When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 120

Chapter One Hundred And Twenty: I Did See You As A Woman.

Dreston had never been speechless before. Not in boardrooms filled with ruthless investors. Not in front of journalists waiting to twist his words.

And certainly not even when his father had once challenged his leadership in front of senior executives.

But now, sitting across from Cassienne at his own dining table, he found himself unable to speak.

He knew the answer to her question. And that was the problem. If he told her the truth, it might hurt her. And If he lied, he would be insulting the very thing he was trying to rebuild.

Cassienne watched him quietly. Her eyes were not accusing. They were not angry either. But they were simply searching.

She didn’t even know why she had asked the question. It had slipped out of her like something long buried that finally found air.

Maybe it was the house. Or maybe it was the scent of familiarity. It might also be because of the wedding photo still hanging on the wall like nothing had ever changed.

If it had been up to her alone, she would never have come back here. If her mother had not been at the center of this fragile arrangement, she would have stayed far away from this mansion and the memories

it held.

But now she was here. And sitting across from the man who had once been her whole world…. She

exhaled.

“You don’t need to reply,” she said softly, breaking the silence. “Forget what I asked.”

Her voice wasn’t bitter. But soft.

Dreston straightened slightly..“I did,” he said.

Her gaze lifted.

“I did see you as a woman. Not once, not twice. But always.”

The words fell between them like something sacred.

Cassienne’s breath caught.

Her fingers tightened slightly against the table edge. For a brief second, something warm and foolish and hopeful twisted inside her stomach.

He was not a man who lied. That much she knew. But she needed to be sure.

“At a point,” he continued, his voice lower and rougher, “I wanted to take you to my bed, Cassienne.”

Her heart stopped beating.

Chapte One Hundred And Twenty 1 DI See You Ag A Woman

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“But I had to stop myself,” he added quickly. “Because if I did… I would have hurt you more than I already

had.”

Her brows pulled together faintly.

“What do you mean?” she asked quietly.

He exhaled.

“Because I wasn’t whole,” he admitted. “And you deserved a man who was.”

Silence thickened.

“Please forgive me,” he said.

And before she could process the weight of that confession, he stood.

He left the table instantly. He left her sitting there with her unanswered emotions. He left her with a truth

she had never expected to hear.

Cassienne remained seated long after he disappeared up the stairs. Her chest felt tight.

So he had seen her. All those years… he had seen her. Then was he cold towards her?

Why had he kept his distance like she was something fragile that would break at his touch?

She closed her eyes, realising something. Because he loved someone else. That truth had once destroyed her.

He had loved Tina since their teenage years. And he had never betrayed that love. Not even in marriage. 1

And maybe… maybe that was the cruelest kind of loyalty.

Eventually, she stood. She climbed up the stairs and walked toward the bedroom slowly. When she stepped inside, she saw him already in bed.

Two pillows placed carefully in the middle like a barricade.

She smiled. But sad. That was a quiet declaration of restraint. Something about it made her chest ache.

He was protecting her.

She hesitated at the door. For a moment, she looked at the sofa near the window. It would be easier and safer if she sleeps there. But she had agreed to this. They needed to make their union believable.

And perhaps… she needed to stop running from shared spaces. So she walked to the bed. The mattress dipped slightly as she climbed in.

She pulled the covers over herself carefully, keeping distance from the pillow barrier.

“Good night, Dreston,” she said softly. But he didn’t answer.

She knew he was awake. She could feel it in the stillness of his body. He wasn’t ignoring her. He was.

Chapter one Hundred And Twenty Did See You As A Woman.

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holding himself back.

On the other side of the pillows, Dreston stared at the ceiling in the darkness. He could hear her breathing and feel her presence.

She was closer to him now than she had ever been during their entire marriage. And that irony was not

lost on him.

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