The Don Tore Up Our Divorce (Gemma and Cassian) novel Chapter 56

**Before Rain Touches Earth Memories Return With Gentle Warmth by Eli Dane Crest**

**Chapter 56**

**Gemma**

I find myself momentarily paralyzed, the weight of disbelief pressing down on me like a heavy fog. For a fleeting moment, the world around me fades into a distant hum, my ears filled only with the frantic beating of my heart.

Cassian orchestrated this? He had the audacity to remove my mother from the list for the very drug that could potentially save her life?

The realization strikes me like a bolt of lightning. I am acutely aware of his disdain for me. I know he cannot tolerate betrayal, and I’ve seen the consequences faced by those who have dared to cross him in the past.

Yet, I never imagined he would sink so low as to target my mother in this cruel game.

Gradually, the chaos in my mind quiets, and I become aware of Dr. Rojas’s voice cutting through the silence.

“…I know he’s been visiting her. Perhaps if you could speak to him, you might be able to sway his decision?”

The urge to cry wells up inside me, a tidal wave of emotion threatening to break free.

Talking to Cassian has never resolved anything; it only exacerbates the situation.

In fact, our conversations are the very catalyst for this turmoil. Each time we speak, it feels as if I’m digging myself deeper into an abyss rather than finding a way out.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I reply, my voice sounding distant and hollow, as if it belongs to someone else. The rest of the conversation blurs into obscurity, a haze of words and emotions that I can scarcely remember.

When I finally sink back onto the couch, my hands tremble uncontrollably.

Why would Cassian do something so unforgivable?

He’s merciless, yes. He’s capable of violence, but I’ve always held onto the belief that he refrains from harming those who are defenseless—children, the elderly, the sick.

The targets of his wrath are always those who pose a threat to him or his family. He’s never harmed anyone innocent, at least not that I know of.

I’ve admired that aspect of him, it’s one of the reasons I find myself yearning for him, clinging to the hope that beneath his hardened exterior lies a protector who could save me from this chaos.

But now, I must confront a painful possibility: perhaps I don’t know him at all. Maybe Cassian is indeed willing to go after my mother as a way to punish me.

Maybe he truly is the villain in this twisted narrative.

A chilling thought strikes me—if my mother is being denied the medication, who is receiving it instead? With her name removed from the list, who stands at the forefront now?

There’s no chance the hospital would divulge such information to me. Medical records are safeguarded for a reason, and I’ve generally respected that boundary.

But today is different.

I’m a hacker. I could manipulate the list, restore my mother’s name to the top. But the consequences would be dire. People would notice the tampering; questions would arise.

I would expose my hidden identity to the world if I believed it would save my mother, but I know it wouldn’t. I’d end up arrested for interfering with hospital records, and she would remain in her current predicament—waiting, sidelined for Angela Holland, just as she had been when my father was alive.

Cassian removed my mother from that list to elevate his mistress’s mother.

Once again, Reyna and her mother are intruding into my life, taking away everything that matters to me.

“Holy shit. Gemma?”

I look up, startled, to find Zina standing before me, her expression a mixture of concern and fear. Her hair is now a vibrant blue, reminiscent of the sky on a clear day.

Despite the lighter hue, it brings to mind Cassian’s piercing blue eyes, a reminder I desperately wish to avoid.

“What’s happening? You look like you’re ready to storm out of here and tear someone apart.”

I exhale a shaky breath, feeling as though my anger is a fragile thread, ready to snap at any moment. If I release it, I fear I’ll crumble into a sobbing mess, unable to regain my composure.

“Cassian has removed my mom from that list for the experimental medicine. Instead, Reyna’s mom is getting it. For insomnia.”

Zina’s face drains of color. “What are you planning to do?”