When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 151

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Chapter One Hundred And Fifty–One: Guard Your Heart.

The city was quiet in Cassienne’s part of town.

From the floor–to–ceiling glass window of her bedroom, Cassienne could see the skyline stretching endlessly into the night–silver lights blinking against the darkness, traffic flowing like veins of molten gold beneath her building.

She sat cross–legged on the polished wooden floor, laptop balanced on her thighs, her back resting lightly against the cool glass.

The room was dim except for the glow of her screen.

Her fingers moved quickly across the keyboard.

It was precise, confident and relentless.

Lines of code filled the screen–structures she hadn’t touched in months. Algorithms she once sketched out in notebooks late at night when the world felt too heavy.

Her secret project. The one she had buried when life got complicated. The same one she told no one

about.

Not Dreston. Not her friends. Not even herself, sometimes. But tonight, she had returned to it. And it felt

like reclaiming something.

After Aurora and Daisy left earlier that evening, their advice had lingered in her mind like an echo.

Guard your heart.

So instead of driving to Dreston’s place like she originally planned, she stayed home alone. To think, to

build. And to breathe.

Her phone had been buzzing intermittently for over two hours, vibrating softly against the wooden floor beside her laptop.

She ignored it.

She was in that rare zone, the one she loved, where logic silenced emotion. Where nothing existed except patterns and solutions.

Her fingers paused only when a new notification chimed–sharper this time, almost intrusive.

She exhaled slowly and glanced down.

Several unread messages. Different names. Different conversations. But one stood out.

Tina.

Cassienne scoffed quietly.

Chapter One Hundred And Fifty live Guard Your Heart

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“What are you up to now?” she muttered under her breath.

The memory of Tina’s attack flashed briefly in her mind, the calculated blow to her ribs, the deliberate attempt to injure without leaving visible damage.

And now she wants friendship?

Cassienne picked up her phone and tapped the message open.

Hi Cass, let’s get together tomorrow evening. I’m bored and need a friend.

She stared at the screen for a long moment.

Then she let out a dry laugh.

“A friend?”

Tina had audacity. That much she had to admire. Cassienne dropped the phone beside her again.

Friendship was not something you resurrected with a casual text. Trust wasn’t built from boredom.

Tina would have to bleed sincerity before Cassienne believed a word.

She returned her attention to her laptop, but the rhythm had broken.

The code no longer flowed the same way. And her mind wandered.

Eventually, she saved her progress carefully, logged out of the development environment, signed out of every encrypted channel she was using, and shut the laptop down.

The room dimmed instantly.

Silence followed.

Only the city lights reflecting faintly against the glass behind her.

She picked up her phone again–this time scrolling through the other notifications.

Most of them were from Dreston.

Her lips curved involuntarily.

“Where are you?”

“Are you coming over?”

It’s the weekend.”

“Cass?”

One message simply read:

“I miss you.”

Chapter One Hundred And Fifty–Onet Guard Your Ment

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Her chest tightened softly. She had planned to go. She had even packed an overnight bag earlier.

But Aurora’s words replayed clearly.

“Don’t fall in love blindly. Rise into it.”

Cassienne leaned her head back against the glass. She loved him. That wasn’t the question anymore.

But love didn’t mean surrender. She couldn’t go back to being the woman who gave everything without keeping something for herself.

She typed a short reply.

“I’m tired tonight. Rain check?”

She stared at it for three seconds. Then pressed send..Her heart thudded lightly after. Why did that feel harder than coding an entire system?

She placed the phone face–down beside her. The room suddenly felt larger and lonelier.

She stood slowly and walked toward the bed, her bare feet sinking into the soft rug. She didn’t bother turning on more lights.

The night outside was enough.

As she slid beneath the covers, she reached instinctively for the other side of the bed. It was empty. And she froze.

That had become a habit. Her body remembered what her mind was trying to guard against.

She pulled her hand back and turned onto her side, curling slightly into herself.

Was distance strength? Or fear?

She wasn’t sure anymore. She closed her eyes. Exhaustion crept in–not just from work, but from feeling. From wanting. From holding back.

Within minutes, sleep claimed her.

Outside the glass, the city continued to glow.

Inside the room, Cassienne slept, unaware that the balance she was trying to control was already beginning to shift.

And somewhere else across the city, Dreston stared at his phone, reading her message again.

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