Page 51 of Undoing

“Do you think so little of me that you would assume I’m here because of work during a time like this?”

“No! I’m sorry, I just…” Cass sighed. “I’m sorry.”

Eve offered Cass an understanding smile. “May I come in?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry… again.” As she guided Eve in, Cass saw the heap of bedding on the couch and cringed with embarrassment. Great. “I, uh, apologize for the mess. I wasn’t expecting company, and I…” Cass exhaled sharply. “How’d you do it?”

“Do what?” Eve scooted a pillow off the chair next to the couch Cass was clearly using as a bed.

“Cope without Lainey when you were… away,” Cass answered as she pushed blankets and pillows to the side in a failed attempt to tidy up.

“I didn’t,” Eve said honestly. “I had many panic attacks. I’m not good with small spaces, and without Lainey, those spaces tend to close in on me much faster.”

Cass was silent for a moment. That’s the first time Eve Sumptor had been so forthcoming with a weakness of hers. “Sometimes it’s easy to forget that you can be as vulnerable as the rest of us.”

Eve raised a brow. “I’m not a robot, Cass.”

“No, but, like Becca, you’ve built, like, an intolerance to bullshit.” To Cass’s surprise, Eve laughed. It was a sound that was… out of place in this house these days. “What do I do?” she asked suddenly. “I can’t sleep upstairs in our bed because the room is too small and too big at the same time. I don’t know if that even makes sense, but…”

“It does. Look, Cass, if you want words of hope and keeping the faith, I can call Lainey or Ellie for you. They’re the best at that.”

“And what are you best at?” Cass asked cautiously.

“The facts.” Eve sat back and crossed her legs.

“Okay. The fact is, Rebecca doesn’t remember me. Or you, for that matter. She’s stuck in some god-awful time in her life, and I can’t help but wonder why she remembers that shit and not me.”

“I can understand how you’d be upset by that,” Eve said amicably. “As long as you keep in mind that it’s not her choice.”

“I know.” Cass scrubbed her face irritably. “You have to be kinda pissed that she doesn’t remember you, don’t you? Haven’t you two known each other for, like, ever?”

Eve smiled. “You do realize that the time she’s stuck in, I was thirteen. I still had my mother and a warped sense of hope for the future.”

“Shit. I always forget you’re only in your thirties. Not that you look old! You don’t! You just have so much poise… I’m going to shut up.”

Eve bit her lip. Lainey was going to enjoy hearing this story later. “Now that we have that sorted,” Eve chuckled. “No, I met Rebecca about ten years later. Sumptor Galleries was doing quite well, and Sumptor Inc. was finding its niche. But I was ready to expand into areas I wasn’t familiar with. So, I sought out the best, and that was Rebecca Cuinn. We bonded over our love of business and then… over our similar backgrounds.”

Cass settled back onto the couch and listened to Eve’s story. Not only was she learning more about Rebecca’s past, but she was also learning more about the enigma that was Eve Sumptor.

Eve cleared her throat. She hadn’t come here to get too personal, but she had already said way more than she expected to Cass. She felt a sort of… kinship with Cass. When she was forced to be away from Lainey, Eve nearly lost all hope that they would be together again. She imagined Cass had that same fear.

“The past isn’t the issue here. It’s the present and the future.”

“Yeah, but it’s the past that could hurt our future,” Cass argued. “Rebecca isn’t Mistress. She’s… I don’t know if the woman who barely escaped Samantha with her life could fall for me. It took her fifteen-plus years to get involved with someone else.” A sick feeling washed over Cass. “What if this time that someone isn’t me? What if I remind her too much of Samantha? Or even worse, I don’t fit her needs because I’m not Samantha. If Mistress is gone, if she’s not a Domme anymore, is she a sub? I know we role-play, but I don’t know if I can always be that for her. Sorry if that was too much information.”

“What’s a little over-share amongst friends?” Eve smiled, then leaned forward to make sure she had Cass’s full attention. “Mistress isn’t someone Rebecca created, Cass. She is Rebecca. Always has been. Strength and confidence like that aren’t learned. They’re uncovered from deep within. Samantha needed to dim Rebecca’s light because she was too afraid — too jealous — to let her shine. But you, Cass? You light Rebecca’s soul. Those of us who have been there throughout the different stages of Rebecca’s transformation noticed the real change when you came into her life. Rebecca no longer bears the weight of that guilt about Samantha, and according to Willamena, that’s the big difference between then and now. Rebecca doesn’t seem to be carrying that burden like she did back then. So, the fact is, you irrevocably changed Rebecca, and not even amnesia can take that away.”

The tears didn’t even threaten this time. They freely flowed down Cass’s cheeks, and she wiped at them with the back of her hand.

“S-she’s so timid around me.”

Eve glanced around as if they weren’t alone. “If you tell Rebecca I said this when she gets her memory back, I will call you a liar. But a little birdie named Willamena told me that it’s not timidness but…” Eve lowered her voice almost to a whisper. “Attraction.”

Cass started to shake her head but then thought about the little interactions she had with Rebecca. The blushing, the tucking of the hair behind the ear. These are things Rebecca had done before when she felt particularly… enamored with Cass. If Eve was right, Cass had reason to hope.

“I thought you weren’t into emotions and stuff.”

“I’m not.” Eve stood, smoothing out the wrinkles in her jeans. “Everything I just said was absolute fact.” A slow smirk formed on Eve’s face. “Now, I have to go. Young Bella has organized a family date night.” She paused, thinking about how Cass would be alone. “You’re welcome to come, Cass. Bella would love to have you. So would we.”

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