When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 197

Chapter One Hundred And Ninety–Seven: Help Him Recover.

He spoke as if everything was perfectly logical. As if he had already reached the conclusion himself.

Which, in truth, he had.

Mrs. Rawlings‘ earlier question. The clothing in his closet. The photographs on the wall.

He didn’t need confirmation anymore. Cassienne had been living here with him.

And strangely, that realization didn’t make him uncomfortable, but did the opposite. It only made him curious, because deep down, something inside him wanted her closer.

He didn’t understand why. And that unsettled him. The Dreston he remembered, the man before the accident, should have felt nothing but indifference toward his ex–wife.

Yet every time her name surfaced, something shifted inside his chest. Something quiet but persistent.

He wanted to understand that feeling. He wanted to understand her.

Abigail answered carefully. “She should be at her place,” she said with a gentle smile. “She normally stays there whenever she’s busy with work.”

Dreston nodded slowly. “Hm.”

He took another sip of water.

Then he pushed his chair back slightly and stood. “I’m sorry,” he said calmly. “I need to take my medication and get some sleep.” Then he glanced around the table. “I guess I’ll see you all tomorrow morning. Good night, everyone.”

Without waiting for further conversation, he stepped away from the table and walked toward the

staircase.

His footsteps faded slowly as he disappeared upstairs. The moment he was gone, the tension around

the table released.

Everyone looked at each other. And for a moment, no one spoke, until Abigail let out a soft breath. “He’s improving.”

Jessica nodded immediately. “Definitely.”

But Joseph remained quiet.

His gaze lingered toward the staircase where his son had disappeared. He was relieved. Even happy.

But beneath that relief was another emotion. There was concern because he understood something the others hadn’t fully realized.

Everything Dreston had said tonight, his calm reactions, his acceptance of new information, even his question about Cassienne. None of it came from memory.

Chapter One Hundred And Ninety–Seven Help Him Recover

+25 Bonus

It was a deduction. His son was piecing together clues. He was trying to reconstruct his missing life. And that meant something important.

Sooner or later, Dreston Tremont would discover the truth on his own. And Joseph could only hope that when that moment came, it would not destroy him.

That same night, Cassienne was in a phone conversation with her mother.

“Mother, I am fine. And like I said, I am not at home yet. Everyone is fine over here. Stop worrying too much.”

She spoke gently into the phone as she paced slowly across the bedroom floor of her apartment. Her voice carried patience, but also a hint of exhaustion she was trying hard to hide.

On the other end of the call, Emily’s voice came through clearly.

“Alright, if you say so. I am with my nephew now, and they are spoiling me terribly. I might stay here for the next two weeks.”

Cassienne smiled faintly. “I will let you know once I am back,”

But Emily continued. “I would like to receive you and Dreston when I return.”

Cassienne paused beside the bed, her fingers brushing against the edge of the duvet. “No problem, mother,” she replied calmly. “As long as we’re not busy, you will see us.”

Emily chuckled softly. “You have no choice but to make yourself available. I need to show you something very important. So I will need both of you here once I return.”

Cassienne hesitated for just a brief second before answering. “Okay, mother. I will discuss it with Dreston, and we will get back to you.”

She walked slowly toward the tall window overlooking the quiet city streets below. “Goodnight, mother.”

“Goodnight, my dear.”

Cassienne ended the call and lowered the phone slowly. For a moment she simply stood there. Then she let out a long breath.

Her mother.

That was the one problem she had managed to avoid thinking about in the middle of everything that had happened.

Emily still believed everything was perfect. She still believed her daughter and Dreston were happily married.

She still believed the family was whole.

Chapter One Hundred And Ninety Soven Help Him Recover

+25 Bonus

And Cassienne had allowed that belief to remain untouched because the truth was too dangerous.

Emily had been ill before. The doctors had warned them about emotional stress. That was the entire reason Joseph and Abigail had begged Cassienne to keep the divorce secret when Emily first came to visit.

And now, the lie has grown larger. How could she explain that she and Dreston had already been divorced when Emily arrived?

How could she explain that everything had been a fragile illusion? Cassienne shook her head slowly as she gazed through the glass.

No.

That truth would remain buried. At least for now. Her mother’s health mattered more than anything else.

And besides, things were changing again. They were changing slowly and carefully.

Her thoughts drifted to Dreston.

She knew he must have seen her things in the house by now. Her clothes and her personal items.

The little details she had deliberately left behind. Originally she had intended to remove them all. To create distance.

But after watching him in the hospital. After seeing the way he responded to her presence…

She realized something. Those small reminders might actually help him recover.

Her belongings. Her scent. Her existence in his space. All of it might guide his mind back to the memories he had lost.

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