Bound By A Broken Night novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45

+25 BONUS

“Suit yourself.” He gestured lazily toward my plate, as if my outburst hadn’t happened at all.

I rolled my eyes and set my utensils down, finally conceding the obvious truth: he had no intention of leaving, and whatever peace I’d hoped for during this meal was already lost.

“I was only trying to catch up on the three–no, six–years we haven’t seen each other, Cassie,” he said, a faint smile touching his lips. He even sounded sincere.

I wasn’t buying it.

“As I told you three years ago, when we met in Vermont City, there’s nothing to catch up on,” I replied, my voice sharpening despite my effort to keep it steady.

“You made that perfectly clear the morning you refused to believe me.”

The words tasted bitter, dredging up the memory that had shattered everything, Irritation surged, stripping away the last of my restraint.

“So don’t act like nothing happened,” I went on, fixing him with an annoyed look.

“Too much has changed. Too much has happened. And none of it can be undone just because you’ve decided to be cordial now.”

He didn’t bristle. Didn’t argue.

“I’m glad you grew a spine,” he said calmly, utterly unbothered.

My fingers tightened around my spoon. His nonchalance was infuriating–so much so that, for a fleeting second, I was sorely tempted to smack him across the face with it.

“Anger suits you,” he added lightly. “You look even more beautiful when you’re this feisty, Cassie.”

To my utter exasperation, he smiled–actually smiled as his eyes traced my face, as if we were sharing some private, pleasant moment.

“What?” I stared at him, completely thrown off. I could no longer make sense of his intentions.

“Are you sick, Ashton Pierce?”

The words slipped out before I could stop myself, and for half a second I almost reached out to press the back of my hand to his forehead–an old, foolish instinct I thought I’d buried.

“I’m fine,” he replied calmly.

“And I see you haven’t changed at all. You always check on me whenever you sense I’m not feeling well.” He shrugged, utterly shameless, that infuriating smile still lingering on his lips.

“Are you serious?” I snapped, disbelief sharpening my tone.

Chapter 45

+25 BONUS

“What are you doing, Ashton Pierce?”

“Where are you staying now?” he asked instead. “I’ll arrange a more comfortable accommodation for you.”

The audacity of it made me laugh–short, bitter, humorless.

“The hell you care?” I shot back.

“I was homeless and starving for months after you all decided to throw me away. What difference would it make now?” I chuckled mockingly.

“I have my own money now. I can pay for my hotel. I can pay for

I held his gaze, daring him to deny it.

my meals.”

For the first time since he’d sat down, he fell silent. And in that silence–heavy, unguarded–I felt a small, grim sense of victory.

“Then you have no reason to leave Bay City,” he said at last.

The sheer audacity of his words left me aghast.

“You have money now,” he continued evenly, his gaze steady on mine. “You have independence. And you are not as pathetic as before”

As if that settled everything. As if those things erased the past–or gave him the right to decide where I belonged.

“Cassie.”

The voice that reached me was nothing short of a lifeline. Relief surged so suddenly I almost exhaled a laugh.

“Drie.” I rose at once, not trusting my legs to carry me far on their own, and waited for Zandrie to reach me. I had wanted to walk away from Ashton minutes ago, to escape the suffocating tension- but my trembling feet had refused to cooperate. Drie’s arrival was my saving grace.

“You’re finished already?” I asked, threading my fingers through his when he took my hand, grounding myself in his familiar warmth.

“Yes. Everything went smoothly,” Drie replied with an easy smile. His gaze flicked briefly toward

Ashton.

Ashton, however, wasn’t looking at Drie. He was staring at our joined hands.

“And he is?” Drie asked politely, though I knew he recognized the man across from us perfectly well.

“Oh–right,” I said, forcing calm into my voice as I turned slightly.

“This is CEO Ashton Pierce of Pierce Corporation. My sister’s husband.”

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