Chapter 67: Ice Cream
For a while, silence filled the car as Lynsandra and Cassian didn’t speak. Sitting in the passenger seat, she turned toward him in the driver’s seat.
Her lips parted, but in the end, she looked away and stayed quiet. Lynsandra stared at the side of the road, tapping her finger against her arm.
"Cass—"
"I didn’t like the dessert that much," he said, cutting her off. He beamed at her when she looked at him. "Lizzie, do you want some ice cream? I know a place that sells the best ice cream in the city!"
"..." She blinked, studying the smile on his face even after he turned his eyes back to the road. "You’re already driving toward it."
"Hehe," he chuckled. "I thought we should drop by before heading home."
A helpless sigh escaped her as she let him drive off to whatever ice cream shop he was talking about. She didn’t even believe one would still be open at this hour.
But she was wrong.
Thirty minutes later, she found herself seated across from Cassian in a small ice cream shop at the border of the city. No one else was around, just the two of them.
Cassian was eating from a large bucket between them. It didn’t look like he was enjoying it, the way he kept shoving big scoops into his mouth in quick succession, as if it were his first time having ice cream.
"My manager, Ryan, is very strict—especially about my diet," he said, finally breaking the silence. "He wouldn’t let me go near sugar or anything sweet. But I like sweets, so whenever I sneak just a bite of ice cream, I spend hours in the gym to burn it off. The more I eat, the longer I have to work out."
He chuckled as he glanced at her. "He’s that strict. But ever since I’ve been on hiatus, he’s loosened up. Or rather, he’s not breathing down my neck at every meal, so I feel freer to eat what I want."
"You’re on hiatus, but you still have work to do," she hummed, taking a small scoop from the same bucket. "Is that how showbiz works?"
He shrugged. "We took on a lot of projects before the invitation came. My calendar was fully booked for this year and the next. So, I’m only doing what we can’t push back."
"Must be tiring."
"A little." He tilted his head, resting the tip of his spoon on the ice cream’s surface. "But I like what I’m doing."
Lynsandra didn’t respond. She studied him quietly, watching him take another bite. She knew he was talking just to avoid the heavy silence. Perhaps to avoid the conversation he had overheard between her and Victor.
"Cassian," she called softly. "If you like what you’re doing, I think you should leave the harem."
He didn’t answer. His head remained lowered, the corners of his lips curling into a wry smile.
"But I like you more," he muttered. "I like what I’m doing... but I like Lizzie more."
Her brows lifted slightly in surprise as he met her gaze.
Another wave of silence settled between them. The longer she held his eyes, the heavier her heart felt. It was like a slap in the face—a reminder of the consequences of her actions.
If she had done all this purely to get back at Victor, she would have been satisfied seeing Cassian cling to her so desperately. But she knew that wasn’t the case. She had made a mistake, and now she was hurting someone innocent.
"I’m so—"
"Please don’t say ’I’m sorry,’" he cut her off again. That was the second time tonight, and both times had been when she tried to apologize.
He let out a deep sigh and cleared his throat. "Don’t apologize."
"Why?" she asked. "Why don’t you want me to apologize?"
Cassian didn’t answer immediately. He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Because... if you do, that means I never stood a chance at all."
His eyelids lowered as sadness flickered in his eyes. His mouth twitched into a faint, bitter smile.
"It’s not like I don’t know everyone in the harem is amazing. The priest, Elias, that annoying quak, the weird vampire, the pure human, even that white lotus," he muttered. "At least, unlike me, they belong somewhere. They have the Church, a pack, a bloodline—pure human, vampire, or werewolf."
He paused and laughed softly, though it sounded hollow. "I’m just... neither. Not a wolf, not fully human. But somehow, when I joined the harem, I was given the chance to stand on the same ground as them. To fight for someone fair and square."
It would have been a good opportunity to promote himself, but his heart felt too heavy for such thoughts.
"I like my brother. He’s not just my sibling—he’s like a father to me. Even when we were kids, he shielded me and took care of me," he continued quietly. "But at the same time, I know he does what he does because he pities me. He feels guilty. And every time he looks at me, I know that just by existing, I make him feel sorry."
"I don’t want him to feel sorry for me," he let out a helpless chuckle. "When I joined the harem, for the first time, he didn’t look at me with pity. He looked at me with shock. With worry. With irritation."
Cassian lifted his eyes from the ice cream to Lynsandra. "So I don’t want you to say sorry."
"...Then what do you want me to say?" she asked, pressing her lips into a thin line.
"Stay," he answered immediately, without hesitation. "I want you to tell me to stay and play this game—win or lose. I want you to tell me you’re giving me the same chance as everyone else. To prove that even someone like me is worthy."
His lips curved into a hopeful smile. "And maybe... say you don’t like him anymore."
"That’s..." He trailed off and nodded. "...good enough for me."
Another silence fell between them as she stared at him.
Everything he said was something she hadn’t expected. Truthfully, she realized she didn’t know Cassian beyond the surface. Then again, she had never tried. He had always been loud, and she had mistaken that for shallowness.
Lynsandra reached for her spoon and scooped a small portion of ice cream. She leaned forward, resting her arm against the table. When their eyes met again, she held the spoon in front of his mouth.
"You’re right," she hummed, a subtle smile forming. "The dessert back there sucked. This one’s better."
Slowly, the corners of his mouth lifted as he leaned forward and took the spoonful. Her smile widened, and this time, she truly enjoyed the ice cream, her heart feeling just a little lighter.
Little did they know, as they shared ice cream from the same bucket, somewhere far away, the sound of a shutter echoed, capturing their every movement.
