Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty
Chapter 70: The broken Trust (2)

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The broken Trust (2)

Cassian barely had time to process the unfolding chaos in the banquet hall before he found himself being practically dragged down a shadowed corridor by Prince Dorian. The silence between them was heavy, and the only sound that could be heard was the click of Dorian’s polished boots against the marble floor.

"Your Highness, I—" Cassian began with a shaky voice.

Dorian abruptly stopped, spinning around to face him. The intensity in his stormy black eyes made Cassian flinch. "Don’t," Dorian said, his voice low and sharp like the edge of a blade. "Don’t say a word."

The prince’s usually composed demeanor was gone, replaced by something raw and volatile. His jaw was clenched, and his fists trembled at his sides as if he were holding himself back from some unseen force.

"You lied to me," Dorian hissed, his voice barely above a whisper but seething with anger. "You betrayed me."

Cassian’s heart sank at the accusation. "Your Highness, I would never—"

"Never?" Dorian cut him off, his voice rising. "Then what was that? The princess openly declared her love for *you* in front of the entire court!" His voice cracked slightly, betraying the depth of his emotions. "And you just stood there like a fool, as if you had no idea!"

"I didn’t—"

"Didn’t you?" Dorian stepped closer, looming over him. "You’re always with her, always defending her, always looking at her with that same... same devotion." His words dripped with bitterness.

"You’ve been playing with two royals at the same time. You are really capable."

Cassian’s chest tightened. The weight of Dorian’s anger crushed him. "No, Your Highness. Please, you have to believe me. I don’t—"

Dorian laughed bitterly, the sound harsh and devoid of humor. "Believe you? Why should I? You think I didn’t notice how she smiled at you? How she pointed you out in front of everyone as if you were her world."

"I... I didn’t ask her to say that!" Cassian pleaded, his voice breaking. "I swear to you, I had no idea—"

"Enough!" Dorian roared, his voice echoing down the empty corridor.

He held Cassian closer by his neck, and Dorian’s face was just inches away from him.

Dorian’s eyes were flickering between black and dark shades of red, but Cassian thought it was his mere imagination.

At a normal time, he would have longed to be this close, but now it is suffocating him.

He felt deep fear, and his body trembled in response. and a shudder left his body.

Dorian gazed at the pale blue eyes filled with tears. his heart clenched, but the anger simmering inside him only ignited more.

And looking at the pure look of terror in Cassian’s eyes, something shifted inside him.

His mind crept with something...a dark thought...and the urge to ruin him...beyond repair.

Dorian finds his mind filled with unimaginable thoughts.

his hand trailing to Cassian’s pale neck and slowly wrapping itself around his neck, tilting Cassian’s face upwards... Will he beg for mercy if he squeezes the life out of him? Will he still look at him with those beautiful eyes of his in the same way he is looking now?

Dorian felt his throat dry as he looked at the sweet glistening on Cassian’s forehead and sliding on his face. and the urge to claim him...become more apparent.

He did not want anyone to look at this side of Cassian. It is only for him...not for anyone...not even for his sister.

He wanted to chain Cassian beside him. so he could only look at him. and punish him... in a way he would never forget... and never will dare to look at anyone.

Dorian took a step back and ran a hand through his dark hair. His breathing was ragged and shaky. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, he looked as though he were battling something deep within himself.

Cassian stood frozen, his heart pounding. He had never seen Dorian like this before—so unrestrained, so vulnerable.

"I need to leave," Dorian said suddenly, his voice quieter now but no less intense. He turned away, his back to Cassian. "Before I do something I’ll regret."

"Your Highness—" Cassian reached out, but Dorian shook his head.

"Don’t follow me," Dorian said, his tone final. Without another word, he strode away, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.

Cassian stood there, his arm still outstretched, his heart aching in a way he couldn’t describe.

He blinked, feeling the sting of tears welling up in his eyes. When he realized Dorian was truly gone, the dam broke. A single tear slipped down his cheek, followed by another.

*Why won’t he believe me?* Cassian thought, his chest heaving with suppressed sobs. He leaned against the cold wall, the weight of everything crashing down on him. The princess’s declaration, the nobles’ stares, Dorian’s anger—it was all too much.

He wiped his tears hastily, though no one was there to see him cry. He couldn’t stay here. He had to find the princess and asked why she did that... and how could she?

Had she not thought about him? ...and how it will affect him... Were they not close friends? Then how can she do something like this?

Cassian felt his heart tighten as he remembered Prince Dorian’s expression and his distrust, and his tears started flowing even more vigorously.

He did not know how he would convince Prince Dorian that he did not like the princess.

....and that it is only him in his eyes.

He felt so broken, and he could not describe the ache in his heart; it was aching like he had done something unforgivable...

He didn’t know why he had a feeling that his heart was mourning for something and reminding him of the sin he had committed....and But how hard he searched there was no such memory.

It was the same as when he had woken up from that nightmare. Cassian finds his head start hurting, and the breathing becomes hard.

He could no longer clearly hear anything. his mind start going blank and the world around him losing its luster.

And finally the world around him goes dark. and Cassian fell with a thud on the ground.

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