Chapter 82 The Truth

Chapter 82 The Truth
Cassian POV

“Fuck…”

The word left my lips in a harsh whisper, thick with frustration, Arihya just called and before I could even breathe her name she hung up.

Just like that, the phone was still in my hand, screen dimming, her number burned into my memory like a scar I couldn’t erase.

I didn’t need to check the contact name because I registered it myself and now it led me to silence.

“What the fuck was that supposed to mean?” I muttered, already redialing but it all went into voicemail.

My jaw tightened as I threw the phone onto the bed beside me, running a hand through my hair. My chest felt tight, like something was closing in and squeezing the air out of my lungs.

This wasn’t like her, Arihya wasn’t careless and she didn’t make pointless moves.

If she called, it meant something and if she hung up, It meant something worse.

I exhaled sharply, standing up from the bed and pacing the room like a caged animal.

London stretched quietly beyond the glass windows and everything that suddenly felt like a lie because while I was here, playing the perfect son, the perfect businessman, attending family dinners and signing deals…

She was out ther alone and hiding.

My source in Dubai had already tipped me off days ago that Zayn was searching for her quietly because he didn't want the media, no blogs noise.

That alone was enough to raise alarms. A man like Zayn didn’t do anything without a reason. If he was keeping it silent, then whatever was going on was bigger than I initially thought.

But now she was a home tutor and Zayn isn't aware, how the fuck is that even possible?

I stopped pacing. “That doesn’t make any sense…”

Arihya, a home tutor?

She had pride and a stubborn independence that refused to let her bend for anyone. She wouldn’t just slip into someone’s house and play caretaker unless she had no other choice.

Which meant, something had really gone wrong and the name that kept echoing in my head was one I didn’t like.

Omar, my eyes darkened.

“Was there something between them, I'm not aware off?” I asked myself, the thought sour in my mouth.

It didn’t sit right nothing about this sat right and then another thought hit me like a punch to the gut. “My parents…”

Where they aware she was missing?

Or had she disappeared from him too?

If Omar didn’t know, then this was bigger than I imagined.

If he did know and hadn’t done anything, my fist clenched.

I didn’t even want to finish that thought.

I grabbed my phone again, dialing one of my men without hesitation. “Sir,” she answered immediately.

“I want everything on Lawrence, full background including his business, personal life, staff especially anyone recently hired. I want names, faces, habits everything.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And track Arihya’s number. I don’t care if it’s off, find the last ping location.”

There was a brief pause. “Understood.”

I hung up before she could say anything else.

My reflection stared back at me from the glass sharp suit, controlled expression, a man who had everything in place except the one thing that mattered and that was her.

“My life is going well,” I muttered bitterly. “Isn’t it?”

A hollow laugh escaped me because what was the point of everything, if the only woman I ever loved was somewhere out there, drowning in problems I couldn’t even see?

And I was here doing nothing, the mattress shifted behind me.

“Cassian…” Elena’s soft voice broke through the storm in my head.

I closed my eyes briefly before turning around.

She was sitting up now, sheets barely covering her, her hair falling loosely around her shoulders. Her gaze was soft, concerned but observant.

“Are you alright?” she asked, tilting her head slightly and I didn’t hesitate.

“Yeah. Business,” I said, voice flat. “Go back to sleep.”

A lie clean, effortless lie.

One I hated the second it left my mouth.

Her eyes lingered on me a second longer than necessary.

“Business… at this hour?” she asked quietly.

There it was, the beginning of questions.

I walked back to the bed, picking up my phone casually. “Dubai deal, something came up.”

She didn’t respond immediately instead she watched me.

“You’ve been distracted all week,” she said, her tone softer now but edged with something sharper underneath. “Even at dinner with your family.”

I forced a small smirk. “Didn’t know you were keeping score.”

“I don’t need to keep score to notice when my husband is somewhere else mentally.”

My jaw tightened slightly, but I kept my expression neutral. “I said it’s business, Elena.”

Then she spoke again, quieter this time. “Is it about… her?”

My entire body went still and slowly, I looked at her. “What?”

She held my gaze, unflinching. “The woman from Dubai.”

A dangerous edge crept into my voice. “You’re imagining things.”

“Am I?” she asked, her lips pressing together.

“Because you don’t look like a man worried about business, you look like a man who just saw a ghost.”

My grip on the phone tightened and I turned away from her, running a hand down my face.

“Get some sleep, Elena.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“And you’re asking questions you don’t want answers to.”

The room went quiet again then.....

“Did she call you?”

The question landed like a bullet but I didn’t respond and that was answer enough.

I heard the shift of the sheets, then her voice no longer soft.

“Cassian… did she just call you?”

I exhaled slowly, turning back to face her and for the first time that night, I didn’t lie.

“…Yes.”

Her expression changed instantly.

“And you told me it was business?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

“It is business.”

“Don’t insult me,” she snapped, standing up now, clutching the sheets around her.

“You think I don’t see it? The way you shut down whenever her name comes up?

The way you looked when you came back from Dubai?”

I said nothing because there was nothing safe to say.

“She still matters to you,” Elena whispered, more to herself than to me.

I stepped closer, my voice low and controlled.

“This isn’t about you.”

Her eyes snapped to mine. “That’s exactly the problem, Cassian. It should be.”

“I’m sharing a bed with a man who’s in love with someone else.”

“That’s not...”

“Don’t,” she cut me off sharply. “Just don’t lie again.”

Her eyes softened for a brief second, but it didn’t reach her voice.

“If she’s back in your life… then everything between us is a lie.”

I clenched my jaw because the truth was I didn’t know what Arihya’s call meant.

I didn’t know what was happening to her.

I didn’t know if she needed me or if I was already too late but one thing was clear.

This wasn’t over and whatever storm Arihya was caught in, i was about to walk straight into it no matter the cost.