Chapter 153

The garden was cooler than the ballroom, and Cassandra found the change in temperature oddly soothing.

She reclined against the back of the stone bench, hoping the position would ease some of the pressure of her tightly laced corset.

Draven sat beside her on the small bench, close enough that their shoulders brushed from time to time.

Unable to resist, Cassandra stole a sideways glance at him. He was gazing out over the pond, one arm draped casually along the back of the bench. The breeze stirred his dark hair, making him look unreal beneath the moonlight.

He was breathtaking. The pale glow illuminated his face, softening the severity of his features and lending him an almost ethereal beauty.

She had no idea how long she had been staring before his unexpected voice made her jolt so hard she nearly fell from the bench.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"No. It is much better out here than in there." Cassandra shook her head quickly, almost as though she had been caught doing something she ought not to be doing.

He nodded, apparently satisfied with her answer, and for a while, neither of them said anything.

Cassandra did not feel compelled to fill the silence just yet, vastly different from how she behaved inside moments ago.

Her thoughts wandered, as they often did, drifting through the list of tasks awaiting her tomorrow. One of them involved accompanying Sebastian to submit their evidence to a magistrate and formally petition for her father’s mine to be professionally inspected for safety violations. It was the third step in her revenge scheme.

Her thoughts did not linger there for long.

"I don’t see why you would want someone you clearly hate at our wedding," Draven said at last, breaking the silence. "I simply can’t understand it."

"Exclusion and social isolation are among the greatest fears people have. Certain groups even use them as a means of punishing members who step out of line. It is a simple truth that no one likes being excluded," Cassandra explained. "If I invite every noteworthy individual in and out of Arden but deliberately leave my family off the guest list, their absence on the day of the wedding will be far more conspicuous. People will notice. They will wonder why."

And with the rumours she had started already making their way through society, it would not take long for people to begin drawing their own conclusions. Every speculation would bring more attention to her family, and none of it would be flattering. Their already crumbling reputation would suffer further, while the scrutiny surrounding them would only intensify.

It would also serve as an undeniable statement that she was publicly distancing herself from them.

Draven seemed momentarily caught between being stunned and impressed. Judging by the look in his eyes, he was feeling both.

"Brilliant." There was genuine awe in his voice. "Truly brilliant."

"Thank you," she said, even as warmth crept into her cheeks.

Adrian and Sebastian already knew this part of her plan, but neither of them had ever sounded quite so impressed by her scheming. Certainly, none of their praise had ever affected her quite like this.

She didn’t want to like it. She especially didn’t want to become so accustomed to hearing it that she might one day find herself unable to live without it.

So, as she always did whenever she felt herself losing control of a conversation, Cassandra retreated and changed the subject.

"I have a question, and I would like you to answer me honestly. I understand why I remained unmarried for so long," she said. "But I have never understood why you did."

One dark eyebrow rose.

"You’re asking why a man remained unmarried?"

"Well, yes. It is a question many people have pondered. I am giving you an opportunity to put an end to the years-old mystery."

Her eyes brightened as she waited for his answer.

"Perhaps I was waiting for the right woman."

Cassandra gave him a doubtful look.

"That sounds too plain of an answer."

"It was not plain," he argued, though there was no real conviction behind the words. He didn’t even seem particularly interested in defending the answer.

A moment later, Draven looked away, his attention returning to the pond.

"Very well. Since you insist on dragging an answer out of me. When I reached my late twenties, everyone began suggesting that I ought to marry. My life was too chaotic for it then. There was too much happening at Westmarch, too much happening with my family. There were already too many responsibilities for one person to manage, and marriage seemed like another obligation to be handled rather than something I genuinely wanted. And when I finally decided I was ready, the woman I wanted already wanted someone else."

That caught her attention.

"Oh."

It was the only response she could manage. At that moment, she couldn’t string together a single sensible response. Apparently, every other word in her vocabulary had decided to abandon her when she needed them most.

"She barely spared me a glance back then," Draven continued.

There was no bitterness in his voice as he recalled it.

"That must have been hard."

"It was." His gaze settled on her again. "Back then."

"And now?"

Cassandra watched him carefully, trying to determine whether there was some hidden meaning behind his words. People often said one thing while feeling something entirely different. Draven had never given her the impression that he was one of those people. Since she had known him, he had been straightforward with her.

Still, it didn’t hurt to be certain.

Especially when it would be rather inconvenient to marry a man who was secretly still pining for someone from his past.

"Now, it doesn’t trouble me much."

"Why?" she pressed.

"Because everything that happened before brought me here. To you." His voice softened. "I wouldn’t trade where I am now for anything."

Cassandra’s thoughts stumbled to a halt.

There was something about the way he said it that made her chest tighten.

She looked away, but not before her gaze dipped briefly toward his mouth.

A mistake.

A strange sensation travelled down her spine, and she immediately blamed it on the wine.