Chapter 6 - The Storm Outside
For two days, I refused to leave the sunroom suite.
Mrs. Gable brought trays of hot soup, fresh fruit, and warm tea, but I barely touched them. Cassian didn't force his way inside. Instead, he sat outside my locked door on a leather chair in the hallway every single night, his low, quiet voice drifting through the wood as he talked to me through the dark hours.
“When I was twelve years old, my father was murdered by business rivals,” Cassian said softly on the second night, his back resting against the other side of my door. “My mother fled to Europe and never came back. I grew up surrounded by lawyers, bodyguards, and men who only valued me for what my family name could buy them.”
I sat on the bed, pulling my knees up, listening to his voice.
“The night I met you on that hotel rooftop,” Cassian continued, his voice heavy with emotion, “I was planning to sign away my voting rights to the Vance family. I was tired of fighting. I was tired of living in a war zone. But then I saw you sitting near the ledge, wearing a dress that was two sizes too big, eating a stolen chocolate tart and laughing at the rain.”
A soft sob escaped my throat.
“You talked to me for two hours about your dream of opening a small flower shop in Maine,” Cassian whispered. “You didn't know my name. You thought I was just a stressed-out hotel accountant. For the first time in thirty-four years, someone looked at me and saw a man, not a target.”
Silence settled over the hallway.
“I didn't search for you to save my company, Clara,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. “I searched for you to save my soul. If you want to leave after the baby is born, I will give you half my wealth and let you go. But please... don't believe I used you.”
Inside the dark room, I pressed my hand against the wooden door, wishing I could feel the heat of his back on the other side.
The baby kicked strongly, as if agreeing with the man outside.
Slowly, I turned the brass lock.
The door swung open.
May you like
Cassian was sitting on the floor, his head resting against the wall, looking exhausted and broken. When he looked up and saw me standing there in my white silk robe, he froze.
I held out my hand. “Come inside, Cassian. It’s cold out here.”
