His Obsession, My Ruin

Cassandra’s POV

The wind screamed through the trees at the forest's edge, and the cold bit into my skin like tiny knives.

A few steps away, Alpha guards had my brother Ethan pinned to the ground, and my heart lurched at the sight of him struggling beneath their grip.

Asher stood there with a cigar between his teeth, his face carved from ice.

Behind him stretched the Barrens—that godforsaken wasteland where even the most vicious rogues refused to go.

I knew exactly what he was planning.

My legs gave out, and I dropped to my knees in front of him.

"He's twelve years old," I choked out, my voice breaking. "He doesn't know how to survive out there alone." Tears burned my eyes, but I didn't care. "Please, just let him go. Do whatever you want to me, but don't hurt him. He's all I have left."

Asher looked down at me with lazy contempt. He lifted my chin with one finger, and his lips curved into a cruel smile. "When you hurt what Vivian loved most, did you stop to think about how she'd feel? Now the blade's at your own throat, and suddenly you understand pain?"

I stared up at him, my heart sinking into darkness.

A few hours ago, Vivienne's pet cat got out. I'd closed the side gate to the estate—I know I did—but the little thing must've slipped through anyway. Vivienne completely lost it, sobbing like her world was ending, and she kept screaming that I let it out on purpose, that I wanted it to die out there.

Of course, Asher rushed to comfort her.

I thought that would be the end of it. But after he'd soothed Vivian's tears, he showed up here with Ethan.

"Asher, I swear I locked the door—" My voice cracked, desperation clawing at my throat. "Ethan won't survive in there. He'll die."

Asher scoffed, and cigar smoke hit my face.

"You wanted Vivian's spirit beast to die alone in the wild, didn't you?" His eyes were as cold as a frozen lake in winter. "So now you get to watch your own flesh and blood die out there, and you don't get to look away." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "You made a mistake, Cassandra. And mistakes have consequences. Don't they?"

I clutched his pant leg with everything I had, my nails digging into the dirt. "I can go instead! Please, let me go and send him back. I'm begging you—"

But Asher had made up his mind. He was going to make Vivian feel vindicated, no matter what I said.

He raised his hand slowly, and two Alpha guards grabbed Ethan by the arms.

Ethan stared at me, his lips drained of color, terror written across his face.

"I've set up an Alpha dominance barrier around the outer wilderness," Asher said coldly. "Every wild animal within a fifty-mile radius has been driven out. He carries my scent mark now, so nothing will dare approach him."

He paused, and his smile turned even more cruel. "As long as he stays put, I'll send someone to bring him back in three days. Consider it... a lesson learned."

I stood there shaking as they dragged Ethan away, deeper and deeper into the forest. I watched until the darkness swallowed him completely, and then my legs gave out. I collapsed to the ground, tears blurring everything.

My mind flashed back to my past life—to the moment I died and saw Asher's face covered in blood, his eyes filled with such desperate, broken vulnerability.

That look in his eyes had haunted me. I'd made myself a promise: if I ever got a second chance, I would love him the way he deserved.

Moon Goddess heard my plea and granted me that second chance, but I never imagined that the man I came back to would be completely unrecognizable.

Every time he hurt me, I swallowed it down and kept going. I told myself over and over—he doesn't mean it, he just doesn't remember yet. If I love him enough, he'll remember how deeply he loved me before.

But my stubbornness had cost me more than I could bear.

Asher stared at me for a long moment, and I could tell he was satisfied by my despair. He walked over, his fingertips brushing against my cheek as he wiped away my tears. Then he pulled me into his arms.

"Sweetheart," he murmured. "Do you understand now?"

The gentleness he'd once shown me in our past life was gone. All that remained was cold indifference and the need to control me.

The man who had once died for me didn't exist anymore.

Of course, I understood now.

I understood that I never should've kept giving him second chances. I should've walked away the first time he crossed the line. I never should've brought the weight of our past life into this one.

He kept going, his voice firm but gentle. "Baby, Vivienne took a bullet for me—she's someone I owe my life to. You need to leave her alone from now on, alright? Don't make this harder than it has to be."

I stared at him, frozen in place, and I couldn't look away until he disappeared down the hallway. Only then did I wipe my eyes with shaking hands and pull out my phone. My fingers trembled as I dialed.

"I've made up my mind," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "I'm leaving Asher."