Village Stares-II

After their brief conversation, Arabella understood that Cassius had no intention of stopping Marissa.

She didn't push him. She knew, perhaps more than anyone, that for the two of them, this was how they showed love: not through grand displays or desperate pleas, but by quietly stepping aside for the other's happiness. Cassius understood that if he spoke to Marissa, even gently, she might change her mind. Not because she didn't want to leave, but because she wouldn't bear the thought of abandoning her brother in a castle riddled with manipulation and deceit.

Arabella's only wish was that the siblings could have one last moment together before Marissa left, something real, something warm, and that wherever Marissa went, she would be in the safest hands.