Chapter 8

• CASSIEL’S POV
• After being locked away for what felt like a year—or perhaps more—I finally saw the light again. The world outside seemed foreign, as if I were viewing it through a distorted glass lens.
• Every sound was amplified, every color too vivid, and the air felt oppressively heavy against my skin. For a year, I had hidden from the world that betrayed me.
• But today, Arella’s cruel insistence dragged me back into a world I no longer belonged to. He demanded I attend his wedding—his marriage to Kira. His voice echoed in my mind, the command laced with the kind of finality that left me no choice.
• Dressed simply, I walked down the grand hall where the ceremony was to take place. The soft background music enveloped me, a stark contrast to the turmoil within. Guests were seated in their finest attire, waiting for the couple to exchange vows.
• From where I stood, I narrowed my eyes to focus on Kira in her elegant wedding dress. A beautiful necklace adorned her chest, giving her the perfect bridal look.
• My eyes locking onto Kira and then onto the necklace around her neck. The realization hit me like a wave—Kira still had that necklace, even wore it to the wedding? I couldn't help but sneer in my heart.
• As Arella began his vows, guests smiled in anticipation.
• Almost as if possessed, a smirk curled on my lips.Before I can even realized how,I found myself at the alter where Kira was about to say her vows. My hand reached out towards her, driven by a force I couldn't control.
• Before I knew it, I was standing at the altar, mere inches away from Kira. My hand reached out, as if it had a life of its own, trembling yet resolute. Kira’s eyes widened, her face paling as her gaze shifted from Arella to me. The shock was clear, but she was powerless to react.
• "Cassiel? What are you doing? Why are you here?" Kira's voice echoed in my ears, but it felt distant,as if she was speaking to someone else.
• My eyes were locked on the necklace,and before Arella could utter a word to stop me, I grabbed the necklace, tearing it from Kira's neck.
• The beads scattered across the marble floor like fallen stars, rolling and bouncing, their clattering the only sound in the suddenly silent room.
• Kira gasped, stumbling backward, her hand instinctively clutching her now-bare throat. But I couldn’t have cared less. The largest bead remained in my grasp, cold and heavy, almost as if it were an extension of my own hand. I clutched it tightly, feeling its weight, its history, its truth.
• "You crazy woman, what do you want to do?" Kira shrieked, her voice rising in panic, but it barely registered.
• But it didn't faze me. Normally, I'd do anything to avoid confrontations, but today, I was unbothered.
• With trembling fingers, I gently twisted the lanyard, pulling at the intricate clasp. Gasps echoed around the hall as a small, crumpled note slipped out, fluttering to the floor. My breath caught, and suddenly, tears I hadn’t allowed myself to shed began welling in my eyes, threatening to spill over.
• It was a suicide note. My mother’s suicide note. The last words she ever left for me: Cassiel, take care of yourself.
• The air in the room thickened, the joy and celebration drained from the atmosphere, replaced by a suffocating silence. Every guest stared in stunned disbelief, their whispers cutting through the stillness like knives. The once-vibrant hall, filled with laughter and life, had transformed into a graveyard of shattered illusions.
• Kira’s hands trembled as she grasped the edges of her wedding dress, the fear and panic written all over her face. I saw it clearly—she was terrified. And for the first time, I didn’t care.
• The whispers grew louder, accusations and questions hanging in the air, but I stood rooted in the center of the chaos, unbothered by their judgment. I wasn’t here for them. I wasn’t even here for Kira.
• My eyes locked onto Arella’s, his expression one of pure confusion, his gaze darting between Kira and me, desperately trying to make sense of what was happening. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t possibly understand.
• I stepped forward, lifting my chin, my voice steady, though my heart throbbed with pain. “Mr. Monroe,” I began, my voice cutting through the murmurs like a blade, “I bet you never imagined that this necklace belonged to me. You thought a fraud like her was your savior?”
• His eyes widened, shock rippling through his features.
• “It wasn’t Kira who saved you that day, Arella,” I continued, my voice thick with barely suppressed emotion. “It was me.”