the Villainess they took for granted

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Standing Still

The night air was cool.

Lantern light faded behind them as they walked further from the lodge.

Neither spoke.

Which was absurd.

Absolutely absurd.

Marian had spent the last two days thinking about this conversation.

Now it was happening.

And suddenly she had forgotten how words worked.

The silence stretched.

One minute.

Then another.

The gravel path crunched softly beneath their feet.

Still neither spoke.

Marian’s heart was beginning to file formal complaints.

Because this had been his idea.

He was the one who asked her to walk with him.

He was the one with the answer.

So why wasn’t he saying anything?

The longer the silence lasted, the more dangerous her imagination became.

Had he changed his mind?

Had he decided this was impossible?

Had he brought her out here specifically to reject her?

The thought was horrifying.

And unfortunately plausible.

Marian was halfway through imagining the most humiliating conversation of her life when Cassian finally spoke.

"You’ve been avoiding me."

Marian nearly stumbled.

"What?"

His mouth twitched.

"You’ve been avoiding me."

"I have not."

The answer came far too quickly.

Cassian raised an eyebrow.

Marian immediately regretted everything.

"You hid behind a flower arrangement."

"I did not."

"You absolutely did."

"I was looking at the flowers."

"They were ordinary flowers."

"They might have been interesting flowers."

Cassian laughed.

The sound was warm.

Dangerously warm.

And Marian hated that she liked it.

"You also used an elderly duchess as a shield."

Marian stared.

Then looked away.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

The worst part was that he wasn’t wrong.

Cassian’s amusement only grew.

For a moment, the tension eased.

Not completely.

Just enough.

Enough for Marian to breathe again.

Enough to remember why she liked being around him.

Then the laughter faded.

The silence returned.

Different this time.

Heavier.

Both of them knew why they were here.

Marian looked ahead.

Toward the path.

Toward the trees.

Toward literally anything except Cassian.

Then gathered what remained of her courage.

Two days ago she had asked the question.

Tonight she would hear the answer.

"You were thinking."

Cassian looked at her.

The simple statement carried more meaning than the words themselves.

Because they both remembered.

The garden.

The conversation.

The impossible question she had placed in his hands.

Marian swallowed.

"I told you to think about it."

"Yes."

His voice was quiet.

Steady.

"I did."

Her heart stopped.

Not literally.

Only enough to be inconvenient.

"And?"

The single word felt far too small.

Far too fragile.

Yet somehow it carried everything she couldn’t say.

Cassian was silent for several moments.

Not because he was uncertain.

Because he was choosing the right words.

Finally he spoke.

"Two days ago, you asked me whether you would be walking toward me."

Marian’s pulse thundered in her ears.

She nodded.

Once.

Unable to do anything else.

Cassian looked away briefly.

Toward the trees.

Toward the night.

Then back at her.

And when he spoke again, his voice was softer than before.

"Marian."

The way he said her name nearly destroyed her composure.

"I don’t think I’ve been standing anywhere else for a very long time."

Silence.

The world stopped.

Or perhaps Marian stopped hearing it.

Because for one impossible moment, those words were all that existed.

Not:

I choose you.

Not:

I love you.

Something far more devastating.

Something that told her exactly what she needed to know.

Cassian had been waiting too.

The realization hit with enough force to steal her breath.

For a moment she could only stare.

Because there was no defense against a sentence like that.

Absolutely none.

"You..."

Brilliant.

An excellent response.

Marian hated herself.

Cassian’s smile returned.

Small.

Almost fond.

And somehow that made it worse.

"You took a very long time."

The accusation escaped before she could stop it.

Cassian actually laughed.

A real laugh.

The sound echoed softly through the night.

"I know."

"You had two days."

"I know."

"You nearly killed me."

That earned another laugh.

Marian felt deeply offended by how pleased he looked.

Then his smile faded.

Not completely.

Just enough.

Enough that she immediately understood the conversation wasn’t over.

Because it wasn’t.

Not even close.

"Wanting you was never the difficult part."

The words settled quietly between them.

Marian’s breath caught.

Because suddenly she understood.

Adrian.

The engagement.

The future.

Everything.

All the reasons this had taken so long.

Cassian’s gaze held hers.

Steady.

Honest.

"The difficult part was pretending that wanting you would change nothing."

Marian felt something tighten painfully in her chest.

Because she understood that too.

More than she wanted to.

For several moments neither spoke.

The night remained quiet around them.

Then Cassian exhaled slowly.

As though finally releasing something he had carried for far too long.

"I don’t know what happens next."

Honesty.

Nothing but honesty.

"I don’t know what choices we’ll make."

Another pause.

"I don’t know how difficult this becomes."

Marian listened.

Every word.

Every heartbeat.

Every hesitation.

Because none of those things mattered.

Not compared to what came next.

Cassian’s eyes never left hers.

"But if you’re asking whether you’re walking toward me..."

His voice lowered.

Almost gentle.

"You are."

The answer was simple.

Certain.

Final.

And for the first time since the garden, there was no uncertainty left between them.

Only truth.

Marian closed her eyes.

Then laughed.

A real laugh.

The first one in days.

Relief flooded through her so suddenly she almost felt dizzy.

Because it was over.

The waiting.

The wondering.

The endless replaying of every conversation.

Over.

When she opened her eyes again, she found Cassian watching her.

And smiling.

The sight made her heart do something embarrassing.

"You know," she said, pointing at him, "this is a terrible answer."

Cassian blinked.

"A terrible answer?"

"Yes."

Marian nodded firmly.

"A terrible answer."

His amusement deepened.

"I see."

"You do not."

"I don’t?"

"No."

Marian crossed her arms.

Then immediately uncrossed them because she was too happy to maintain righteous indignation.

"Do you have any idea how many times I replayed that conversation?"

"No."

"Neither do I."

Cassian laughed again.

Marian decided she liked making him laugh.

A dangerous realization.

Then a thought occurred to her.

A very dangerous thought.

And before she could stop herself—

"I think I want proof."

Silence.

Marian froze.

The words echoed in her head.

Slowly.

Horribly.

Because suddenly she realized exactly how that sentence sounded.

Heat rushed to her face.

Cassian’s eyes became suspiciously amused.

"Your Grace."

"Lady Marian."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"You know exactly what."

The smile threatening his mouth confirmed that he absolutely did.

Marian wanted to disappear.

Immediately.

Preferably into another country.

"What kind of proof?" Cassian asked.

The question was entirely unfair.

Marian opened her mouth.

Then immediately closed it again.

Because she had absolutely no answer.

None.

Not a single one.

And the fact that Cassian knew it made everything worse.

So before she could embarrass herself any further—

She reached for his hand.

The movement surprised both of them.

Most of all herself.

For a brief second neither moved.

Neither spoke.

Then her fingers slipped into his.

And the world seemed to stop.

It was ridiculous.

Completely ridiculous.

They had survived a storm together.

Slept beside the same fire.

Shared secrets neither had told anyone else.

Yet somehow this felt different.

Because this time there was no excuse.

No necessity.

No circumstance forcing them together.

Only choice.

Marian suddenly became aware that neither of them was wearing gloves.

The realization sent another wave of heat rushing to her face.

His hand was warm.

Larger than hers.

Strong.

Years of swordsmanship and training had left faint calluses against his palm.

Not rough enough to hurt.

Just enough to remind her that this was a man who worked for what he protected.

Her fingers tightened instinctively.

Cassian went very still.

As though afraid any movement might break the moment.

Then slowly—

His hand closed around hers.

Completely.

Effortlessly.

As though her hand belonged there.

The sensation was unexpectedly overwhelming.

Not because of the touch itself.

Because of what it meant.

For the first time there was no uncertainty between them.

No wondering.

No guessing.

No pretending.

Just this.

Marian looked down at their joined hands.

Then smiled.

A real smile.

Bright.

Unrestrained.

The kind that came from pure happiness.

"There."

Cassian’s voice was quieter than before.

"Does that count as proof?"

Marian laughed softly.

The sound trembled at the edges.

Not because she was sad.

Because she was so happy she didn’t know what to do with it.

For this one moment, she refused to think about consequences.

About Adrian.

About duty.

About the future.

Those problems would still exist tomorrow.

Tonight belonged to them.

"That will do."

Cassian’s gaze lingered on her face.

And for the first time Marian realized he was smiling too.

Not the charming smile he gave everyone.

Not the teasing smile.

Not the polite smile.

This one belonged only to her.

The realization made her heart ache.

In the best possible way.

And beneath the quiet night sky, their hands remained intertwined.

Neither willing to let go first.

--

AN: ahhhh this is the part where i just want to shout, FINALLY!!!!!

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