 113

Everyone immediately scattered back to their desks. Holy shit, that was close. Getting busted talking trash was mortifying. They hunched over their computers, pretending to work while internally freaking out about whether Anastasia had heard them. Sharlene had missed the whole thing—she’d been in the supply room. When she saw Anastasia, she asked, “Hey Ana, want me to grab you some coffee?”

Anastasia nodded. “Yeah, that’d be awesome.”

Sharlene rushed off to make coffee but came back almost immediately, her face full of genuine concern. “Ana, have you… have you seen what’s blowing up on Twitter?”