Where Soft Light Shines Darkness Fades From Tired Hearts by Evan Holt Crane 429

Third Person’s POV

Waves crashed against the rocks, spraying cold mist into the air.

Trista’s voice was sharper than the ocean spray. “Cassian, stop lying to yourself.”

The relationship was dead. It was total necrosis.

Taking advantage of the second he spent frozen in shock, Trista pulled back.

Cassian instinctively reached out and gripped her wrist–hard–like he was clutching a life raft in a storm.

His throat worked convulsively, his eyes bloodshot. This pathetic, pleading version of him was a world away from the Alpha who usually commanded the room.

“I know I messed up. I broke the vows we made when we mated,” Cassian rasped, his voice dripping with despair. “Trista, if… if I could just do it over, I’d give you a different heart. I’d give you my life if that’s what it took.”

Trista looked at him with a face like stone. Not a single spark of emotion flickered in her eyes. “If you changed your heart, would you even be you anymore?”

“It would be me! Of course it would!” Cassian nodded frantically, his hands shaking as he held hers.

“No.” Trista gently pried her hand free. Her tone was terrifyingly steady. “I don’t want the current you, and I don’t want the ‘new‘ you either. The Cassian I actually loved died the second you betrayed me.”

“He didn’t!” Cassian lost it, lunging forward to pull her back into his chest as if he could fuse her into his own skin. “I’m right here! I’m alive!”

“How am I supposed to start over with a ghost?”

Trista shoved against his chest. Her body was trembling from exhaustion, but her gaze remained clinical and detached. “Let go, Cassian. Stop torturing us both.”

Cassian finally broke. His sobs drowned out the sound of the waves. “Please… don’t. Don’t leave me behind.”

Trista didn’t soften. She just watched him.

“We’re both Scorpios. We both have that same obsession with purity,” she said quietly. “You can’t stamil a flaw, and neither can J. Not in a person’s body, and definitely not in their heart.

“I told you, I’ll scrub myself clean!” Cassian argued. The word love finally escaped his lips, fuelest toy manic, all–or–nothing desperation. “Just give me one more chance, I swear

Trista cut him off, her voice ice–cold. “You won’t, Cassian”

She knew him too well.

11:08 am P

Finished

He was a businessman. He was an Alpha. He was always rational, always weighing the pros and cons.

He was never going to dismantle the perfect order of his life for a mate he’d already pushed aside.

They fell into a dead silence.

Cassian’s face suddenly went ghost–white. He clutched his chest as if someone had just carved a piece of his heart out. The pain was so intense he couldn’t stay upright; he swayed, his knees buckling.

Trista watched it all with a detached eye. She didn’t move to help him. She simply turned and walked

away.

Behind her, there was a heavy thud as Cassian collapsed straight into the shallow water.

Humphrey came charging across the sand with his team.

Trista’s eyes burned for a second, but she didn’t slow her pace.

They had reached the end, and the ending didn’t do the beginning justice. All that was left was a wasteland.

Humphrey waded into the water, struggling to haul Cassian back to the shore.

Cassian, usually so tall and imposing, looked like a broken man.

He shoved Humphrey’s hand away, his eyes pinned on Trista’s thin, fading figure.

Just as Trista’s low blood sugar made the world spin, she felt herself start to fall. Cassian was there in a heartbeat, sliding across the sand on his knees to catch her before she hit the ground.

Humphrey scrambled to hand over a glucose supplement, frantically helping her drink it.

Cassian knelt in the sand, locking her in his arms and kissing her forehead, his voice a mechanical loop of “I’m sorry.”

“Alpha Cassian, Humphrey whispered, his voice full of concern. “Luna Trista hasn’t eaten in far too long. Her body is failing. Please… stop pushing her.”

Cassian’s hands were shaking. Humphrey looked like he wanted to say more, but he held his tongue.

The Sea–View Balcony Midnight.

Trista woke up late into the night. She walked out of the bedroom and onto the terrace

Cassian was standing by the railing, the cherry of his cigarette glowing and fading in the dark

Hearing her, Cassian moved slowly, crushing out the cigarette. He took off his jacket and draped it ove her shoulders to block the chill of the sea breeze.

Trista looked up, meeting his eyes.

They stood in silence under the moonlight.

Cassian’s gaze darkened.

1:08 am P P XX.

Finished

His eyes were rimmed with red, his voice heavy with a bone–deep exhaustion. “I’ll go get you a shawl.”

Trista stopped him, pulling his jacket tighter around her.

Cassian stayed where he was, his expression full of panic.

Trista leaned against the railing in her pajamas, wrapped in Cassian’s black suit jacket, staring out at the

horizon.

Cassian stood there in his white shirt and slacks, looking like a man who had lost his soul, unable to take his eyes off her profile.

Remember when we came here for our honeymoon?” Trista asked.

Cassian’s mouth twitched. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.

I made you swear you’d only ever be good to me,” Trista said, her voice flat, as if she were telling someone else’s story. “You told me I was being childish. I even pouted about it.”

She let out a small, self–mocking laugh.

The sound made Cassian’s heart ache so much he had to grip the railing until his knuckles turned white ust to stay standing.

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11:08 am P PXX.

The Heartbroken Luna’s Choice: Banish Love

Sara Lili

Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.