Escape from the Loveless Zone

Cassian shot a cold, disdainful look at Vivienne, her appearance utterly disheveled and humiliated. Holding Freya’s hand, he approached her, frowning with an air of contempt.

"Vivienne, whatever ridiculous fantasies you might indulge in privately, you’ve crossed the line," he said sharply.

He sneered, his voice laced with scorn. "Don’t you understand how meaningful a proposal is for a woman? You’ve ruined a precious moment for Freya. Isn’t it time you apologized?"

Freya tugged softly on Cassian’s sleeve, her voice delicate, yet her gaze at Vivienne glinting with pride. "Let’s not be too harsh on her," she murmured. "It must be hard for her, liking you so much but watching us find happiness together."

Cassian’s handsome features twisted in disdain as his gaze shifted to Vivienne, his expression as if she were something distasteful he’d rather avoid.

With a cold scoff, he said, "Why should I care about her feelings? It’s pathetic. She’s like a leech, clingy and unwilling to let go.”

The foul smell of raw egg clung to her hair as Vivienne stood silently, letting Cassian and Freya’s taunts wash over her.

Only the night before, Cassian’s embrace had been possessive, his kisses searing and unrelenting, as if he couldn’t pull away.

But now, his words sliced through her with a merciless edge, every ounce of warmth gone.

When Vivienne stayed silent, Cassian’s patience thinned and a shadow of irritation crossed his face.

"Vivienne, are you mute? Or deaf?" he spat. "I told you to apologize to Freya, didn’t you hear me?"

With nowhere left to turn, Vivienne raised her head, looking into the eyes of the man who had filled her world for eight years, feeling a jarring sense of unfamiliarity.

Yet perhaps, knowing Cassian’s egotistical pride, it was no surprise it had come to this.

At fifteen, Vivienne’s life had unraveled when her father’s failed investments buried them in debt.

In despair, he abandoned her and her mother, taking his life with a leap from a twenty-story building.

Her mother, alone and desperate, hid from creditors and worked herself into exhaustion, juggling four jobs until her health gave out and left her bedridden.

Vivienne had barely entered high school when her world collapsed.

When her life seemed to be at a dead end, Cassian appeared like a lone ray of light piercing the darkness.

At twenty, he paid off her father’s debts, arranged top medical care for her mother and even allowed Vivienne to continue her studies.

At first, she had been cautious around him, fearing hidden motives. But as the months passed, she realized he expected nothing in return and rarely visited her.

Yet the image of his handsome profile, as he held an umbrella for her during a rainstorm, had etched itself into her heart.

That memory had stayed with her for eight years.

Perhaps it was the dim evening light, but Vivienne found herself wondering if the man before her was still the Cassian she had once loved.

"Oh, Cassian, please don’t push Vivienne any further. She just…" Freya’s soft voice cut through the tension, only to be interrupted by Vivienne’s cool response.

"Fine. I’ll apologize."

The crowd, noisy moments before, fell into an abrupt silence.