When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 200

Chapter Two Hundred: Don’t Interrupt.

The silence that followed Dreston’s ultimatum was heavy and thick enough to suffocate someone.

They all went silent, still weighing his words.

They all looked at one another, as if silently passing responsibility, as if hoping someone else would take the first step into the truth they had all been avoiding.

Dreston stood there, unmoving. His posture is straight. His jaw was tight. His patience was gone.

“If no one is going to say anything-”

“Dreston.” Abigail’s voice cut through the tension, and stopped him.

Slowly, his eyes shifted to his mother.

She was already looking at him, her gaze filled with worry, but also with something else.

She placed her napkin gently on the table and stood up, her movements calm, and measured. The kind of calm that only came when a decision had already been made.

“If this is what you need…” she said quietly, “then I will tell you.”

Joseph turned his head sharply toward her. “Abigail-”

She shook her head lightly, stopping him.

“No. He’s right.” Her eyes returned to Dreston. “He deserves to know.”

The room went still again–but this time, it wasn’t hesitation. It was surrender.

Dreston didn’t sit at all, he remained standing, watching her, waiting.

Abigail took a small step forward, her hands folding gently in front of her.

“After everything that happened between you and Cassienne…” she began slowly, choosing her words with care, “there was a time when you misunderstood her.”

Dreston’s brows pulled together slightly.

“Tina presented a product,” Abigail continued, “and claimed it was hers.” She paused a little. “But it

wasn’t.”

Dreston’s eyes sharpened.

“It belonged to Cassienne.” She revealed.

“So… that product was Cassienne’s?” he asked, his voice low, trying to process it. “She created it?”

Joseph nodded from where he stood.

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“Yes. That’s correct.”

Dreston exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. “And I… believed Tina?” he asked, though something in his tone already knew the answer.

Abigail didn’t soften it. “Yes.”

That one word landed heavily. Dreston’s jaw tightened slightly.

“But when you found out the truth,” Abigail added quickly, “you went to Cassienne.”

His eyes flickered.

“You apologized to her.”

He listened.

“You didn’t just apologize,” she continued. “You tried to make things right.”

Dreston didn’t speak. He was listening with more interest.

“And at that time,” Abigail went on, “Cassienne had already moved on.”

That caught his attention and somehow his expression changed. “Moved on?” he repeated.

“She was seeing someone else,” Abigail said gently. “Corren.”

A flicker of something crossed his face, and it was unsettling.

“You didn’t like it,” she added.

“I was jealous?” he asked, almost immediately, without any hesitation.

“Yes.” The answer came from Joseph this time.

Dreston let out a quiet breath.

It made sense. Too much sense.

“But she didn’t come back to you immediately,” Abigail continued. “She didn’t want anything to do with you at first.”

That

part

hit him in a different way. His eyes lowered slightly. And he went silent for a while.

“But things changed,” Abigail said softly.

He looked up again.

“She left Corren’s company,” she explained, “and she returned to Auralink.”

Dreston’s brows furrowed. “What?” he asked.

Abigail paused a little. Then she spoke. “As the CTO.”

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“What?” The word came out sharper than he intended. He was shocked. “She became the CTO?” he repeated, disbelief clear in his voice.

Abigail nodded, a faint smile touching her lips despite everything.

“Yes. And she did exceptionally well.”

Dreston leaned back slightly, absorbing that. He already knew that part from the hospital. But now it felt foreign to him because he was hearing it from his parents.

How his ex–wife became the CTO of Auralink is still strange to him. A woman he had once… underestimated.

Something about that didn’t sit right with the version of reality in his head, but he didn’t interrupt.

Abigail continued. “Then her mother came.‘

“Emily,” Joseph added quietly.

Dreston’s gaze shifted between them.

Abigail nodded. “She came to visit. And because of her health… because of everything she had been through…”

Dreston’s expression tightened slightly.

“You and Cassienne had to pretend.”

“Pretend?” he asked.

“That you were still married,” Abigail said softly.

A long pause followed. Dreston’s mind tried to catch up.

“You lived together again,” she added.

Something in his chest tightened.

“And during that time…” her voice softened even more, “something changed between you both.”

Dreston didn’t blink. He just listened.

“You started seeing her differently,” Abigail said. “You started treating her differently.”

Joseph added quietly, “You fell in love with her.”

Dreston’s breath slowed. His mind… blanked for a second.

“And after Emily left,” Abigail continued, “there was nothing to pretend anymore.”

Her eyes held his.

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“You both chose each other.”

Dreston swallowed.

“You loved her,” she said gently. “And she loved you. You were already planning to remarry.”

The words hit hard, but Dreston didn’t speak. He couldn’t. For a moment, everything inside him went quiet.

He blinked slowly, trying to make sense of it. “So…” his voice came out lower now, steadier, “if I was going to remarry Cassienne…”

His eyes lifted again. “What happened to Tina?”

The room shifted, subtly, and tension returned.

Abigail didn’t hesitate this time. “You ended things with her.”

Dreston froze. “What?”

“You broke up with Tina,” Joseph confirmed. His voice carried weight and finality. “She is no longer your girlfriend.”

Dreston’s eyes darkened slightly. “But at the hospital-”

“She was acting,” Abigail cut in, her tone sharper now. “Everything you saw… was an act.”

Dreston got confused.

“She knows your condition,” Abigail added. “And she is using it.‘

Dreston’s jaw clenched. “And Cassienne?” he asked quietly.

Abigail’s voice softened again. “She is also acting.”

That surprised him.

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