Chapter Seven

A Stranger In Her Eyes

Cassian POV

Elias finally found his words.

"Cassian." His voice came out rough. "What are you doing here? You didn't say you were coming back."

The silence stretched. Elias's jaw tightened. I watched something move behind his eyes—confusion, yes, but underneath it something sharper. An instinct he couldn't name yet. His doctors had warned the family that emotional memory sometimes returned before factual memory, that a person could feel something strongly before understanding why.

Whatever he felt about me, it wasn't warm.

I didn’t answer him right away. My eyes kept pulling back to her. She stood there so still, like she was holding her breath. No smile. No recognition in her eyes. Nothing. Just polite surprise, like I was some distant relative who dropped by unannounced.

Vivienne appeared in the doorway before I could say anything. She moved fast, stepping between us with that calm command she always used when things threatened to slip out of her control.

"Elias." Her voice was smooth and final. "You've had a long day. Let Celeste take you upstairs."

Elias hesitated, glancing between me and Vivienne but didn’t argue.

Celeste touched his arm gently. “Come on, Elias. Let’s get you settled.” Her voice sounded soft. Careful. Exactly like I remembered. She helped him up and guided him toward the stairs without looking back at me once.

I watched them go. Every step she took away from me felt like another twist in my gut. When their footsteps faded, the silence in the room grew heavier.

Vivienne turned to me, arms crossed. “Why are you here, Cassian? You were supposed to be in London for at least another two weeks.”

I met her eyes. “I heard Celeste came back. Funny how no one thought to tell me.”

She didn’t flinch. “You were in London. It wasn't relevant to your work there.”

"She disappeared for months." I kept my voice even. "She came back to this house. To this family. And nobody thought to tell me." I let that sit for a moment. "Why?"

Vivienne’s expression stayed cold and controlled. “What happened between you and Celeste is in the past. Let it stay there. Elias needs stability right now. The company needs it. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

I stepped closer. “You’ve been telling me that for years. Stay away. Don’t interfere. Keep quiet. But I’m done taking orders from you on this.”

She didn’t back down. “You caused enough problems last time. Leave it alone.”

"I'll be staying," I said. "You can decide what to do with that information."

I turned and walked out before she could respond. As I climbed the stairs, my mind kept replaying the way Celeste looked at me. Like I was a stranger. Like everything we shared never existed.

Morning light spilled across the garden outside my window. I stood there with coffee in hand as I watched Elias and Celeste stroll along the path below. He said something that made her smile, but the expression disappeared almost as quickly as it came. She glanced over her shoulder toward the house, her brows drawing together as if she felt someone watching. For a brief moment, I thought she’d look straight at me. Instead, she turned back to Elias and kept walking.

I stepped away from the window and set the coffee mug on the windowsill. Whatever had happened during those missing months had changed everything. I just didn’t know how or why. But one thing was certain. I needed to speak to her alone.

Later that afternoon, I walked the quieter hallways of the main house, trying to clear my head. Footsteps echoed down the hallway. I knew who it was before I even lifted my head.

Before she could slip past, my fingers closed lightly around her wrist. “Why are you ignoring me?”

She froze. Her hazel eyes widened, full of confusion. “I… I’m sorry?”

The words came out low, rough with everything I’d held back. "You haven't looked at me once since I walked into that room last night."

She stared at me, mouth slightly open, like my words made no sense. Her pulse beat fast under my fingers. She looked genuinely lost. “Cassian, I don’t…I think there’s been some misunderstanding.”

Misunderstanding? The way she said my name, careful and distant, cut deeper than I expected. This wasn’t the woman who once kissed me like the world was ending. Either she was lying right to my face, or every memory we shared meant nothing to her anymore.

A familiar voice stopped us both.

“That’s enough.”

Vivienne stood at the end of the hallway, her expression hardening the moment she saw my hand on Celeste’s wrist.

“You’ve caused enough disruption already, Cassian. It’s time you leave.”

I let go of Celeste’s wrist but didn’t step back. A quiet laugh escaped me. “You really never get tired of doing this.”

“Cassian…”

“You’ve thrown me out twice already.” I held up two fingers. "You'd think by now you'd know how this ends."

Vivienne’s lips pressed into a thin line. "This is not the time."

"I'm here on business." I slid one hand into my pocket. "Hargrove Group business. Which, as you know, requires my presence on the estate." I met her eyes. "And as a Hargrove, I hold a legal share in this property and the residence that comes with it." A pause. "So I'm not asking to stay in the house, Vivienne." A faint smile. "I’m moving back into my residence today.”

Vivienne’s composure cracked for just a second. “You can’t simply...”

“Watch me.”

I walked past her without another word, leaving both women standing there. Behind me, the hallway stayed quiet.

I didn't look back at either of them.

But I felt it.

Celeste's eyes were on my back all the way down the hall.