Chapter 402
Chapter 402
Third Person’s POV
Meanwhile, at the healing center.
Cassian was staring a hole through the ceiling from his hospital bed.
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Finished
His phone screen flickered on and off–he’d sent a mountain of explanatory texts, but every single one had vanished into the void.
The way Trista had looked at him and Rowena earlier by the elevator–eyes as cold as a surgical blade- was driving him insane.
He had never craved her presence more than he did right now. He just wanted a hint of her scent, anything.
When the nurse came in to check his temperature, Cassian asked, his voice a jagged rasp, “Is Dr. Holmes. not doing rounds today p>
The nurse didn’t even look up from her clipboard. “Not sure. She’s not assigned to this floor anymore p>
Fred, who had been sprawled on the sofa scrolling through his phone, sat up with a smug, teasing grin. “Don’t hold your breath. She’s a little tied up right now p>
Cassian’s brow shot up. “It’s not shift change. Where is she p>
Fred shrugged. “Shadowfang territory. She just texted me–apparently, she’s lost three hands of Texas Hold ‘em in a row and she’s begging me to come bail her out p>
The thermometer in Cassian’s hand shattered. Liquid mercury splattered across his palm.
Hearing that she was hanging out on Alistair’s turf, messing around with those guys while he was lying here half–dead for her, felt like a physical blow. His heart dropped into his stomach.
The ache in his chest was becoming unbearable–worse than the actual holes in his gut.
Fred stood up and grabbed his jacket. “Trista’s blowing up my phone; I gotta go. Her poker instincts are trash. If I don’t show up to save her, she’ll probably lose her entire private practice to Isaiah by midnight p>
Cassian gripped the bedsheets, his throat feeling like it was full of hot coals. He couldn’t squeeze out a single word.
Fred paused at the door and looked back at the dying lion on the bed. He sighed. “Face it, Cassian. She’s not the mate who revolves her entire life around you anymore. She has her own world now, and she didn’t leave a seat for you p>
As the door clicked shut, the room fell into a dead silence.
Cassian closed his eyes, and the memories hit him like a tidal wave.
During those three years of their mating, he was always too busy–busy expanding the territory, busy with
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Chapter 402
“business p>
Finished
Trista was always the one who left the light on. She was the one waiting in the silence for him to come home.
Then Samantha came back with the kid, and he checked out even more.
He’d watched Trista spiral from a breakdown into a cold, numb state of war.
And what did he do? He used his Alpha aura to shut her down. He told her to “be mature.” He told her to “be reasonable p>
He realized now that constant, hopeless waiting and being ignored by the person you love can strip the life out of anyone.
When Alaina walked in, the room was pitch black.
She sighed, seeing her son curled up on the bed like a wounded animal. She set down a container of food and sat beside him. “Get up and eat something. We need to talk p>
Cassian’s hollow eyes flickered. “Mom, I’m not hungry p>
He wasn’t lying; his chest was too full of regret to fit anything else.
“Cassian,” Alaina said, her voice heavy. “Do you actually realize where you went wrong? ”
Cassian squeezed his eyes shut. A single tear escaped.
After a long silence, he forced the words out. “I… I messed up everything p>
He had messed up by not cutting ties with Samantha. He’d messed up by playing dad to that kid.
But mostly, he’d messed up by being an arrogant, dominant prick to Trista.
He’d always “fixed” things his way, never listening to what she actually needed, never giving her an ounce of respect.
He had personally torched his own bond. He’d destroyed the girl who used to look at him like he was the only man in the world.
Alaina let out a weary sigh. “Cassian, Trista is stable now. She’s doing better than she ever did with us. Take my advice: stop chasing her. Let her go p>
His throat felt like it was full of gravel. “Mom… I know I was a bastard. I’ll change. But asking me to give up on her… I can’t do it p>
Just the thought of his name being erased from Trista’s life made his very bones ache.
Seeing how obsessed his son was, Alaina could only stay silent.
Cassian spent the next few days rotting in that room.
He spent every waking hour staring at the door. He’d hold his breath, trying to catch that crisp, herbal
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Finished
12:36 pm ►
Chapter 402
scent in the hallway that always made him lose his mind.
He’d hallucinate the sound of her footsteps, or the calm, steady magnetic field of her presence.
But she never came.
The day he was discharged, the L.A. sun was blinding.
Standing by the curb outside the healing center, Cassian spotted her instantly.
Trista was in a white dress, standing with Sayer next to Elias’s black Maybach.
She was leaning against the car door, and Elias was actually kneeling at her feet, holding a high heel, casually changing her shoes for her in front of everyone.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Cassian roared.
Sara Lili
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.