Casey's POV
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I pressed the phone tightly to my ear, my fingers gripping it like a lifeline as I sank deeper into the couch. My pulse pounded, each beat was a hammer against my ribs. I sucked in a slow, shaky breath, trying—desperately—to steady myself, to keep my spiraling thoughts from consuming me.
But it wasn't working.
Ever since Liam uttered those words—we're being sued—something inside me had cracked. My mind reeled, flipping through every possible scenario, every consequence, every worst-case ending. The walls of the room felt like they were closing in, pressing against me, suffocating.
I had lost control.
It had gotten so bad that I had to cut the call, my hands trembling too much to hold the phone steady. My vision had blurred, my throat tightening with the kind of panic I hadn't felt in years.
And now, here I was, calling him back, forcing myself to face it, to hear those words again.
But as the line rang, an unsettling thought crept into my mind—
