When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 2

Cassienne stepped away from the pillar, feeling smaller than ever. Her mood was exactly what it always seemed to be—sadness, sorrow, regret, and a stubborn hope that refused to die no matter how much it hurt her.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and pressed the down button for the next elevator. When the doors opened, she walked in and leaned against the glass wall. The cool surface supported her weight as memories washed over her.

She remembered high school so clearly. How Dreston had forgotten her. How they used to play together and eat lunch side by side. And how everything shattered the moment Tina appeared, stealing his attention and pulling his friends away from her.

She remembered the first time she saw them kiss. Even as a teenager, she had known that kiss was too intimate—nothing childish about it. Yet her love for him never changed. Tina had known that Dreston and Cassienne were together back then, but she still stepped between them and claimed him for herself.

A soft ding snapped Cassienne back to the present. She stepped out of the elevator and headed straight for the car.

When she reached home, Dreston’s car was already parked outside, and his bodyguards stood around it. That meant he was inside.

Hope tugged weakly at her heart—desperate, foolish hope. Perhaps what she saw earlier had been her imagination. Maybe things could still be okay between them.

When his parents made her sign the contract five years ago, they had meant well. They believed their son would eventually love her. They believed that five years would be enough time for her to win his heart, to have a child, to create a bond he could not ignore.

But none of that had happened.

In those five years, Dreston had never touched her. Not once. They lived like strangers under the same roof. And she couldn’t even tell her friends the truth—that at twenty-seven years old, she was still a virgin. They would mock and laugh at her

But this was her reality now. Married… and untouched.

She walked into the sitting room, and there he was.

Dreston stood beside the floor-to-ceiling glass window, holding a glass of whiskey. One hand rested in his pocket, making him look powerful and heartbreakingly calm. His black curly hair was messy in a handsome, effortless way. His grey eyes met hers, and her heart immediately began to race.

Her heart had always belonged to him. Nothing had ever changed that.

“I didn’t know you went out,” he said casually. “I thought you would be home.”

His voice was smooth, soft—wrapping around her the way it always did.

“I was at the hospital,” Cassienne said quietly. There was no point in lying.

He frowned. “Are you sick? Why didn’t you tell me?”

For a moment—just a tiny, fragile moment—she almost mistook his words for care. But she knew better. This was how he spoke to everyone. To staff and to strangers. To anyone but Tina.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Just a little fever. The doctor gave me some meds.”

He nodded, set the glass on the coffee table, and walked closer to her. But he was too close. Then he reached out and pressed his palm gently against her forehead, checking her temperature.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify