the Villainess they took for granted

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Eye Contact

Marian spent the entire morning debating whether it was possible to remain inside her room forever.

Unfortunately, breakfast existed.

Which meant eventually she had to leave.

A terrible flaw in society.

Her maid helped her dress.

Marian endured the process with the dignity of a condemned prisoner.

Every few minutes, a memory returned.

If I walk away from that future... am I walking toward you?

Marian immediately buried her face in her hands.

"No."

"My lady?"

"Nothing."

Absolutely nothing.

Certainly not the complete destruction of her composure.

The problem was that now she remembered everything.

Every word.

Every pause.

Every implication.

Worse.

Cassian remembered too.

Marian groaned.

Today was going to be awful.

The confidence she painstakingly assembled lasted exactly until she entered the dining hall.

And saw Cassian.

Immediately.

Looking in her direction.

Marian nearly turned around.

Not dramatically.

Just enough to reconsider every life choice that had led to this moment.

Unfortunately several people had already noticed her arrival.

Retreat was impossible.

Marian continued forward.

Gracefully.

Dignified.

Perfectly composed.

Internally she was on fire.

She reached her seat.

Sat down.

Picked up a menu.

A menu she had already memorized.

Then stared at it anyway.

Across the room, Cassian took one look at her and nearly laughed.

Because she was being painfully obvious.

Not to everyone.

To him.

Yesterday Marian had stood in front of him and asked a question capable of changing both their lives.

Today she could not even look at him.

The contradiction was oddly charming.

Dangerously charming.

Cassian lowered his eyes to his coffee.

That line of thought was not helping.

Unfortunately, every few moments he found himself glancing up again.

And every time he did, Marian was finding increasingly creative ways not to look in his direction.

At one point she became deeply interested in a flower arrangement.

A very ordinary flower arrangement.

Several minutes later she appeared completely absorbed in conversation with an elderly duchess.

The duchess seemed confused by the sudden attention.

Cassian nearly smiled.

Then, inevitably, Marian made a mistake.

Curiosity got the better of her.

She glanced up.

Their eyes met.

Marian immediately looked away.

Far too quickly.

Cassian had to look down before his amusement became visible.

Because she definitely knew he had noticed.

And now she was probably mortified.

The realization only made him like her more.

Yesterday she had been fearless.

Today she was hiding behind decorative flowers.

People were wonderfully contradictory.

Especially Marian.

The thought startled him.

Because somewhere between the forest and the lodge and the conversation in the garden, he had stopped merely admiring her.

Now he found even her flaws endearing.

That was probably a problem.

A serious one.

A chair moved beside Marian.

The sound immediately drew both their attention.

Adrian.

The Crown Prince took the seat beside her with easy familiarity.

Marian’s spine stiffened.

Not enough for anyone else to notice.

Enough for Cassian.

And just like that, the mood changed.

Reality entered the room.

The embarrassment vanished.

The awareness remained.

For eighteen years, Adrian had been the future.

The certainty.

The path laid out before her.

And now he sat beside her while another man occupied far too much space in her thoughts.

The realization was uncomfortable.

Not because she regretted what she had said.

Because she didn’t.

That was the frightening part.

Across the room, Cassian looked away first.

Not because he wanted to.

Because suddenly there was a Crown Prince sitting beside her.

A reminder neither of them could ignore.

Beside Marian, Adrian began speaking about the day’s plans.

She listened.

Answered when appropriate.

Smiled when expected.

Yet part of her remained distracted.

Not by Cassian.

By the possibility that she had made a terrible mistake.

Not confessing.

That part, strangely enough, she didn’t regret.

The terrible mistake would be if Cassian regretted it.

The thought followed her through breakfast.

Through conversations.

Through polite exchanges.

Through everything.

What if she had pushed too far?

What if she had asked too much?

What if he had spent the entire night realizing how impossible this was?

What if—

Marian stopped herself.

Then failed.

And glanced across the room again.

Cassian was already looking.

Not smiling.

Not laughing.

Simply there.

Present.

Watching.

The breath she hadn’t realized she was holding escaped slowly.

Because suddenly something became obvious.

He wasn’t avoiding her.

The realization settled quietly inside her chest.

Cassian could have avoided her.

He could have created distance.

He could have pretended the conversation never happened.

He could have looked anywhere else.

Instead he was still there.

Still thinking.

Still carrying the same question she had left with him yesterday.

The warmth that spread through her chest surprised her.

Not because she expected an answer.

Because she didn’t.

She had told him to think.

And he was.

For some reason, that mattered.

Perhaps because it meant he was taking her seriously.

Not her feelings.

Her choice.

The possibility she had placed before him.

The future.

The realization made her smile.

Not intentionally.

It simply happened.

A small smile.

Private.

Relieved.

Across the room, Cassian saw it.

And immediately understood.

Not the exact thought.

The meaning.

She had realized he wasn’t running.

For a moment neither looked away.

And then Cassian smiled too.

Small.

Uncomplicated.

Almost reassuring.

The smile said nothing.

And yet Marian understood it anyway.

I’m still here.

Her heart did something deeply inconvenient.

Then someone called for the hunters to assemble.

The moment broke.

Reality returned once more.

Cassian stood.

Adrian rose beside her.

Conversation resumed around them.

Yet somehow the room felt different than it had when breakfast began.

Because Cassian still hadn’t answered.

But Marian no longer felt afraid of what that answer might be.

For now, one thing was enough.

He had stayed.

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