His Uncle's Priceless Jewel: Unmasking His Regret のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

CASSIAN'S POV:The day the bandages came off, I woke up feeling like a kid on Christmas morning except Christmas had been canceled eight months in a row and I was not entirely sure I still believed in presents.The past few days had been torture because I went back to the hospital to stay. Lying in this hospital bed with my eyes wrapped up, knowing that somewhere behind the gauze and the tape, things had changed. Dr. Patel came in every morning and looked at my eyes with that little light and made vague noises that could have meant anything. "Healing nicely," he said. "The swelling is going down." But he would not tell me if it worked. Nobody would tell me anything. They just kept saying to be patient.I was so tired of being patient. I was tired of relying on other people to tell me what was happening. I was tired of hearing footsteps and not knowing who was walking. I was tired of my wife's quiet presence in the corner of the room, the soft sound of her breathing, the way she never

THALASSA'S POV:"Of course, Mr. Deveraux," Dr. Patel said, adjusting his glasses. "But the doctor in question values her privacy. She left very specific instructions that she did not want to be contacted. She said the success of the surgery was its own reward.""I do not care what she said." Cassian's voice was hard now, the voice he used when he wanted something and expected to get it. "I am Cassian Deveraux. I do not let people do me favors without repayment. Find her. I do not care what it costs."Dr. Patel looked uncomfortable. Nurse Beth stopped writing and glanced at me for a split second, then looked away.I wanted to laugh. I wanted to cry. I wanted to walk over to Cassian's bed and rip my mask off and scream in his face that I was right here, I had been right here for five years, I had saved his life and his sight and he could not even look at me without flinching.But I did not do any of those things. I just stood there, frozen, watching the man I had married fall all over h

Thalassa's POV:The mansion felt different after Cassian came home from the hospital. Not better, just different. The air was tighter somehow, like the whole house was holding its breath. The staff moved faster, spoke quieter, and tried harder to be invisible. And me? I went back to my usual spot in the corner, the one I had occupied for five years, the one where I could watch everything without being part of anything.Cassian was supposed to be resting. That was what the doctors said. His eyes were healing, but they were still sensitive, and he was not supposed to strain them. No bright lights, no reading, no staring at screens for too long. He was supposed to take it easy and let his body do the work.But Cassian Deveraux did not take it easy. That was not in his nature. Within forty eight hours of getting home, he had already fired two members of the staff for not dusting properly, yelled at James for bringing him the wrong kind of juice, and demanded that his father send over all

THALASSA'S POV:Pity. And condescension. Like she was looking at a sad little creature that had crawled out from under a rock and did not know enough to crawl back."Oh," she said, and her voice was sweet in a way that made my teeth hurt. "You must be Thalassa. Cassian's... wife."She said the word like it tasted bad. Like it was something she had stepped in and was trying to scrape off her shoe.I wanted to say something. I wanted to stand up straight and look her in the eye and tell her that yes, I was his wife, and that was my choice, and she did not get to make me feel small in my own house.But I did not. Because Cassian was looking at her, not at me. Because he had not even introduced us. Because I was still in the corner, still invisible, still the thing nobody wanted to see."Eulalie," Cassian said, and he finally glanced my way. Just a glance. Just enough to acknowledge that I existed. "This is Thalassa. My... yes. My wife."He could not even say it. He could not even say the

THALASSA'S POV:Our situation. Like we were a business deal that had gone wrong. Like we were a contract that needed to be renegotiated."What about it?" I asked. My voice was calm. I was proud of that.Eulalie squeezed his arm. A small gesture, but I saw it. A reminder. A signal. She was good at that, I realized. Good at being subtle. Good at getting what she wanted without ever asking for it directly.Cassian cleared his throat. "I think you know. Things have changed. I have changed. I am not the same person I was before the accident.""Nobody is," I said. "That is sort of the point of accidents."He did not acknowledge my words. He just kept talking, like I had not spoken at all. "Eulalie and I have been talking. About the past with the future and what we both want.""And what do you want, Cassian?"He finally looked at me. Just for a second. Just long enough to see the mask, to flinch and to look away again. "I want a divorce."There it was. The words I had been expecting for five