Chapter 395
Chapter 388
Zina’s POV
Cassian slips out of her hospital room, closing the door with a near–silent click.
Jace and I are still there, perched on the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. We spring up the moment we see him. I’m already moving toward the door, I need to see her with my own eyes again.
“She’s asleep.”
His three words stop us in our tracks. We freeze, exchanging a glance.
The urgency drains away, leaving a dull, worried ache. Cassian turns his gaze fully on me.
“What did you mean earlier, about William?”
My blood runs cold. He heard?
Of course he heard me blubbering in there… I force my face into what I hope is a poker expression.
“Nothing,” I say, the word coming out too fast. I remember Gemma’s firm warning: Don’t let Cassian know.
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But Cassian is sharp. He sees right through the evasion, and his expression tightens. “You saw what happened today,” he says, his voice low but intense. “She nearly lost her life. If she tries something dangerous again, can you guarantee she won’t be in danger?”
His words are a hammer blow. I’m left speechless, my earlier resistance crumbling.
I’ve been against this from the start, afraid of Gemma facing that scheming William alone. After today, the very thought makes my skin crawl. Since Cassian already knows part of it… wouldn’t telling him everything mean there is one more person guarding her back?
The conflict must be written on my face. “Wait here,” I mutter.
I grab Jace’s sleeve and pull him down the sterile hospital corridor, out of earshot.
“Should I tell him?” I whisper, my voice frantic.
Jace’s brow furrows. “Gemma doesn’t want him to know.”
“I know that,” I hiss, frustration bubbling over. “But it’s too dangerous for her to handle William alone! We can’t always be there in time, can we? Look at what just happened! Wasn’t it him who saved her? ”
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The image is burned into my mind: Cassian carrying her out of the inferno, his own safety an afterthought. I’ve held a
mountain of grievances against this man for the three years of quiet misery he gave Gemma.
But today? Today was different.
“Do you want Gemma to forgive him?” Jace asks, surprised.
“Of course not!” The denial is automatic, but my conviction wavers. “I just think having one more person to protect her isn’t a bad thing. And he’s the Don of the Blackwell clan! He has way more resources than we do, both legal and otherwise.”
I grasp for justification. “Besides, it’s not like I’m betraying her confidence. He overheard us.”
Jace is silent for a long moment. I know what he’s thinking.
They’re rivals, and giving Cassian this information is handing his opponent a tool, a chance to wedge his way back in.
But finally, Jace lets out a slow breath. “You’re right,” he concedes. “More protection for Gemma is good. Her safety is the most important thing to consider. Go ahead.”
We walk back, and Cassian hasn’t moved from where we left.
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