Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 911

Chapter 911: Weighing his choices
Love was something Finn hadn’t experienced or thought about. Even when he pursued Nina, earned her sweet “yes,” held her hand, kissed her lips, and whispered sweet nothings in her ear, he didn’t think of it as anything more than what it was. In his mind, Nina was just a tool he could hold onto for his own benefit.

She was someone he knew would be key to his survival and someone he could use for leverage.

It had been like that from the start… and it should remain that way.

It should stay that way until the end.

“… Can you erase her from my mind?” Finn asked, choking on his words as the memories flooded back to him.

Her sweet “yes,” as she let him into her life, how rough her palms were as proof of her hard work but they were the warmest to hold him, her soft lips, and her voice that filled his heart with emotions he’d never felt before. And as he recalled all of it— all of her— he realized just how troubling this was.

“Finn, what did you just ask me to do?” Cassandra replied, disbelief in her voice as her brows furrowed. “You want me to do… what?”

Finn swallowed the lump in his throat. “Please.”

“No.” Her lips curved downward. “You just woke up, and as much as I try to stay gentle with you, you’re making me want to scold you more.”

Cassandra huffed and leaned back in her chair. “Finn, I keep saying you should be recovering, but I’m scolding you anyway. Like I said, I feel sorry that you were in an accident, but that doesn’t give you a pass to be a jerk. You’re not a kid anymore, and you don’t get to make everyone around you say yes to your every request.”

“Goodness.” She sighed, but her eyes revealed more than the frustration in her words. “It’s scary, isn’t it? To love someone… and to be loved back. I know because I am the same.”

His eyes shook as he held her gaze. Even though he hadn’t responded, his eyes were enough to tell her everything. Though Cassandra and Finn didn’t love each other romantically, they had grown up together. While their elders met to strengthen family ties, the two of them were left to play together. In their time alone, they shared thoughts that formed a bond no one else could break or erase from their memories.

Even as teens, the only thing that had changed was that they weren’t left to play anymore. Instead, they studied together or simply got to know each other. Until the engagement was called off, they continued meeting, with nothing else to do but be friends.

They knew each other more than anyone else did.

She knew his struggles as well as he knew hers. Perhaps that’s why Cassandra never fell for him. She knew he didn’t believe in love, but now that Finn finally had someone he wanted to keep by his side, she knew he was scared of it.

“You don’t want to hurt her, I know,” she whispered, offering him a subtle smile. “And these feelings… these big feelings are very scary, but love isn’t supposed to be something you’d be scared of.”

Finn kept his eyes on her before slowly looking away, placing his oxygen mask back on. “You don’t know.” If only she knew that while he was in a coma, he could hear Nina. He could hear Nina’s calls, her stories, her muffled cries, and how she kept telling him to wake up.

He could even discern her tone from the others, especially after she began talking about the reunion. All he gave her was disappointment and heartache. If he continued, he would only continue to break her heart unintentionally.

“Believe me or not, but what I can assure you is… don’t mess this up even more. You already messed up when she called off your engagement, and if you want her back… don’t screw it up again. Can I erase her from your mind? I can try, but I won’t, and I don’t want to. Letting you do that… would make me insane.”

Cassandra reached out to hold his hand. “Finn, pushing people away and hanging all your relationships on this thin thread that could break so easily isn’t the way. This accident should be eye-opening for you.”

“Don’t run away, don’t be scared, and take accountability,” she continued. “Fight, Finn. Fight. Don’t just give up and hurt the people who genuinely care about you. Hurting the people you cared for doesn’t only hurt them, but it’ll hurt you the most.”

“…” Should he fight for something—or someone—other than himself for once?

“I’ll stay here with you until someone comes,” she added. “So, rest for now, okay? I’ll be here.”

Finn glanced at her, only to see her smile wryly.

“I won’t call her,” she reassured him, as if she knew that was his concern. “So, just rest, okay?”

Finn slowly looked away, closing his eyes. As he did so, another tear rolled down his temple, making Cassandra smile helplessly.

‘He’s still as stubborn as I remember him,’ she thought. ‘He hasn’t changed one bit… though in some ways, he has.’

Because, at the end of the day, Finn was the most emotionally unavailable person she had ever met. Yet, Finn had no problem showing her his tears, even though she knew he was trying his best not to. All because of Nina and whatever complicated matters lay in his mind.

As for Finn, he quietly weighed his choices. His mind was still muddled with all these jumbled thoughts about Nina, Cassandra, and what could happen in the future. The medication in his system wasn’t helping either. But what he knew was that he had to make a choice now.

After a brief silence, Cassandra saw him open his eyes again. Her brows rose as she watched him stare at the ceiling. When his head finally turned in her direction, he lifted his oxygen mask off his face and whispered,

“I’m… sorry.”

“Hmm?”

Finn blinked weakly. “If you can’t do what I want, then… can you help me do something else?”