66. Hope

Rowan Valentino

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My heart broke for Cassandra as she sat there sobbing in my arms.

While I didn't know what exactly was going on in her head, it wasn't hard to guess that she was thinking of some not-so-nice memories.

I wondered if the flogging had triggered that.

Matteo removed his suit jacket — he had still been fully dressed — and placed it around her shoulders, shielding her from the cold air.

She was shivering but I wasn't too sure whether it was from the cold or because of the panic attack — I didn't even know if I could call it that — she was going through. However, Matteo still went ahead to increase the thermostat.

When she finally stopped shaking, I nodded at Matteo and he took her from me. I walked ahead of them to her bathroom to prepare a bath for her.

I didn't know if she was in the headspace for it but she definitely needed it.

As soon as I was done, Matteo came in with her. He removed the suit jacket and placed it on the sink before he carried her by the waist, putt