Chapter 373
Third Person’s POV
Early the next morning, Paisley woke him up by the sofa.
Cassian opened his eyes, looking exhausted, his brow furrowed in a deep knot. “Paisley, I thought I said p>
“Alpha Cassian, Alaina was worried about you. She sent me here to look after things,” Paisley explained quickly.
Cassian went silent for a moment before getting up and heading into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, he walked out in a fresh shirt.
Paisley intercepted him at the dining room door. “Alpha Cassian, breakfast is ready. Alaina’s orders: I have to see you finish it before you head to work p>
Cassian paused, hesitated for a second, then turned and walked into the dining room.
He sat alone at the table, his eyes instinctively darting to the seat across from him. That was where Trista always sat. Now, there was nothing but cold air.
His knuckles turned white as he gripped his spoon, before finally slumping back in defeat.
He stared at the steaming bowl of oatmeal, zero appetite left in him.
A memory crashed into his mind: coming home early from work once to find Trista busy in the kitchen. She’d been wearing oversized loungewear, clumsily flipping a spatula while humming a little tune to herself.
When a drop of oil splattered onto her hand, she’d just casually rinsed it under cold water and turned back to give him that radiant, effortless smile p>
Cassian leaned back into his chair as if all the strength had left his body. The spoon clattered onto the table and rolled off, shattering on the floor.
The sharp sound of breaking ceramic jerked him back to reality.
He looked down at a stain on his white shirt, then got up and went back to the room without a word.
While searching the walk-in closet for cufflinks, he suddenly remembered a pair of diamond ones Trista had given him for their second anniversary.
He pushed aside his standard pairs and began frantically digging through his collection of high-end accessories.
After ten minutes of finding nothing, he called Paisley in.
Paisley stood at the door, looking uneasy. “Alpha Cassian… since the severance, only you and Trista have been allowed in this room. She handled everything in the master suite herself. I really don’t know where they are. Maybe… maybe you should call and ask her p>
Cassian hesitated, but he dialed the number anyway.
When that familiar voice came through the line, he didn’t even realize how much his tone softened. “I remember you gave me a pair of cufflinks for our second anniversary. Do you remember which drawer they’re in p>
On the other end, Trista’s voice was as cold as a midnight wind in L.A. “I never gave you anything p>
Before Cassian could get a word out, the line went dead.
His body swayed, and he braced himself against the closet door.
He began to mumble to himself, as if trying to hammer the words into his very
bones. “She’s just angry. The gift is still here… it has to be p>
Paisley watched as Cassian searched through the drawers like a man who had lost his soul.
Just as he was about to panic, the doorbell rang. Wynn was at the door. Paisley let out a breath of relief. “Wynn, please. Talk to him p>
Wynn hurried into the messy closet.
Jewelry and expensive accessories were scattered all over the floor, and Cassian was still violently yanking open drawers.
Her eyes welled up as she rushed forward to grab his hands.
“Cassian, stop looking. It’s gone. It’s all gone p>
Cassian froze.
He turned his head, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Wynn. His voice was a ragged rasp. “What do you mean, ‘gone p>
Wynn looked at his haggard face and had to look away.
It hurt to see him like this, but she forced herself to tell the truth. “That day, Trista burned everything you ever gave her. As for the things she gave you? She called a called a reseller and
liquidated it all for cash.
Cassian stumbled back, his spine slamming against the closet door with a heavy thud.
In that instant, his Alpha instincts began to turn on him.
That razor-sharp aura he had always been so proud of—his signature pressure— exploded like a trapped beast inside the small room.
The air felt like it was being vacuumed out, replaced by a thick, suffocating weight that smelled like scorched blood.
“No… she loved me too much. She couldn’t be that heartless,” Cassian growled. His chest heaved, and flashes of wild, chaotic energy flickered deep in his pupils.
His hands were shaking so hard his claws were beginning to push through, the sharp outline of a shift beginning to form.
He began yanking drawers open again, so violently he nearly tore the tracks out of the wood.
The berserk aura swept through the closet like a hurricane, sending ties and jewelry flying into the air.
Wynn was forced back by the sheer force of his loss of control. She felt a sharp, crushing pain in her lungs.
She looked at her brother-who was so far gone he could barely maintain his human form-and finally let the tears fall. Cassian, she really sold it! She cut every single tie between you! She didn’t keep so much as
postcard p>
Cassian whipped around and roared at her, a heartbreaking wolf’s howl ripping from
his throat. “Impossible p>
Wynn lunged at him again, grabbing his arms with everything she had “Cassian wake up! Those things are just like her you threw them away with your own hands, and you are never getting them back p>