Chapter 180: An insensitive bastard
"You look a lot better." They were the first words out of Lady Ava’s mouth before anyone else could say anything. She moved towards Cass as if to grab his hands, but stopped a few steps away. She scanned his face, worry in every part of her, before she let out a relieved sigh. "You look a lot better. Good. I was worried, you know. Very worried. I’m glad speaking to Fifi helped." She said the last part quietly, very quietly.
Cass knew that Lucian could hear her, but that didn’t seem to matter to her. She looked as if she wanted to hug him, and Cass, feeling like the bigger person, offered her a hand.
Lady Ava’s eyes widened but she didn’t hesitate. She grabbed his hand with both of hers, giving it a squeeze. Her eyes warmed, her face broke with a smile, and she looked...
She looked better. Way better.
She wasn’t crazy, she wasn’t hurling words, she wasn’t yelling. She wasn’t even crying. She was not quite the woman he knew when he woke up, but she wasn’t quite the girl that had been destroying her future with her own hands either. She was something else, and Cass didn’t think it was a bad thing.
Did he fully forgive her? No. But he could respect self growth, even if he wasn’t feeling like he wanted to be involved in her new life.
"So, what was that?" Lord Ridgewood asked. Ruining any moment that Lady Ava and Cass were having. Lady Ava’s face dropped, and Cass caught a glimpse of the person Lady Ava had turned into. Her hands tightened on Cass’ before she took a deep, calming breath and Cass watched her control her emotions.
Cass slid his gaze to Vespertine and noticed how he was watching Lady Ava. Almost like he was willing her to do that. Cass was impressed.
From his last conversation with Vespertine he had seemed so exhausted and tired of Lady Ava, but now?
He was showing that he had taken the time to care for her, notice the issue, and actually be the big brother figure that he claimed to be instead of just shipping her off to the temple for her to be their problem. Good for him.
"Are you for real, Gideon? Are you that insensitive?" Lucian was the one who spoke, anger lacing his words. "Cassian just gained a sense of normalcy and that’s what you fucking open with? You weren’t this callous when it was everyone else, including me, so why are you like this with Cassian?" Lucian was spiked up like a pissed off cat.