When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 70

Chapter Seventy: Did You Have Fun?

There, at the entrance of the cafeteria, stood Tina.

A tablet was clutched in her hand, pressed tightly against her chest. The moment her eyes landed on Cassienne, something dark flickered across her face.

Cassienne noticed her at the entrance.

She looked away almost immediately and calmly placed her order, keeping her expression unreadable. Garry, on the other hand, didn’t notice Tina at all. His attention was fully on Cassienne, his body angled slightly toward her as if the rest of the room didn’t exist.

Tina waited until the waitress finished taking their orders and walked away. That was when she moved.

Earlier, she had gone to Cassienne’s office, only to be told by the assistant that Cassienne was at lunch. Tina hadn’t needed further explanation. If Cassienne was eating in the building, it would be the executive cafeteria.

So she came straight here. Her steps were slow but measured as she approached their table.

“Garry?” she called.

Garry turned at once and smiled. It was warm and casual. “Hey, Tina. Long time no see.”

The greeting stung more than Tina expected.

Once upon a time, she had been the favorite among Dreston’s circle of friends and they all adored her.

Before that, it had been Cassienne, but the moment Cassienne introduced Tina into their lives, everything

switched.

One by one, they drifted away from Cassienne and gathered around Tina instead.

And now…now Garry was sitting with Cassienne. Since when?

The realization unsettled her deeply. Worse still, Garry spoke to her as though she were just another acquaintance.

“You didn’t come to check on me?” Tina asked, forcing a smile that wasn’t exactly genuine,

Garry glanced at her again, keeping his expression polite but distant. “I’m sorry. I came to see Cassienne as soon as Dreston told me about her appointment. I thought it would be nice to congratulate her in person.”

Tina’s fingers tightened around the tablet making her knuckles turn pale. Anger boiled beneath the surface, but she held on to her smile, even as it strained.

“I’m sure you came here to see me,” Cassienne said calmly, breaking the silence between them.

Tina turned her attention to her, nodding quickly. “Yes. I wanted you to review the changes I made to the report you asked me to modify. It’s done now.”

“Send it to my email,” Cassienne replied. “I’ll get back to you once I’ve reviewed it.” She then turned fully toward Garry, effectively ending the conversation.

Tina remained standing and after a brief pause, Cassienne tilted her head and looked up again. “Is there anything else?”

Tina stiffened and shook her head. “No, that will be all. Excuse me.”

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⚫30 Bonus

It wasn’t as though she had been a different person then. She had tried, truly tried, to love him the only way she knew how. She had given him patience, affection, understanding. She had reached out again and again, hoping he would meet her halfway, but he never did.

He kept his distance, hiding behind some sort of silence and cold logic. Yes, he cared–she never lacked comfort or security. He made sure she had everything she needed. But that wasn’t love, was it? It wasn’t companionship. It wasn’t warmth. 1

And yet, this version of Dreston, the one who laughed easily, whose voice now carried warmth and teasing…that was the man she had wanted back then. The man she had hoped existed beneath the walls he built.

“Cassienne?” Dreston’s voice broke through her thoughts, pulling her back to real time. “Are you still there?”

She inhaled softly. “Then it’s a deal,” she said, almost without thinking. “Let’s bring the cup home.”

Her response pulled silence between them, making the room become heavy and still all of a sudden.

Cassienne froze the moment she realized what she had said. ‘Home‘

The line went quiet, and Dreston didn’t reply immediately. Her heart tightened.

‘He didn’t like that,‘ she thought. ‘Of course he didn’t.‘

“Cassienne,” Dreston finally said. “It’s-” 1

“I’m sorry,” she cut in quickly. “That was a slip of tongue. I shouldn’t say things like that.” She swallowed. “Tina already made it clear that you’re getting married soon. So… good night, Dreston.”

“Wait–don’t-”

BEEP. The call ended.

Cassienne stared at her phone, her reflection faint on the dark screen.

“Wow,” she murmured. “What was I thinking?”

She powered the phone off and placed it beside her, shaking her head.

“Home?” she scoffed. “Home.”

What home was she talking about? “Cassienne,” she whispered to herself, “wake up from this nonsense.”

It was embarrassing, ridiculous, even to let words like that slip. She reminded herself again that there was nothing between her and Dreston anymore except work. Nothing else.

She needed to be careful.

Because he was getting into her head again, and she hated how easily it was happening.

On the other side of the city, Dreston sat frozen, the disconnected call still pressed to his ear.

She hung up. She didn’t even give him a chance to explain. And what was that? Married to Tina? Where did that come from?

Frustration crept in, slow but definitely there. Every time he tried to reach Cassienne, she pulled away. Every single time.

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