Chapter 32

Cassian’s POV

Selena bever showed us the surprise she said to had planned

I was curious but I had let it slide

Sisi didnt seem to remember as well

Coupled with its been like what

Four days after?

But something felt… off.

I noticed it first in the way she moved.

Selena didn’t glide. She didn’t hum. She didn’t spare me a single glance.

She simply moved

She moved in a way that seemed mechanical, efficient, like a maid going through motions she no longer found purpose in.

She served breakfast wordlessly. Sisi chattered on as usual, stuffing her mouth with wolf-shaped pancakes, her legs swinging beneath the table. But Selena didn’t laugh. Didn’t smile. Didn’t even tease when Sisi got syrup on her nose.

“Mommy made my braid too tight,” Sisi declared dramatically, touching her head. “She said it’s warrior-style!”

I looked at Selena across the table. “Did she now?”

She didn’t look up. Just sipped her tea.

Her face was calm. Too calm.

The braid was neat. Her sleeves were rolled to the elbows like she had work to do, and her apron had a faint smear of flour. Everything about her looked… normal.

But it wasn’t.

“Selena,” I called.

She stood. “I’ll clear the plates.”

Her voice was even. Detached. As if I’d said nothing at all.

Sisi blinked. “Mommy? Aren’t we having garden time today?”

Selena paused, her back to us. Then she turned with a smile

It wasn’t tye one I had witnessed at the picnics give days prior

This one was different

It was the kind that didn’t quite touch her eyes. “Of course, baby. Right after I finish tidying up.”

She reached for my cup and our fingers brushed.

Before I could devour the moment, she yanked her finger away

Like she had just dipped them in fire

Amd what hurt me more was that she didn’t meet my eyes either.

You see,

The silence between us wasn’t loud.

It was worse.

It was hollow.

Empty of the biting remarks she used to throw my way.

Empty of the looks that used to linger just a little too long.

She was… polite.

And that was somehow more unbearable.

“You’re quiet today,” I remember telling her , as we passed each other in the hallway. She was folding a shawl over her arm. “Too quiet. Should I be worried?”

“No,” she shrugged. “There’s no need.”

No smile. No sarcasm.

Nothing.

My wolf stirred uneasily.

She was lying.

She wasn’t fine. Not even close.

But she gave me nothing else. Just walked on.

And i didn’t want to look like I was beginning to intrude

So I let it slide

That was the least I could do

But,

It wasn’t until midday that I realized Sisi had noticed too.

“Daddy?” she asked as she climbed into my lap in the garden. “Why is Mommy sad?”

My heart kicked. “She’s not sad, baby. She’s just… tired.”

Sisi tilted her head like she didn’t believe me. “She talks less. She hugs less. She didn’t sing when we watered the flowers.”

I swallowed. “Maybe she has a lot on her mind.”

“She always has a lot on her mind,” Sisi disputed wisely. “But she still smiles. She’s not smiling now.”

I looked toward the palace.

The wind rustled through the trees. The breeze smelled like lavender and wet stone.

She was in there. Somewhere. Moving like a shadow through my halls.

And I couldn’t reach her.

Time moved slowly,

And by evening, it was unbearable.

I found her in the corridor outside the library. She was holding a book. Something old, worn at the edges.

She didn’t look surprised to see me.

But she didn’t greet me either.

“You’ve been avoiding me all day,” I said quietly.

“I’ve been busy,” she replied, brushing past me.

I turned. “Selena.”

She didn’t stop.

So I reached out.

Gently. Carefully.

I took her wrist.

She stilled.

Slowly, she turned to face me.

Her eyes…

Gods, her eyes were red.

Not swollen, not weeping. Just quietly… exhausted.

Broken.

“Did I do something?” I asked.

She didn’t speak.

Her lips parted slightly like she wanted to.

But nothing came out.

Her silence screamed louder than any insult she’d ever thrown at me.

I loosened my grip. “If I hurt you… tell me.”

Still nothing.

She looked at me—not through me, not past me. But right at me.

Like she was searching for something.

Then—very gently—she pulled her wrist from my hand.

Turned.

And walked away.

No doors slammed.

No words hurled.

Just footsteps fading down the corridor.

And me, standing there, with nothing but the echo of her silence.

I ran a hand through my hair, breath shallow. My chest felt tight.

My wolf growled.

It didn’t want peace.

It wanted answers.

But all I had was her silence.

And the gnawing truth that something had shifted.

Something I couldn’t name.

Something that had already started breaking me.

I didn’t go after her.

Not at first.

Because if I did—if I touched her again—I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let her go.

And if she looked at me like that again… I wasn’t sure I could survive it.

So I stood there. In the hall.

My ears were sensitive

Sensitive to the point that I could hear her footsteps

Well, till I couldn’t

She had disappeared into the shadows.

. My hand still tingled where I’d held her. Just briefly. Just enough to feel the coldness beneath her skin.

And then I was alone again.

Not in the way I’d gotten used to—her on the other side of the room, avoiding eye contact, arms folded across her chest.

This was different.

She was present. And gone at the same time.

Like someone had hollowed her out and left a shell behind.

And the worst part?

I cared

It felt like a part of me was shattered

Thrown away

Hurt beyond what words could explain.

I wanted to talk to her

To hear her untamed laughter

To watch her feed sisi

And worse part?

I had no idea why.