Bound By A Broken Night novel Chapter 142

Chapter 142

“I should have done better,” he said hoarsely.”

“I should have looked for you. I should have checked on you… made sure you were okay”

Shame settled visibly over him, pressing down on his posture, his voice, his very presence.

“I could have been there,” he went on, his words faltering.

“I could have taken care of you… and–and our…” The word caught in his throat.

He swallowed hard, as if even speaking it required permission he didn’t believe he deserved.

“Our son.” His voice dropped to almost a whisper.

The admission seemed to break something open inside him. His eyes lifted slightly toward Kai, then quickly lowered again, as if he feared he had no right to look for too long.

“I wasn’t there,” he finished quietly.

“When you needed me most.”

There was no defense in his tone. Only the heavy, undeniable truth of absence.

And in that moment, Ashton Pierce-who faced boardrooms and high-stakes negotiations without hesitation–looked like a man stripped of everything he once relied on, left with nothing but the raw weight of remorse.

Silence settled over the room.

No one moved. No one spoke.

Only the quiet sound of restrained sobs and soft sniffles broke the stillness, each breath heavy with years of pain, regret, and truths long buried.

Then, after what felt like an endless pause-

“Yes,” Cassie began.

Her voice was calm now. Steady.

“I was devastated when I left six years ago. Broken.” There was no accusation in her tone—only truth.

When she lifted her eyes to meet Ashton’s, there was no fear left in them-only quiet strength, and the resolve of someone who had finally made peace with her past.

“I truly believed I was alone,” she continued quietly.

“Abandoned by the people I valued the most.” A faint, bitter smile touched her lips.

“I was angry. Hurt. I carried resentment for a long time.”

Her gaze softened, drifting briefly toward Kai, who sat quietly beside her, listening with unusual seriousness for a child his age.

“But then I found out there was a life growing inside me.” She drew in a slow breath.

“And that changed everything.”

The bitterness faded from her expression, replaced by quiet strength.

“It forced me to grow up. To become wiser. Stronger.”

Her fingers instinctively found Kai’s hand, holding it gently.

Chapter 146

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“you know,” she said, looking back at Ashton, “since we were young, you were always telling me to stand up for myself. You scolded me endlessly whenever I let people walk over me.” A soft, wistful chuckle escaped her.

“But I was stubborn. Foolish I kept waiting for acceptance… for someone else to give me my worth.”

Her eyes grew distant for a moment, as if revisiting the past.

“What happened back then… painful as it was… maybe it needed to happen,” she said quietly.

“It was the only lesson strong enough to force me to learn on my own.”

Her gaze returned to him, steady and clear.

“So think of it as part of what you were always trying to teach me.”

Her smile deepened-sad, but grateful.

“And it turned out to be the best lesson you ever gave me.”

She held his eyes as she spoke the next words, her voice firm with quiet pride.

“Because of it, I learned how to decide for myself. How to become better. How to value myself instead of chasing anyone’s approval.”

She paused, letting the truth settle between them.

“I learned how to be strong… even when I was alone.”

For a moment, neither of them looked away.

Then her expression softened completely as she turned to Kai, her eyes glowing with a tenderness that eclipsed every tear she had shed that day.

“And more than anything,” she said gently, her voice no longer trembling but warm and sure, “you gave me a reason to keep going.”

Her thumb brushed over her son’s small hand, tracing the familiar lines of fingers she had held since the day he was born.

“When I thought I had lost everything… when I believed I had no one left…” she continued quietly, “I realized I wasn’t empty.”

She lifted her gaze briefly to Ashton, not with accusation–but with clarity

“You gave me a part of you,” she said, her voice deep with meaning, “a part I carried inside me when I was at my lowest… a part

୮ that eased my pain without even knowing it.”

Her lips curved into a soft, grateful smile as she looked back at Kai.

“He became my strength when I felt weak. My courage when I was afraid. My reason when I wanted to give up.”

She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Kai’s temple, careful of the bandage.

“You gave me my Kai Pierce.”

**tbc****

Chapter 15

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