Chapter 910: Can you… erase her from my mind?

Meanwhile...

Not making it to the fan club reunion wasn’t in Cassandra’s plan. She wanted to go simply because she longed to see some old friends she hadn’t seen in a while. Although she could always meet up with them, it was difficult to coordinate schedules when everyone was available.

But alas... something came up.

What came up was something Cassandra, or rather, no one else, expected.

Seated in the chair beside the bed in a private ward half an hour away from the Summit School of Excellence, Cassandra stared at the man lying on the bed.

"Finn," she called quietly, watching his eyelashes flutter weakly, slowly opening. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Finn still had an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. He blinked weakly, turning his head in her direction. It wasn’t that he hadn’t regained consciousness, but he was resting a bit, as no words had been exchanged between them.

Ever since Cassandra was called to this place, told about Finn’s condition and current situation, she hadn’t thought twice about rushing to his side. Yet, even after hearing the doctor’s reminders and "good news," nothing had been said between Finn and Cassandra.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that for over an hour, they hadn’t spoken. She hadn’t spoken.

"I am not... engaged to you anymore," Cassandra breathed out. "I don’t even know if I should say that. We’ve never been engaged in our hearts or souls. However, in the eyes of others, we were once engaged."

She paused, pressing her lips tightly. "What I’m saying is, aren’t you afraid Nina would misunderstand this? From what I heard, she’s been taking care of you. What do you think she would think or even feel if she learns that the first person you called, the first person you thought of, is me and not her?"

Cassandra wasn’t perfect, and sometimes, she had questionable traits that gave the impression that she wasn’t all that she seemed to be. She was aware of that—not that she was proud of it, but she had long accepted her flaws. However, being the cause of another woman’s pain wasn’t one of them.

"Finn, I know what happened is bad, and it was unfortunate. However, you can’t keep doing this," she continued, shaking her head and reaching out to hold his hand. "Dear, this is not how it’s supposed to be. I know Nina broke off your engagement, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care anymore. Her actions..."

She trailed off, watching a tear suddenly roll down his temple. Cassandra pursed her lips, telling herself that this wasn’t the time to lecture him about how to treat his woman right.

"I know... hurting her isn’t your intention," she whispered, her voice gentle now. "But you should’ve called her here instead of me, Finn."

A wry smile formed on her face as she looked into Finn’s shaky, teary eyes. "You love her, I know."

Because if Finn didn’t have the slightest feeling for Nina, he wouldn’t be crying like this. If Finn didn’t love Nina, he wouldn’t look so scared right now. And if Finn didn’t care about her, these tears Cassandra was seeing for the first time wouldn’t be there.

"I’ll call her," she proposed with a smile, nodding at him. "Although I’m not sure if I should be the one making this call instead of you or anyone else, she has to know. Okay?"

That said, Cassandra retrieved her hand from Finn’s and reached for her phone. But just as she did, she stopped when he suddenly grabbed her hand. His grip was still weak, considering he had just woken up from a coma, but she could tell he was trying to hold her with all the strength he had left.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Instead, she watched Finn slowly remove his oxygen mask.

"Do... don’t, Cas..." His voice was coarse and low, his eyes fixed on hers. "Not... her."

"Finn," she called, ready to change his mind. But seeing the look in his eyes made her pause. "This isn’t going to work. You can’t just tell Nina—you know she’ll find out."

And he knew that.

Finn, despite just regaining consciousness, knew Nina would find out one way or another. But he didn’t want Nina right now. Even though all he needed was to see her, hold her, look at her, and wipe away her tears while thanking her... Finn didn’t want her right now.

The reason was complicated.

Finn drew a deep breath and forced the words out. "Careful, Cas."

"Huh?"

"He is not... who you think he is."

Deep lines appeared between Cassandra’s brows as she tried to make sense of the person Finn was referring to. There were so many "he’s" in her life, some of whom Finn openly disapproved of. So, she couldn’t tell who he meant.

"You’re... smart," he muttered. "You know who it is."

Her lips curved down, not in the mood to play games with him. Unlike Finn, who enjoyed the guessing game and the mystery his words left, she preferred people who were more straightforward.

"Finn, I know you just woke up and should be resting. But that doesn’t mean I appreciate the guessing games," she said, being honest. "Who is this person?"

"The person who did this to me."

This time, her entire body froze, and the lines between her brows deepened. "Who?" she blurted under her breath, although a part of her already knew Finn wouldn’t tell her.

One might wonder why Finn couldn’t just say it outright. But as mentioned, Finn enjoyed leaving mysteries. He might not have the same intent this time, but she knew Finn would keep quiet to preserve her intrigue.

Because if he named someone, she’d most likely be interested for a while—or, just as he intended, but not for the long run. That was exactly Finn’s reason: telling her outright would make her lose interest and assume it was just nonsense from a man high on the drugs that were keeping him alive.

Slowly, Finn looked away from her, still holding his oxygen mask inches from his mouth. "I want to forget," he murmured, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Can you... erase her from my mind?"