When Love Finds Its Way Back (Cassienne and Dreston) novel Chapter 99

Chapter Ninety–Nine: That Method Is Old Fashioned.

Cassienne couldn’t sleep.

No matter how many times she tried to lie down, no matter how tightly she shut her eyes, sleep refused to come. The luxurious silence of the suite felt suffocating rather than comforting, the expensive decor suddenly meaningless as her thoughts spiraled out of control.

It was past one in the morning.

She paced the length of the room, barefoot against the cool marble floor, her robe clutched tightly around her body. Her phone lay abandoned on the glass table.

The message replayed in her head again and again.

This wasn’t about NULLWRAITH.

For once, that secret wasn’t what terrified her.

This was about software.

The one she had been developing quietly for a long time. The one that wasn’t registered under Auralink, Coralreach, or any public entity. The one she had built from the ground up–line by line, safeguard by safeguard. It was personal.

And once, not too long ago, someone had tried to breach it.

Back then, she had fought them off. Tracked the intrusion. Shut it down. She had convinced herself the threat was gone, buried and safe.

But tonight’s message suggested otherwise.

Someone knew about her only hope in this industry. Her breakthrough backup she had kept a secret.

Someone remembered it and is fooling around.

Fear crawled up her spine, cold and deliberate. She stopped pacing and wrapped her arms around herself, forcing a breath into her lungs.

This place is safe, she told herself.

The Lisbourn Royal Resorts was built like a fortress. Security cameras. Private access. Layers upon layers of protection.

Still… fear didn’t listen to logic.

The sudden sound of the doorbell shattered the silence.

Cassienne jumped violently, a sharp gasp tearing from her throat. Her heart slammed against her ribs as panic surged through her veins.

Who could possibly be here at this hour?

Her instincts screamed danger. Her legs felt weak as she moved toward the door, every step heavy, uncertain. She activated the security screen with trembling fingers, barely daring to look.

The image flickered on.

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1 terity to that Method tractioned

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Dreston.

Relief hit her so hard it nearly knocked the breath from her lungs.

Without thinking, without pausing to question herself, she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Then she broke completely. Cassienne threw herself into him.

Dreston barely had time to register what was happening before she collided with his chest, her arms wrapping around him with desperate strength. He caught her instantly, reflex overriding thought, his own arms coming up to hold her tightly.

She was shaking. Not subtly. Not faintly. She was trembling in his arms like someone barely holding herself together.

Dreston’s jaw clenched as concern slammed into him. Cassienne had never been like this. Not once in all the years he had known her. She had always been composed, guarded, and unbreakable.

Seeing her vulnerable ripped something open inside him.

“What happened?” he asked softly, his voice low and protective. “Cassienne… are you okay?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she pressed her face deeper into his chest, clutching his shirt like he was the only thing keeping her upright. Her silence spoke louder than words ever could.

Dreston’s expression darkened.

Fear for her twisted quickly into anger. Raw, instinctive anger. His mind jumped to the one thought he hated most.

Corren.

Had he said something? Done something? Crossed a line?

If that was it–if Corren had hurt her in any way–Dreston knew, without question, that he would forget every rule he’d ever lived by.

He tightened his hold on her slightly, grounding her, steadying her breathing with his own.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’m here.”

Down the hallway, unaware of the storm brewing, Corren and Merrick were returning from the lounge, their footsteps echoing softly against the polished floor.

Then Corren stopped immediately.

His eyes locked onto the scene ahead of him.

Cassienne, wrapped in Dreston’s arms.

For a moment, his mind refused to accept it. He blinked, convinced his exhaustion was playing tricks on him. But the image didn’t change.

Cassienne wasn’t being restrained. She was holding on.

Something cracked inside him.

The sight hit harder than he expected, a sharp pain slicing through his chest. She was supposed to be with him.

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She had chosen him, or at least, that was what they agreed on.

So why was she seeking comfort in Dreston’s arms?

Merrick saw it too.

He didn’t say anything at first. He simply reached out and gripped Corren’s shoulder firmly, grounding him before he could take another step forward.

“Don’t,” Merrick warned quietly.

But Corren barely heard him.

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