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The room felt smaller like the walls had closed in, like the air itself was waiting.
Cassy didn't move, didn't speak and didn't even breathe properly. Her eyes stayed on Caleb, waiting because this, whatever this was, was no longer something she could ignore.
"…Tell me," she said softly.
Caleb didn't respond immediately, his gaze dropped to the file again then back to Veronica. "You've done enough," he said quietly.
Veronica smiled faintly. "I don't think I have." A pause. Then says, "She deserves honesty, doesn't she?"
That word again, honesty. The one Cassy had asked for, the one he had agreed to, now it was here demanding to be fulfilled.
Cassy stepped closer, just one step but it felt like everything shifted with it. "…Caleb," she said not sir, not Mr. Garcia but his name and that alone made him look at her.
For a moment there was hesitation in his eyes, real hesitation. "I was engaged," he said finally.
Silence.
The words didn't hit immediately, they lingered, hovered, then they landed. "…What?" Cassy whispered.
Veronica didn't move, didn't interrupt because this was what she came for.
Caleb's voice stayed low, controlled but not as steady as before. "It was arranged," he added. A pause. "Business. Family. Timing."
Cassy's chest tightened. "…With her?"
Caleb didn't answer, he didn't need to.
Veronica smiled faintly. "I think you can figure that out."
Silence.
Everything clicked into place too quickly, too clearly. The familiarity, the tension and the unfinished conversation. "…You were going to marry her," Cassy said softly.
Caleb's jaw tightened. "Yes." That word, that confirmation brokes something quietly and deeply.
"And you didn't tell me," she added, not accusing, not angry but just… hurt.
Caleb stepped forward slightly. "I was going to."
Cassy shook her head. "When?" A pause. Then says, "After I already got involved?"
Silence because that was the truth.
Veronica crossed her arms slightly. "That's the problem with him," she said calmly. "He decides when things matter."
"Stop," Caleb said sharply but the damage was already done.
Cassy took a small step back, not dramatic but just enough to create space. "…Why didn't you say anything?" she asked.
Caleb exhaled slowly. "Because it was over."
Cassy frowned slightly. "…Is it?" That question hung in the air dangerous and unavoidable.
Caleb didn't answer immediately and that hesitation, that pause, it said more than anything else.
Cassy's heart dropped slightly. "You hesitated," she said softly.
"I didn't," he replied quickly but it didn't sound convincing.
Cassy looked at him carefully. "You did."
Silence and for the first time the confidence between them cracked.
"I ended it," Caleb said firm and clear.
"Why?" she asked. That question changed everything because now it wasn't just about the past, it was about the reason.
Caleb looked at her long and careful. "Because it wasn't real," he said.
Silence.
Cassy's chest tightened again. "…And this is?"
A pause. Longer this time. "Yes," he said but something about it, something about the timing something about the situation made it harder to believe.
Cassy looked down then back at him. "I asked for honesty," she said quietly.
Caleb nodded. "You have it."
She shook her head slightly. "No," she said. A pause. Then, "I have part of it."
Silence.
Veronica smiled faintly again because that was exactly what she wanted, the doubt, the uncertainty, the crack.
Cassy stepped back again further this time. "I need time," she said softly.
Caleb's expression hardened slightly. "…Cassy—"
But she shook her head. "No." A pause. Then, "Not like before." That line hit differently because this time it wasn't just space, it was distance again, real distance.
Cassy looked at him one last time. "…You should've told me," she said then she turned and walked out.
Caleb didn't follow, didn't move and didn't speak because for the first time he knew something had changed, not tension, not confusion but trust and once that breaks, it doesn't come back the same.
Behind him, Veronica exhaled softly. "…That didn't go the way you wanted."
Caleb didn't look at her. "No," he said quietly and for the first time he wasn't in control of what came next.