Demon CEO's Hidden Love: Mr Grayson Stole Me From My Abusive Husband-Chapter 130: A Fall From Grace

Flashback

When they arrived at the eatery, Cassie swiped the menu off the table and started calling the things she wanted to eat to the waitress. She relaxed into her seat and waited for her order to come, as per the usual.

However, things met a slight change.

"Don’t listen to her, she’s just a child." He said and turned to Brooke, "What do you want?"

Brooke pointed at herself then at the menu, "Mr Crane are you sure? Cassie can just order like she always does."

Cassie nodded, "Yes daddy! Why does the stupid girl have to order before I do?!" She demanded, banging her fist on the table, causing a scene.

"Cassie! Keep quiet or I won’t buy you a single thing! For heavens sake! Why can’t you be like your older sister? She’s much more well behaved." Luther scolded, leaving Cassie stunned out of her mind.

"Now Brooke, order what you’d like." Luther urged her, sliding the menu over to her.

Brooke picked up the menu and ordered Cassie’s favorite food for the both of them. The waitress wrote down the orders and left to have them prepared.

"Daddy! Why did you do that?! I was-"

"Keep quiet already! Be glad I’m even taking you to this audition in the first place. I’ve seen you act, you can’t even memorize lines! If you ask me, you should’ve just stayed home, you don’t deserve to be on television, you’re the ugly one." He spat out, using Cassie’s words against her.

Brooke reached for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze under the table, trying to comfort her. But Cassie slapped her hand away and ran off to the bathroom in tears.

"Cassie!" Brooke called out to her, she turned to Luther, "Father, you shouldn’t say things like that, it’ll make her sad. I’m going to go talk to her." She said then ran off to comfort Cassie.

In the bathroom, Cassie locked herself in one of the stalls to cry.

"Cassie come out! Your dad didn’t mean any of that! He-"

"Aaah!" Cassie screeched, covering her ears so she wouldn’t have to hear Brooke’s irritating voice trying to comfort her.

The other ladies in the bathroom huddled around Brooke, asking questions, trying to find out how they could help. But just before Brooke could say anything, Cassie came out all on her own and went over to the sink to wash her hands.

Brooke followed suit, "Cassie, I’m sorry-"

"Save it. You never even mean it anyway." She sneered.

Brooke sighed, "That’s because you’re always so mean to me-"

"So it’s my fault? My fault?!" She raised her hand and slapped Brooke’s face!

"Tch!" Brooke hissed, touching her palm, the sting from the slap made her angry and without thinking she slapped Cassie back.

Both girls were about to fight, but the women stepped in and had them separated. Promptly, they escorted them out of the bathroom and back to the eatery, where their orders were already laid out.

On sight, Cassie dashed for her father to hug him, but Luther avoided her and hugged Brooke instead. He lowered himself into a squat to search for injuries.

"Brooke, how did you get hurt?" He asked.

Brooke covered her cheek, "I fell-"

Luther drowned out her voice, "Cassie slapped you?"

Cassie scoffed at Brooke for immediately telling on her. In a desperate attempt she tried showing him her slap from Brooke, but he ignored hers.

"Cassie you never learn! I’ve had it with you! As punishment...here Brooke." He said handing Brooke the cup of ice cream on the table.

Brooke looked down into the cup of strawberry ice cream, it had the spoon sticking out of it, stained from churning the mix.

"But this is Cassie’s-"

"You deserve it." Luther said with a smile. Turning to Cassie he frowned, "And you deserve nothing." He said to her. Cassie tried to protest, but Luther sent her a sharp glare, and forced her to eat her least favorite meal on the table.

Though she felt sad, Brooke ate the ice cream enjoying the things her mother never got her.

After they finished, Luther drove them to the audition grounds, where dozens of girls their ages had already been assigned numbers. He led them to the table where they’d get their numbers.

When they got their auditioning number, Luther helped Brooke pin hers to her shirt. But when Cassie asked him for help he berated her for not knowing how to do a single thing.

While they waited, he bought Brooke a cupcake with white flakes and toppings. Brooke tried to share with Cassie but Luther wouldn’t have it. He made Brooke eat the cupcake by herself and made Cassie watch.

"Number 47!" The announcer called.

Brooke tapped Cassie on the shoulder, "Good luck out there." She said to her.

But Cassie’s face was painted with anger and envy, she stepped hard on Brooke’s foot, and gave her a wish of her own...

"Break a leg." She wished, then went with the announcer to play the role.

As soon as Cassie was gone, Luther got up and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.

"Father where are you going?" Brooke sheepishly asked.

Luther sharply looked over his shoulder at her, the polite smile on his face contorted to a livid frown. "That’s Mr Crane to you, you wretched runt." He spat out.

A spine cascaded Brooke’s spine, she immediately tucked her hands in-between her legs and looked down. "I’m sorry-"

"You’d better land this role, don’t make my expenses be for nothing." He scolded, then kissed the butt of his cigarette. Letting out a thick cloud of smoke he said, "It would be a shame, if I left your mother now, she’d be too weak to carry on living. So put on a good show for me, Brooke."

Brooke nodded, feeling a bit nauseated. She stared at the remnant of the cupcake on her lap, but her vision was starting to blur.

"Stand up straight!" Luther scolded in loud whispers, careful not to attract too much attention to them.

Brooke complied and forced herself to sit up straight, psyching herself, "I’m just nervous..." she chanted as she waited for her turn to audition, ignoring the numbing in her knees.

"48!" The voice of the announcer snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see a teary looking Cassie, and could tell from one glance that she had flopped her audition.

She got up to go to Cassie, but Luther held her by the shoulders and whispered into her ears. "Failing is not an option, land that role, if you care about the roof you and your mother will sleep under tonight."

Shaken by his words, Brooke ran past Cassie and went with the announcer, wanting nothing more than to get the role over and done with.

When Cassie returned to her seat, she expected her father to yell at her for failing. She kept her head down like Brooke usually did, and continued crying.

Surprisingly, her father sat next to her and told her in a firm voice. "Your life will continue to be like this, living under your sister’s shadow, because you don’t amount to anything my dear daughter." He started off, crushing the child’s soul.

"Why do you think your mother doesn’t love you? It’s because she loves Brooke, the daughter of her first husband, that’s why she didn’t stay with us before. She stayed with the child she loved, not you." Luther told her, painting a colourless world in her mind.

Cassie’s tears wouldn’t stop. "But she’s my mother too. And you’re my daddy not hers-"

"Children are assets my dear, important valuables, she right now, Brooke is so important that she has the power to take everything that’s yours. Just like today, once she lands this role, your favorite ice cream or a simple cupcake won’t be all she takes from you." He leaned in, smiling at the way Cassie trembled from his words.

"The way you’ve treated her up until now, that’s the way she’ll treat you. Because she’s the better child. The prettier daughter...the more talented actress. And the one your mother loves the most." He whispered the last part so loudly it echoed in Cassie’s mind.

Brooke was overjoyed when the results came in and she was the one chosen for the part. However, she was also feeling dizzy and decided to go to the bathroom and wash up.

"Mr Crane, I’m going to the bathroom." She said, then went towards the elevator.

But, Luther said to her, "The elevator is broken, so just take the stairs."

Brooke looked at the elevator, she saw a sign in front of it but was too far away to tell if it was a wet floor sign or a broken elevator sign.

"T-Thank you sir." She said then went in the opposite direction of the stairs, her hand rested at the side of her head.

The last time she used a pair of stairs was back at that rich boy’s house, the sickly one with the fragile face. She missed him so much, but she remembered the promise she had made him.

Climbing the stairs she said to herself, "I’ll become an actress, just like I said I would. And then, you can see me without having to get up-" she was saying, only to be cut off by a sudden tap on the shoulder.

Brooke panicked and looked over her shoulder, to see Cassie standing behind her.

"Cassie, what are you-"

"You stole everything from me! You disgusting witch!" She spat out, and pulled on her sister’s hair. She dragged Brooke to the apex of the stairs and pushed her to the ground.

Brooke quickly tried to get up, but her body felt weak and feverish. "What’s happening?" She looked up at Cassie, but her vision just got even blurrier and Cassie’s voice turned unclear.

"I didn’t do anything." Brooke said staggering to her feet.

Cassie unclenched her fists and began shoving Brooke backwards, "I hate you! You’re disgusting! You’re the ugly one! You deserve to suffer-"

"Cassie stop-"

"You took everything from me!"

*Cough*

"Wait, please!" she pleaded with a hand to her head.

"I wish you weren’t my sister!" Cassie spat out, she reached out and shoved Brooke’s shoulder, letting her anger out.

The shove forced Brooke to lose her balance momentarily, and when she tried to place her foot down and regain her composure, she felt the same dizziness and numbness in her knee.

"Cassie..." she whimpered in a pleading voice, her eyes rounded with fear and vulnerability as she stared at the angry glare on Cassie’s face, right before she fell down the staircase!

It wasn’t until Brooke’s body caused a thud that Cassie gasped and covered her mouth.

"Brooke.... no....no...I didn’t...it wasn’t me..." she stared at the hand that shoved Brooke.

"I didn’t do it-"

-"Hey! What was that!"

-"I heard noises coming from there!"

-"Is anyone over there!"

As she heard voices and footsteps approaching, Cassie ran up the rest of the fleet of stairs, her heart racing with the untamed fear of what she had just done...