Chapter Nine

The Wrong Side Of The Garden

Isla POV

I woke up with Vivienne’s warning still ringing in my head. Stay away from Cassian. That was my only plan. Simple. Safe. I would throw myself into Elias’s recovery and keep my distance from the one man who could ruin everything.

“Morning,” I said softly as I entered Elias’s room with a tray. “I asked the kitchen to make the eggs exactly how you like them, with a bit of avocado on the side too.”

Elias looked up from the bed and smiled, though tiredness still showed around his eyes. “You remembered. Thank you. You always know what I need.”

I set the tray down carefully and sat across from him. “How did you sleep last night?”

“Better, actually.” He picked up his fork but didn’t eat right away. “I keep thinking about Cassian showing up like that. It feels… off. Like there’s something I’m supposed to remember but can’t.”

I reached over and touched his hand. “Let’s not think about him today. You have physiotherapy in an hour. The doctor said consistent movement will help your memory come back faster. Focus on that.”

He nodded slowly. “You’re right. I don’t know what I’d do without you here.”

We spent the morning together. I walked with him to the therapy room, stayed during his exercises, and read to him when he got frustrated with the memory cards the doctor had given him.

“Try again,” I said gently, pointing at the next card.

Being around Elias was starting to feel comfortable. More comfortable than I had planned. That scared me almost as much as Cassian did. I wasn’t supposed to care this much. I was only here to play a role and protect Naomi. Nothing more.

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When it was time for his private therapy session, I waited outside as usual. “I’ll be right outside if you need me,” I told him.

I needed air. The constant pretending was starting to feel suffocating. I slipped out to the gardens and followed one of the stone pathways without thinking, letting my feet carry me away from the main house. The air smelled sweet from the blooming flowers. For a moment, the quiet felt peaceful.

Then I looked up and froze.

I was standing in front of a beautiful residence on the quieter side of the estate. Cassian’s residence.

I turned to leave quickly.

“Leaving already?”

His voice stopped me cold. Cassian walked toward me, hands in his pockets, calm and unhurried. He wore a dark suit now, looking completely different from the man who had arrived days ago. He didn’t seem angry. If anything, he looked relieved, like he had been waiting for this moment.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

I forced a small smile. “I was just walking. I didn’t mean to come this far.”

He stopped a few steps away. “Why are you avoiding me, Celeste?”

“I’m not avoiding you.”

He gave me a look that said he already knew the answer. A faint, sad smile touched his lips. “You’ve barely glanced at me since I got here. You walk the other way when you see me coming. What did I do, Celeste?”

I stayed silent, my heart racing.

He studied my face carefully. “I spent months wondering if I’d ever see you again. And now you’re here… acting like I’m a stranger.” His voice dropped. “Was I really that easy to leave behind?”

I had no answers for him. Those memories weren't mine. There was nothing I could say that wouldn’t make everything worse.

Cassian took one careful step closer. “I kept asking myself why you left. I thought maybe I did something wrong. Maybe I wasn’t enough.”

He reached into his pocket and unfolded an old photograph. In it, he and Celeste were laughing together. She leaned comfortably against him, happy and relaxed, intimate in a way that left no doubt.

“Do you remember this?” he asked, holding it so only I could see. “That weekend at the cabin. You said it was one of the best days of your life.”

Panic surged through me. I had never seen that photo. I didn’t know where it was taken or what happened that day. Every second felt dangerous.

“I remember… parts of it,” I managed, my voice barely steady.

Cassian lowered the photograph slowly. Disappointment flickered across his face. Not because I forgot, but because I didn’t seem to care the way he expected.

He slipped it back into his pocket. “I know a lot has happened. But whatever it is… You can tell me.”

For one reckless second, the lie felt too heavy. I wanted to tell him the truth. That I wasn’t Celeste. That I had been lying to everyone.

“Celeste.” Someone called from farther down the path.

“I should go,” I said quickly.

Cassian didn’t stop me. He just watched.

I walked past him, pulse racing. I was almost around the bend when his voice followed me.

“You can keep pretending everything between us never happened…”

He paused.

“But I’m not giving up.”

I didn’t turn around. I kept walking toward the main house, pressing my hands flat against my sides while Vivienne’s warning played on a loop in my head.

Now I finally understood why she feared Cassian’s return. Not just because he might suspect I was an impostor. But because every conversation with him demanded memories I didn’t have and emotions that never belonged to me.

And I had no idea how much longer I could keep this up.