When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 199

Chapter One Hundred And Ninety–Nine: Then Help Me.

The morning sun filtered gently through the tall glass windows of Dreston Tremont mansion. The atmosphere, this morning, felt… alive as the family’s voices overlapped. Laughter filled the dining room.

It was a rare sight.

Dreston sat at the head of the table, dressed in a simple dark shirt, his sleeves rolled slightly above his wrists. The faint bruises on his face had almost faded, leaving behind the familiar sharpness of his

features. He looked like himself again, but only on the outside.

But inside, everything was still… scattered.

Across the table, Jessica leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she spoke.

“I swear, you were the most troublesome child in this house,” she said, pointing her fork at him. “A walking disaster.”

Dreston raised a brow, amused. “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

“Oh, dramatic?” Sheila cut in, laughing softly. “Do you remember the day you said you wanted to ‘test something‘ in the backyard?”

Joseph let out a low chuckle, shaking his head as he sipped his coffee. “Test something, he said…”

Nora giggled. “You nearly set the garden on fire!”

“And not just the garden,” Abigail added, covering her mouth as she laughed. “The curtains inside caught

a bit too.”

Dreston blinked, then leaned back slightly, surprised. “Wait… what?”

Jessica clapped her hands once. “Yes! You built some kind of… what did you call it again?”

“A prototype combustion device,” Joseph answered dryly.

Dreston burst into laughter, genuine and full. “That actually sounds like something I would say.”

“It is something you said,” Sheila replied, smiling warmly. “You were so proud of it too. Until it exploded.”

Nora nodded eagerly. “You had soot all over your face!”

“And you still tried to explain the ‘science‘ behind it,” Jessica added, mimicking his tone. “‘It was a minor

miscalculation.’”

The table erupted into laughter again.

Dreston laughed along with them, his shoulders relaxing for the first time since he returned home. For a brief moment, everything felt… normal like nothing was wrong.

He picked up his glass of juice, taking a sip as he listened to them continue reminiscing. Their voices

Chapter One Hundred And Ninety–Nine. Then Help Me

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blurred into a comforting background noise, wrapping around him like warmth.

But beneath that warmth… something stirred. A quiet restlessness that crept in slowly, uninvited.

His gaze drifted across the table, watching each of them. The way they smiled. The way they carefully chose their words. The way certain topics were… avoided subtly but not enough to escape him.

The laughter around him began to feel distant and forced. He set the glass down slowly.

The faint clink against the table was enough to draw a few glances. And just like that, the laughter began to fade.

Dreston leaned forward slightly, his fingers interlocking as he rested his elbows on the table. His expression changed. Not harsh, but serious.

“I know,” he began quietly, with a calm voice, “that everything you’re all doing… is to help me.”

No one spoke.

Jessica’s smile faded just a little. And Joseph’s hand paused mid–air.

“I know you’re trying to protect me,” Dreston continued, his grey eyes moving from one face to another. And I appreciate it.”

Then a brief pause before his tone shifted, and it’s slightly heavier now. “But this…” he gestured lightly around the table, “…this isn’t helping me.”

The room went still again. Abigail swallowed, her fingers tightening slightly around her napkin.

Dreston exhaled slowly, controlling himself. “The only way I can recover,” he said, his voice now firmer,”

is if I understand what I’ve lost.”

Another deep, uncomfortable silence followed again.

Dreston looked directly at his father. “Stop hiding things from me.”

Joseph held his gaze but said nothing. That silence… was the answer.

Dreston let out a quiet, humorless chuckle, leaning back in his chair. “So we’re still doing this.”

No one moved. No one spoke. The air grew heavy and thick.

Then, slowly, Dreston leaned forward again. This time, there was no patience left in his expression, only

frustration.

“You all want me to sit here,” he said, his voice rising just slightly, “and pretend like everything is normal- while I walk around in my own life like a stranger.”

Abigail shook her head softly. “Dreston-”

“No,” he cut in, not harshly, but firmly enough to stop her.

firm or Cone Hpdred And Ninety–Nine Then Heip Mer

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His eyes darkened. “If you want to help me,” he said, each word deliberate, “then tell me the truth.”

Even now, no one responded. Not even Jessica.

And that… that was what broke whatever restraint he had left.

A flicker of anger crossed his face. The uncontrollable type. “Fine,” he muttered under his breath. “I saw something.”

That got their attention. Every single one of them focused on him now.

But Dreston’s gaze hardened slightly as he continued. “In my sleep,” he said. “Or… what I thought was sleep.” He let out a slow breath. “I saw myself with Cassienne.”

Abigail’s fingers trembled slightly. Joseph’s jaw tightened.

Dreston didn’t miss it. But he continued. “It didn’t feel like a dream,” he added. “It was too… real.”

His voice lowered, it grew more intense. “I was in the kitchen.” No one interrupted him. “I had her…” he paused briefly, choosing his words carefully, “…pinned against the marble island.”

Abigail shut her eyes. Jessica’s lips parted slightly.

Dreston’s expression darkened further. “And I know,” he said, his voice steady but laced with certainty,” that it wasn’t just a dream.”

A long silence followed after.

He looked at each of them again–this time, with something sharper in his eyes.

“I made love to her,” he said bluntly. The words landed like a storm.

No one moved. No one breathed.

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