Romans de Delphine Rose

The clock on the wall ticked past ten. Cassian was twenty minutes late. Unusual.Scratch that—impossible.Three years apart or not, Cassian Draven was nothing if not punctual when his career was at stake. And this wasn’t some sparring match at the gym. This was his legal career, his name, his legacy. I leaned back in my chair, staring at the untouched file on my desk, the one marked C. Draven in my handwriting.My fingers hovered over my phone for a beat.I considered it. Calling him. Just to ask.But I didn’t.The door opened before I could change my mind.Olivia stepped in, tablet clutched to her chest like it was a shield. Her expression was tight, unreadable, but I knew that face. She only wore it when she was annoyed. “You have a visitor,” she said. “Laura Ozier.”That name.Of course I’d heard it. Read it. Seen the pictures of her at Cassian’s side.“She says it’s important,” Olivia added, her voice cool.I gave a short nod. “Let her in.”She hesitated.“Olivia.”With a sigh, sh

CASSIAN DRAVEN I glanced around the apartment fast. My instincts counted heads, exits, weapons. The only thing within reach was the ceramic vase sitting pretty on the coffee table. A gift from Laura. I’d always hated it.“You want a confession?” I said, voice steady despite the chaos in my veins.Laura looked at me and for a second, the room dropped away. Not fear. Not blame. Just... trust.The kind that gutted you when you’d let someone down before.I wasn’t letting that happen again.“Then face me like men,” I said. “Leave her out of this.”The big one holding Laura chuckled, low and mocking. “You really think you can take on all four of us, champ?”I stared him down. “There’s only one way to find out.”They didn’t wait for a second invitation.Two of them lunged.I moved first, ducked low as the first guy’s fist shot past my face. I swept his legs, sending him crashing into the bookshelf, and as the second charged in, I snatched the vase from the coffee table and slammed i

CASSIAN DRAVENIt took me three damn years to realize I didn’t know what the hell I wanted.Three years of pretending soft could satisfy me. That perfection could replace passion. That sweet smiles and folded hands could ever drown out the fire of a woman who looked me in the eye and made me answer for every part of myself—good and bad.I came back to an apartment that smelled like lavender.Jazz spilled softly from the speakers.And Laura—brunette, beautiful, sweet—was twirling around the living room, asking me to dance like we were part of some quiet little dream.But I didn’t want dreams.I wanted chaos. I wanted Thea.I wanted the jagged crack of her laughter the first time she landed a takedown—how it echoed off the locker‑room tiles and made my blood zing with something I couldn’t name.Laura was everything Thea wasn’t: gentle, agreeable, romantic in a way that didn’t scare me. But that was the problem. She didn’t challenge me. Didn’t cut me open just to see if I’d bleed truth.

I walked out of the visitation room with my heart pounding like it wanted out of my chest.But I kept my face neutral. Eyes cold. Steps steady.Glass over embers. That was my code.Olivia was waiting just down the hall.“Ma’am, what happened? Is he—?”“I’m fine,” I cut her off sharply. “No interruptions until further notice.”Her lips parted, but she didn’t argue. Smart girl.The clack‑clack of my heels faded in my ears as the office door clicked shut. The walls felt too tight. My suit, too hot.I ripped the file open again, trying to focus—trying to be the attorney I was supposed to be.But the words blurred. My head spun when his words echoed.“But I remember what you look like when you fall apart. When you begged me not to stop. Do you?”A scent still lingered on me from the precinct. The industrial soap. His cologne.And suddenly, I was back there.THREE YEARS AGOI had rules.No repeats. No feelings. No sleeping over.Cassian Draven broke all three in one night. He didn’t knock.

I didn’t hesitate.Snatched the file. Stormed out.Down the hall. Into the elevator.Up, up, up—until the numbers blinked to the top floor. Where the powerful sat behind soundproof doors and secretaries with perfect teeth.I didn’t knock.“Mr. Langley’s in a meeting,” his assistant said with a rehearsed smile. “He’ll see you shortly.”I nodded once, jaw tight, folder clenched like a lifeline.Five minutes passed. Then ten.Finally, the door creaked open, and she gave me the nod.I stepped inside. Langley barely looked up. Just gestured for me to sit like this was a friendly chat and not a war declaration.He was a broad man—blonde, well-fed, radiating authority from behind a mahogany desk that probably cost more than my car.“Thea,” he said, clasping his hands. “You look... sharp. Excited to finally work on a high-profile case again?”I didn’t sit.“I’m here because of the case.

THEA LYSANDER“I’m going to have his babies.”I turned.One brow lifted—not out of surprise, but disbelief. Olivia, the new girl, was squished between two assistants like they were sorority sisters instead of legal interns. All three were locked onto her phone like it was live footage from the heavens.The sound of a roaring crowd blasted from the tiny speaker. Then, smack. The thud of a body hitting the mat.Screams followed.“He won!” Olivia shrieked, throwing her arms up like she’d landed the knockout punch herself.“Those abs should be illegal,” one of the others moaned. “Like, why isn’t that man in prison for murdering me with that body?”Professionalism? Dead.It was midday. Case files untouched. Phones buzzing. Deadlines ignored.I stepped forward. None of them noticed. So I reached down and snatched the phone right out of Olivia’s manicured hands.She gasped and spun around, ready to spit fire—until she saw me.Then? Silence.Olivia’s perfectly polished nails quivered as she t