Chapter 80 Mr Lawrence Estate

Chapter 80 Mr Lawrence Estate
Cassian POV

My meeting wrapped up hours ago and I should have been on my way back already, back to Elena and my daughter, to the life I had built so carefully, brick by brick and lie by lie.

I missed them. God, I missed my little girl.

The way her tiny fingers curled around mine and the way her laughter filled the house like sunlight then Elena she had a way of looking at me that made me feel like I wasn’t the monster everyone else thought I was but distance had a way of breeding suspicion.

If I stayed here too long, Elena would start asking questions and if she didn’t like the answers, she wouldn’t hesitate to fly down here and tear through my world like a storm and that was the last thing I needed.

Yet, despite all of that I couldn’t get Arihya out of my head.

It was maddening, one look at her after all these years, and suddenly my carefully controlled life felt like it was slipping through my fingers.

So instead of going back to the hotel like I should have, I found myself driving back to the Lawrence estate.

I parked a little distance away, far enough not to draw attention, but close enough to watch the gate. The engine ticked as it cooled, and silence wrapped around me, thick and suffocating.

Hours passed and I told myself I would leave after ten minutes then after thirty.

Then after one hour but I stayed because some stupid, reckless part of me needed to see her again to confirm she was real and not just some cruel trick my mind was playing on me.

Just as I was about to give up, my patience finally snapping, I reached for the ignition and then I saw her.

A taxi pulled up and my breath caught as she stepped out and it really was Ariyha but something was off.

My eyes narrowed, instinct kicking in immediately. It wasn’t just her presence, it was the way she moved and then I saw the boxes.

I counted more than five, my grip tightened on the steering wheel as workers began unloading luggage from the taxi, carrying them into the house like this was something permanent.

A cold, dangerous feeling settled in my chest.

What the hell was going on?

I didn’t even realize when I stepped out of the car. My body moved on its own, driven by something darker than curiosity.

By the time I got to the door, I didn’t bother knocking properly, I just pushed it open, my presence announcing itself.

Mr. Lawrence looked up from the living room, clearly surprised. “Mr. Wolfe,” he said, standing. “I didn’t know you were still around.”

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” I replied smoothly, even though my attention had already shifted to her.

Ariyha stood across the room, her posture straight, her expression calm her eyes met mine for a brief second and then no recognition or reaction, like I was a stranger.

Mr. Lawrence’s voice cut through my thoughts. “I’m sure you remember Miss Ariyha, my daughter’s tutor.”

My jaw clenched.

“She’s officially moving in as a live-in tutor.”

What the fuck, that words echoed in my head, loud and violent, moving in?

My gaze shot back to her, sharper this time, searching and demanding answers she clearly wasn’t going to give.

“What about her husband?” I asked, my tone deceptively calm, though every word felt like it was being dragged out of me.

Mr. Lawrence hesitated slightly. “I believe… they’re having some personal issues.”

Personal issues, that was putting it lightly because the Ariyhya I knew… the one I remembered…

She would never just leave her husband’s home and move in with another family not unless something was terribly wrong or she had been pushed.

My eyes darkened. “Is that so?” I muttered.

Before Mr. Lawrence could respond, a voice cut in. “I would appreciate it if my personal life wasn’t a topic of discussion.”

I turned fully to face her now, taking a step closer. “Personal?” I echoed, a dangerous edge creeping into my tone. “That’s an interesting word coming from you.”

Her chin lifted slightly. “Mr. Wolfe, I believe whatever you think you know about me is outdated.”

I let out a low chuckle, but there was no humor in it. “Is that what this is? A new version of you?”

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said, completely ignoring my question, “I have work to attend to.”

She turned just like that, she dismissed me again like I was nothing, but I wouldn't take that again so my hand moved before my mind could catch up, grabbing her wrist and stopping her.

The moment I touched her, everything shifted.

Her body tensed but in fear and that made my blood run cold.

Slowly, she turned back to me, her eyes finally betraying something real. “Let go,” she said quietly.

My grip loosened immediately, like I had been burned.

“What did he do to you?” I asked, my voice lower now, rougher, stripped of its earlier edge.

Her expression hardened instantly. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“It has everything to do with me,” I snapped before I could stop myself.

Mr. Lawrence cleared his throat awkwardly, sensing the shift in the room. “Perhaps… I should give you two a moment....”

“No,” Ariyhya cut in sharply, her eyes locked onto mine, fierce now. “There is nothing to discuss.”

But I stepped closer anyway, lowering my voice so only she could hear.

“You think I don’t see it?” I murmured. “The way you flinch and the way you look like you haven’t slept in days. The fact that you showed up here with your entire life packed into boxes?”

Her breathing hitched slightly and I noticed.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing,” I continued, my tone softer now but no less intense, “but I know you, Ariyhya.”

“No,” she whispered.

And for the first time, her voice cracked. “You don’t.”

That hit deeper than anything else she had said because maybe she was right.

A long silence stretched between us before she straightened her shoulders again, rebuilding that wall piece by piece.

“I suggest you return to your family, Mr. Wolfe,” she said, her voice back to that cold, professional tone. “They’re the only ones who matter now… aren’t they?”

She turned and walked away before I could respond this time and I let her because I wasn’t just confused, I was furious at Zayn, at her and myself.

This wasn’t just “personal issues.”

Something was wrong, very wrong and whether she liked it or not, i was going to find out exactly what it was.