Chapter 77 Mr Wolfe

Chapter 77 Mr Wolfe
Ariyha POV

Just when I thought I had finally buried him somewhere deep enough that he couldn’t reach me anymore Cassian walked back into my life like he had every right to be there.

I didn’t react because I couldn’t afford to.

“Again,” I told the little girl softly, keeping my voice steady even though my pulse had suddenly turned erratic beneath my skin.

“Relax your fingers and let the keys breathe.”

My hand guided hers gently across the piano, my touch calm and practiced. Years ago, music had been an escape for me but now… it was survival and a way to keep my mind from wandering to places it shouldn’t go.

I could feel his presence behind me without even looking. It was ridiculous, how my body still recognized him. The air felt different heavier and charged, like something dangerous had just stepped into the room.

Two years and yet nothing had prepared me for this.

I turned when I had to.and there he was, Cassian. Exactly as I remembered… and somehow worse but it was his eyes, God… those eyes.

They still held that same intensity way of looking at me like I was something he could never quite understand but wanted to.

My expression smoothed into polite indifference, the kind I had mastered over the past two years. “Miss Ariyha,” my client said, pulling me fully back into the present. “This is Mr. Cassian Wolfe.”

Of course it was and I gave a small nod, keeping my gaze steady and detached. “Nice to meet you.”

“Ariyha…”

The way he said my name was insteady and It hit harder than I expected.

For a second, my fingers paused over the piano keys then I continued like nothing had happened. “I believe the lesson is still ongoing,” I said calmly, not sparing him another glance.

I felt his gaze on me the entire time like he was trying to understand something he didn’t have the right to question anymore.

The little girl beside me played the same note wrong for the third time, and I gently corrected her again, forcing myself to focus..“Don’t rush,” I murmured. “Music isn’t something you fight, It’s something you feel.”

Finally, the lesson ended and her father thanked me, as he always did, polite and appreciative. I responded with the same quiet professionalism I had built my life around and the moment the child ran off and her father stepped away to take a call…

Silence fell between us, so I stood slowly, smoothing my dress, buying myself a few seconds before turning to face him.

Up close, it was worse because I could see the faint lines at the corners of his eyes that hadn’t been there before. The subtle tension in his jaw and the way his gaze moved over my face like he was trying to memorize it all over again.

“You disappeared.”

His voice was low but underneath it… something else lingered and I let out a soft breath, folding my arms loosely. “That tends to happen when people aren’t wanted anymore.”

I saw it in the slight tightening of his expression. “That’s not......”

“It is,” I cut in gently, not raising my voice. “Let’s not rewrite history Cassian, you made your choice.”

He stared at me and something conflicted flickering across his face. “I looked for you.”

I almost laughed but instead, I tilted my head slightly, studying him. “Did you?”

I had spent nights, countless nights waiting for something that never came not even a call or message so I learned how to stop expecting it. “I didn’t know where you went,” he continued, his voice quieter now.

“That was the point.”

Silence stretched between us again. I shifted slightly, putting a small but deliberate distance between us.

“I have a life now,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t… complicate it.”

That was as close to a warning as I could give.

I had learned how to survive within the freedom Zayn gave me and I'm not about to mess it up. His gaze darkened slightly. “Is that what this is?” he asked. “A life?”

“It’s enough.”

But It wasn’t because wanting more… came with consequences I couldn’t afford.

His eyes searched mine, like he was trying to find something I refused to give him and for a second, I felt it that reckless connection that had once consumed me whole but I shut it down immediately because attraction was a weakness and weakness… was something people like Zayn exploited.

Just the thought of Zayn sent a chill through me, so I straightened slightly.

“Your wife,” I said, shifting the focus deliberately.

“And your daughter… they must be waiting for you.”

Something in his expression changed again. “They’re fine.”

Of course they were, why wouldn’t they be?

He had everything he wanted, a wife and a beautiful daughter so why was he here… looking at me like something was missing?

I forced a small, polite smile. “I’m glad.”

And I meant it because no matter what had happened between us, he deserved happiness even if it wasn’t with me but God… seeing him again like this, It stirred things I had worked so hard to bury.

My gaze flickered over him before I could stop myself and damn it, he was even more attractive than I remembered.

I looked away quickly, annoyed at myself.

Why was I even noticing that?

Why was I thinking about him like this when his life had clearly moved on?

When mine… was something I had no real control over?

“I should go,” I said, picking up my bag. “I have another lesson.”

That was a lie but I needed distance now before I made a mistake and let myself remember what it felt like to be his.

I walked past him without waiting for a response but just as I reached the doorway ...
.“Ariyha.”

I stopped, damn him.

Slowly, I turned back. “Yes, Mr. Wolfe?”

The formality was intentional, I had a line drawn clearly between us and hs jaw tightened slightly at the name.

“We’re not done talking.”

A small, humorless smile touched my lips.

“No,” I said softly. “We are.”

And this time, I didn’t stop.

I walked out without looking back because if I did, I wasn’t sure I’d be strong enough to leave again and I had already learned the hard way…

Loving Cassian Wolfe was the kind of mistake that cost you everything.