When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 289

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Tina Ackley had returned to her penthouse, but nothing felt the same. The silence inside was oppressive, almost suffocating, as if the entire apartment had stopped breathing along with her.

She sat alone on the cold marble floor of her living room, back pressed against the base of the couch, knees drawn up to her chest. The heavy curtains remained tightly closed even though night had fully fallen outside. Only faint slivers of city lights filtered through the edges of the glass windows, casting long, ghostly shadows across the ruined space.

Her phone lay beside her on the floor, still vibrating nonstop with incoming notifications, messages, and calls. Tina no longer bothered checking it. She already knew exactly what she would find–more insults, more vicious headlines, more people tearing her apart online in real time.

Earlier that afternoon, one of the top trending topics worldwide had been: “Protect Cassienne Rhodes“.

Somehow, that hurt more than all the insults combined. Because no matter what Tina did, no matter how hard she fought, people still chose Cassienne. Always. Every single time.

Slowly, almost against her will, Tina lifted her red–rimmed eyes toward the large television mounted across the room. The screen was muted, but the images playing on loop were more than enough to shatter what remained of her composure.

The gala footage replayed again in crisp, merciless detail–Dreston lunging forward to catch Cassienne before she could fall, holding her tightly against his chest, looking at her like losing her would destroy him completely.

Tina’s chest tightened painfully, a sharp, twisting ache that made it hard to breathe.

Then another clip began. The dance.

The camera had captured everything with pure clarity: the way Dreston held Cassienne so carefully in his arms, the way his usually cold eyes softened around her, the way Cassienne looked back at him despite her obvious attempt to remain composed. Even strangers watching from thousands of miles away could see the truth.

They loved each other. Deeply. Undeniably.

Tina let out a shaky, broken breath before grabbing the nearest cushion and hurling it violently across the room. It slammed against the wall with a dull thud. “I hate her,” she whispered into the emptiness. But even now, the words sounded weak and hollow.

Because deep down, Tina already understood something she had been desperately avoiding for a very long time.

She could never become Cassienne Rhodes.

Not because she wasn’t beautiful enough. Not because she wasn’t intelligent or ambitious. But because Cassienne carried something Tina had never possessed–authentic presence, effortless grace, and the kind of love that people gave freely without being manipulated or forced.

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Chopter Two Hundred And Eighty Nine. You failed

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And Dreston…

Tina closed her eyes painfully, tears slipping down her cheeks.

Even after she had forced the public engagement announcement, that man had still looked at his wife like she was his entire world.

The soft chime of the private elevator suddenly interrupted her spiraling thoughts.

Tina froze immediately, her body going rigid.

A few seconds later, calm, steady footsteps echoed across the penthouse floor–controlled, unhurried, and devastatingly familiar. Her heart began hammering wildly in her chest.

Then the door opened. Dreston Tremont walked in.

Tina scrambled to her feet immediately. For one brief, desperate moment, a flicker of hope flashed through her tear–filled eyes. Part of her still believed that if she could just explain things properly, if she could make him understand her pain, maybe he would soften.

“Dreston,” she breathed, her voice cracking with fragile emotion.

Dreston closed the door behind him with quiet finality. His expression remained completely unreadable, like a mask carved from stone.

That calm unsettled Tina more than anything else. She would have preferred his anger. At least anger carried heat, carried emotion. But this cold detachment felt infinitely worse.

Tina stepped toward him slowly, her hands trembling at her sides. “I know things got out of control today,” she began quickly, words tumbling out in a desperate rush. “But I wasn’t trying to hurt her. I was emotional, and everyone misunderstood what happened at the gala. It wasn’t what it looked like.”

Dreston said nothing. He simply stood there, watching her.

Tina continued, her voice growing more frantic. “I only wanted you to see me for once. Do you understand what it feels like to stand beside someone like Cassienne every single day?” Her voice. cracked. “She has everything. Everyone loves her. Everything always works out for her while people like me have to fight and struggle just to be noticed.”

Still, Dreston remained silent.

That silence began crushing her slowly, suffocating her from the inside.

“I loved you,” she admitted shakily, tears streaming down her face. “I truly loved you.”

No response.

Tina’s breathing turned uneven, almost panicked. “Say something. Please.”

Dreston finally looked at her fully. And somehow, that made everything worse. There was no warmth left

in his eyes anymore–only exhaustion and icy resolve.

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Chapter Two Hundred And fighty Nine You Femd

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“I tried to handle this quietly,” he said calmly, his deep voice cutting through the room like a blade. “But you crossed the line the moment you tried to hurt Cassienne.”

Tina shook her head immediately. “I didn’t mean for her to-”

“She’s pregnant.”

The words sliced through the air sharply.

Dreston’s jaw tightened. “And you still touched her.”

Tina stared at him speechlessly. For the first time since he had arrived, real fear coiled in her stomach.

Not fear of shouting. Not fear of explosive anger. But fear of how deadly serious he sounded.

Tina stepped closer again, her voice dropping to a broken whisper. “But you chose me. You announced our engagement to the world.”

Dreston looked at her for a long, heavy moment. Then he finally spoke.

“No,” he said with chilling calm. “I tolerated you.”

The words landed harder than any physical blow. Tina’s face drained of all color.

“You still love her,” she whispered painfully, the truth finally sinking in like poison.

Dreston didn’t even hesitate. “I never stopped loving my wife.”

Tina felt something deep inside her shatter completely, irreparably.

Everything she had fought for, everything she had believed, everything she had sacrificed–it had never truly existed.

Dreston walked past her slowly toward the nearby table where the engagement ring box still sat untouched. He picked it up with calm indifference before turning back to her.

“This ends tonight.”

Tina’s eyes widened in pure panic. “No…”

“Our engagement is over,” Dreston continued, his voice steady and merciless. “And from this moment onward, you stay away from my wife.”

Tears flooded Tina’s eyes instantly. “You can’t do this to me.”

Dreston looked at her quietly. “I shouldn’t have agreed to this blackmail in the first place.”

Tina shook her head repeatedly, desperation clawing at her throat. “No…. no, Dreston, please-”

But he was already walking toward the door.

Everything inside her shattered at that moment. “Was I really nothing to you?” she cried out, voice

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Chapter Two Hundred And Fighty–Nine You Boubact

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