Bound By A Broken Night novel Chapter 59

Chapter 59

A few days after Zandrie and Mirriam left Cassie at the restaurant, Zandrie still hadn’t returned to the hotel for the night.

She hadn’t noticed it though.

Her thoughts were consumed by something else entirely–by the unsettling aftermath of her unexpected encounter with Ashton.

After introducing Zandrie as her husband, Ashton had vanished as though he had dissolved into thin air. No chance encounters.

Cassie told herself she didn’t care.

And yet, despite never being one to stalk corporate news or media releases from Pierce Company, she made an exception. Just this once. Just to check. Just to be sure.

The information she found was minimal, insignificant even–but enough to confirm one thing.

Ashton hadn’t left the country.

Her fingers hovered over the screen as she stared at the article, her reflection faintly visible on the dark glass.

“He might just be busy,” she whispered, more to herself than to the empty room.

The moment the words left her lips, realization hit.

“Ugh, Cassidy. What are you doing?” she groaned, snapping out of it. She locked the screen and tossed the phone onto the bed as if it had burned her.

Since when did it matter whether Ashton showed up or not?

She dragged a hand down her face and let out a frustrated breath.

“When did his presence–or absence–become something you cared about?”

Silence answered her.

She scoffed, shaking her head. “So what if he’s still in the country? Why are you even expecting him to come looking for you?”

Her own thoughts sounded ridiculous when spoken aloud, and that only fueled her irritation. She mocked herself under her breath, hoping the self–derision would chase away the strange, persistent unease that had clung to her since her first day back in Bay City–since the moment their paths had crossed again.

But then, unbidden, a scene surfaced in her mind.

She froze.

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The passionate night she refused to acknowledge–yet remembered with unforgiving clarity–unfolded in vivid fragments. Every detail flowed too easily, as though it had been etched into her memory rather than dreamed.

“Stop…” she whispered weakly, shaking her head as if the motion alone could remove the lewd images crowding her thoughts.

It didn’t help.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Cassidy,” she muttered, forcing out a quiet snort even as embarrassment crept up her spine.

“It was just a dream,” she told herself sharply–for the nth time. Yet the words rang hollow.

That dream had lingered far longer than it should have, haunting her, resurfacing when she least expected it. It unsettled her how something unreal could feel so convincing–so intrusive.

How could a dream affect so effortlessly with the reality? As if Ashton would truly go out of his way to see her–simply because she had dreamed of him being gentle with her.

Why would he ever come looking for her?

Ashton Pierce was a man with a thousand responsibilities, a man whose time was calculated in billions and mergers. And she?

She was nothing more than an inconvenience. A nuisance from the past.

“Don’t forget,” she added quietly, forcing the truth down her own throat, “he hates you.”

The words lingered in the air long after she exhaled, heavy and convincing–almost enough to make her believe them.

“You have more important things to do with your time, Cassidy.”

The reprimand barely settled before she straightened abruptly, a sudden restlessness jolting through her. Her hand reached for her phone almost on instinct.

“Drie hasn’t come back yet?”

Her brows knit together as she scrolled through her call logs and messages. Nothing. No updates. No casual check–ins. It had been a couple of days–far longer than usual–for Zandrie not to report to her in

some way.

Since their mutually agreed marriage arrangement, seeing each other had never been a requirement. They lived parallel lives, intersecting only when necessary. Zandrie had his freedom, just as she had hers

-as long as everything remained discreet.

She was used to that. Or at least, she thought she was.

Still, the unease lingered. In Savannah City, his disappearances were ordinary, expected even. But this was Bay City. Too close to old ghosts. Too close to complications neither of them needed.

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Chapter 59

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