Chapter 855: sharpened into weapons.

Dean might be Cassandra’s first love, but it was too complicated now. Kiara had a point, after all. Just because she had lunch with Dean didn’t mean she had to change everything about her. Moreover, Dean didn’t specifically tell her he was interested in her as a woman; he only said he was interested.

Cassandra knew it all.

Even so, she found herself searching for reasons and justifications for why she shouldn’t waver. Standing in front of Jonathan’s villa, she took a deep breath and exhaled.

Ding Dong!

Cassandra straightened her back and watched as the front door opened. The moment she saw Jonathan inside, she raised the bottle of wine in her hand with a smile.

"Wine?" she suggested, watching his mouth curl into a wide grin.

Jonathan slowly opened the door wider and stepped aside. She entered, and he carefully closed the door behind her.

"You didn’t tell me you’d be stopping by tonight," he remarked, following her into the bar as she made herself comfortable.

Cassandra chuckled and glanced at him playfully. "I was planning to surprise you. It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, right?"

"Right... Did something good happen today?"

"Hmm. Let me think..." she hummed a long tune, stopping at the bar counter of his home. "...I got to see some old friends today!"

"Oh." Jonathan nodded and walked to the bar, standing across from her. He quickly grabbed two wine glasses and placed them between them. "It almost slipped my mind that you picked up the reunion tickets today."

"I did," Cassandra grinned. "I know you find it weird that they’re giving out tickets as if we were picking up our bibs for a marathon, but Lily’s always been like that."

"Lily is a lot younger than you?"

She nodded. "Yes, but even as a freshman, she was a very good leader. I always thought she’d end up becoming a politician. But she went into business instead, though I guess she was the only one who could inherit her family’s businesses."

"You really seem to be in a good mood," Jonathan said, reaching out a hand and wiggling his brows as he signaled her to hand over the bottle. When she passed it to him, he pulled out the cork and opened it. "Tell me all about it, babe. I’m here to listen."

"Hehe." Cassandra happily sat down on the stool, cupping her face as she began telling Jonathan about her day. When he was done serving, she blurted out, "Dean was also there!"

Jonathan paused, snapping his eyes at her. "My cousin was there? I didn’t know he was also a part of the fan club."

Cousin...

For a second, Cassandra hesitated, remembering one of the reasons she’d been so distressed today. She hadn’t told Kiara about it, because this was Jonathan’s secret for now. Until the Pierson family made an announcement, Cassandra was keeping quiet.

This was what she meant when she said Jonathan had always been honest with her. He trusted her with such a big secret, and yet here she was, wavering just because she had lunch with her first love.

"He was a part of it," she answered, keeping her response short. "I mean, almost everyone was part of the fan club. It actually became a trend back then, and according to Ray, some of the activities the fan club used to do became traditions in the school. It helped shift students’ focus and reduced bullying."

Jonathan nodded. "I see..." He paused, lowering his gaze to the wine between them. "How interesting. I guess this... Penelope Bennet is an amazing young as well, huh?"

"She is amazing, but more than that, she’s very cute," Cassandra chuckled. "At least, back then, she was."

"Tell me about it," he suggested, offering her a glass. "Since you’re taking me along, isn’t it better to know about it all?"

Cassandra accepted the wine and grinned, taking a sip before diving into the story. She focused mostly on the fan club’s activities and some of Ray’s antics because Ray "fell" for Penny.

"But there’s one time I recall that scared all of us. This was before the fan club," Cassandra added. "It was when Penny threw a flowerpot at Ray, thinking that one of his fans had almost killed Lily."

Jonathan’s brows shot up, and he leaned on the edge of the bar counter. "Someone almost killed Lily?"

"Mhm. Everyone assumed they were Ray’s fanatic fans because of the evidence left at the scene. You know, back then, fan clubs had all these merch, and Ray had one." Cassandra huffed, looking at him as if wondering if she should continue. "This is a secret, Joe. Don’t mention it at the reunion, but the culprit was actually Penny’s... sister. Well, they weren’t actually sisters. Penny and Nina were swapped as babies, so to make a long story short, Penny was raised by Nina’s family while Nina grew up with the Bennet family."

"Oh..." Jonathan’s mouth formed an ’o’ shape. "That’s unheard of."

"Penny owns a security firm, so it’s natural for her to keep her private life secure. So, you wouldn’t know."

He smiled. "You’re right."

"Don’t tell anyone about it."

"I won’t. Who would I tell?" Jonathan tilted his head slightly, smiling. "But that’s very... surprising, especially considering you were so young back then."

"And there’s one more thing." Cassandra cleared her throat, taking another sip of wine, her cheeks turning a little pink. "Nina accused her best friend at the time, Patricia, of doing it. It caused a lot of drama, and the two of them ended up being transferred to lower sections."

Cassandra went on and on, telling Jonathan everything. As she spoke, she began to realize how ridiculous her feelings had been that day. Even so, she still felt bad for wavering.

This was what she wanted.

A relationship where she didn’t have to worry about whether she looked good or not. She was already comfortable with him and knew she could talk about anything, and he would listen.

Dean was just a temptation, a distraction. It was not love.

This was love. This man was her love, and she couldn’t bear to hurt him, knowing he was already going through so much on his own.

How could she look in another man’s direction, especially one who was apparently Jonathan’s family?

Little did Cassandra know, everything she was telling him was being sharpened into weapons.