Ambergris Locakboxes Traveled Salt Routes by Hugh Calder 120

Chapter One Hundred And Nineteen: This 15 Still Your Home

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“This is Chef Laurent,” Dreston said. “He prepared dinner.”

Chef Laurent bowed slightly.

Dinner was exquisite.

A starter of roasted butternut squash soup with truffle oil. Followed by herb–crusted lamb with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. The aroma alone was comforting.

They ate slowly, and quietly.

Cassienne glanced at him from time to time. He still cut his food the same way. Still ate with that calm, measured pace.

She remembered how he used to compliment her cooking in those early days. How he would say nothing extravagant–just a simple “It’s good” that would make her entire week.

She used to live for those small praises. Mrs. Rawlings hovered nearby, her eyes suspiciously shiny.

She was happy. As if hope had returned to this house.

After the main course, dessert was served. Vanilla bean panna cotta with fresh berries.

As they ate, Dreston placed his fork down.

“I’ve received over forty emails,” he said calmly.

Cassienne looked up.

“Investors. Sponsors. Gaming companies. Even two international leagues.”

She blinked.

“They want meetings. Endorsements. Some want exclusive contracts.”

He watched her carefully. “It’s time we decide what you want.‘

Cassienne lowered her spoon slowly.

“I didn’t plan for this,” she admitted.

“I know that already. But here we are.” He said. “We’ll have to reply soon,” he added gently.

She nodded faintly. Then silence settled again.

Cassienne looked at him for a long moment. He noticed. Then he asked. “Yes?”

Her fingers tightened slightly around her spoon.

“In the five years of our marriage,” she began slowly, her voice barely above a whisper.

He stiffened almost imperceptibly.

“Did you ever…” she swallowed. “Did you ever, even once… look at me like a woman?”

The question hung in the air like a dangerous weapon..And Dreston froze.

The world outside the mansion continued. But inside that dining room. Everything stopped.

And for the first time in years, Dreston Tremont had no easy answer.

Chapter One Hundred And Twenty 1 Did Set You As A Woman

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Chapter One Hundred And Twenty: I Did See You As A Woman.

Dreston had never been speechless before. Not in boardrooms filled with ruthless investors. Not in front of journalists waiting to twist his words.

And certainly not even when his father had once challenged his leadership in front of senior executives.

But now, sitting across from Cassienne at his own dining table, he found himself unable to speak.

He knew the answer to her question. And that was the problem. If he told her the truth, it might hurt her. And If he lied, he would be insulting the very thing he was trying to rebuild.

Cassienne watched him quietly. Her eyes were not accusing. They were not angry either. But they were simply searching.

She didn’t even know why she had asked the question. It had slipped out of her like something long buried that finally found air.

Maybe it was the house. Or maybe it was the scent of familiarity. It might also be because of the wedding photo still hanging on the wall like nothing had ever changed.

If it had been up to her alone, she would never have come back here. If her mother had not been at the center of this fragile arrangement, she would have stayed far away from this mansion and the memories it held.

But now she was here. And sitting across from the man who had once been her whole world…. She exhaled.

“You don’t need to reply,” she said softly, breaking the silence. “Forget what I asked.”

Her voice wasn’t bitter. But soft.

Dreston straightened slightly..“I did,” he said.

Her gaze lifted.

“I did see you as a woman. Not once, not twice. But always.”

The words fell between them like something sacred.

Cassienne’s breath caught.

Her fingers tightened slightly against the table edge. For a brief second, something warm and foolish and hopeful twisted inside

her stomach.

He was not a man who lied. That much she knew. But she needed to be sure.

“At a point,” he continued, his voice lower and rougher, “I wanted to take you to my bed, Cassienne.”

Her heart stopped beating.

“But I had to stop myself,” he added quickly. “Because if I did… I would have hurt you more than I already had.”

Her brows pulled together faintly.

“What do you mean?” she asked quietly.

He exhaled.

“Because I wasn’t whole,” he admitted. “And you deserved a man who was.”

Silence thickened.

“Please forgive me,” he said.

And before she could process the weight of that confession, he stood.

Chapter One Hundred And Twenty: Did Set You As A Woman.

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He left the table instantly. He left her sitting there with her unanswered emotions. He left her with a truth she had never expected to hear.

Cassienne remained seated long after he disappeared up the stairs. Her chest felt tight.

So he had seen her. All those years… he had seen her. Then was he cold towards her?

Why had he kept his distance like she was something fragile that would break at his touch?

She closed her eyes, realising something. Because he loved someone else. That truth had once destroyed her.

He had loved Tina since their teenage years. And he had never betrayed that love. Not even in marriage.

And maybe… maybe that was the cruelest kind of loyalty.

Eventually, she stood. She climbed up the stairs and walked toward the bedroom slowly. When she stepped inside, she saw him already in bed.

Two pillows placed carefully in the middle like a barricade.

She smiled. But sad. That was a quiet declaration of restraint. Something about it made her chest ache. He was protecting her.

She hesitated at the door. For a moment, she looked at the sofa near the window. It would be easier and safer if she sleeps there. But she had agreed to this. They needed to make their union believable.

And perhaps… she needed to stop running from shared spaces. So she walked to the bed. The mattress dipped slightly as she

climbed in.

She pulled the covers over herself carefully, keeping distance from the pillow barrier.

“Good night, Dreston,” she said softly. But he didn’t answer.

She knew he was awake. She could feel it in the stillness of his body. He wasn’t ignoring her. He was holding himself back.

On the other side of the pillows, Dreston stared at the ceiling in the darkness. He could hear her breathing and feel her presence.

She was closer to him now than she had ever been during their entire marriage. And that irony was not lost on him.

He had kept his distance back then because he thought it was the honorable thing to do.

He had thought touching her while loving someone else would be a greater cruelty.

Because he thought denying himself was the same as protecting her.

But now?

Now he was not protecting her from another woman. He was protecting her from himself.

But somewhere along the way, something had shifted. He had fallen for her.

And he knew she hated him. He had earned that much. He shifted slightly, careful not to let his arm cross the pillow boundary.

The silence stretched. And neither of them slept.

Cassienne lay there staring into the darkness, replaying his words over and over.

“I did see you as a woman. Not once. Not twice. But always.”

It should have made her angry. It should have reopened wounds. Instead, it made her heart feel unbearably heavy.

“Good night, Cassienne,” he finally said.

His voice was softer now.

Chapter One Hundred And Twenty 1 Did sef You As A Wome

She smiled into the darkness. He couldn’t see it. But he felt it in the quiet shift of her breathing.

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