LOGINANNELISE POV
“10 thousand dollars!” A lady at the other end bid as my eyes widened, the prize kept going higher and higher, and now it felt more like a competition than an interest in the exceptionally perfect Anamorphic art.
We have been seated here for about two hours listening to crazy rich people bid on different artworks, each bid ending in a ridiculous price.
Alpha Cassius was more focused on the auction than I thought he would, but he never said a
VESPERA POVThe blade slid through the leather cleanly, a quiet, satisfying slice that split the training dummy from shoulder to waist. I exhaled slowly, lowering my arm. I raised the blade again and struck, harder this time, the impact echoing faintly through the empty hall.I didn’t miss, but the anger still sat in my chest like a burning coal that refused to die.Alpha Cassius Vale…I clenched my jaw, tightening my grip on the blade handle until my knuckles turned pale.Many years, I stood beside him. I knew his moods, his silences, his violence. I knew the exact tone his voice dropped to when he was about to destroy something. I knew the way his eyes darkened when someone tested his patience.I knew him.And yet, somehow, a fragile little human walked into his life and took everything.I let out a bitter scoff and drove the blade straight into the dummy’s chest.A fucking human…He used to speak about them with such cold indifference, like they were beneath notice, like they were
CASSIUS VALE POVThe cold night air kissed my skin as I leaned back on the lounge chair, my body still warm from Annelise.The pool water behind us shimmered under the soft lights, reflecting the stars above like the sky had melted into the earth.Paris was loud in the distance... Music, laughter, fireworks testing the night before midnight.But here, in this part of the house, it was just us.Just me and my girl.Just me and the woman that had somehow turned me into a man that looked forward to peace.Annelise lay on the lounge chair beside mine with a blanket lazily wrapped around her body, her curls messy, her cheeks flushed, and her lips still a little swollen from the things I had done to her by the poolside not long ago.My eyes drifted over her face and my chest tightened in a way I would never admit out loud.“What?” she asked with a small smile once she noticed my eyes on her, her voice still slightly breathless.I smirked. “You look like I ruined your bones.”She rolled her
ANNELISE POVThe next morning made every feeling I had too real.I sat in the passenger seat with both my hands pressed against my belly even though there was nothing to feel yet. Nothing had changed physically, but everything had changed neurologically.I was pregnant.Pregnant.Every time that word crossed my mind, my chest tightened.Cassius drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on my thigh.What if I wasn’t ready?What if I was going to be a terrible mother?What if school became impossible?What if I lost myself?I turned to the window and watched the cold Paris morning blur past. Christmas decorations hung from lamp posts, little wreaths and red ribbons everywhere, and people walked around looking festive and alive.Meanwhile, I felt like I was floating outside my own body.“Sweetness.” Cassius’ voice broke into my thoughts. “Stop thinking too much.”I turned to him. “How do I stop thinking too much when I might be carrying a whole baby inside me?”His
CASSIUS VALE POVThe ride back home was too quiet… heavy.Annelise sat by the passenger seat, staring outside the window while the Christmas lights from the streets reflected on her face.She looked beautiful, soft… fragile and completely somewhere else.I kept stealing glances at her while driving, trying to read her expression, trying to catch what exactly had shifted in her mood since this morning.But she was doing that thing she does when she is overwhelmed.She was shutting down.She wasn’t speaking unless I asked a direct question.She wasn’t smiling the way she usually did when we passed something silly on the road.She wasn’t humming to the Christmas songs playing low in the car.She was just there…And it was starting to piss me off, because I didn’t know what was happening in her head, and I hate not knowing things.I hate not being in control.My hand tightened on the steering wheel.Was she rethinking us?That was the first ugly thought that crossed my mind and once it en
ANNELISE POVA month had passed so quickly now it was December, and Paris looked like Santa had thrown up on every single street in the most expensive way possible.Everywhere was red, green, gold, glitter, lights, fake snow, giant Christmas trees, wreaths, bows, and enough holiday music to make a person lose their mind.The city was beautiful though.Very beautiful.And somehow, I couldn’t enjoy any of it.I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, staring at my phone screen with my period tracker app opened.Late.Five days late.My stomach twisted so hard that I had to grip the edge of the sink.“No…” I whispered to myself, my voice shaky. “No, no, no…”I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply.Maybe it was stress.Maybe my body was just acting up.Maybe I was overthinking.But deep down, I already knew something was wrong.Or maybe not wrong.Just… life changing.I swallowed hard and looked at my reflection again.I looked normal.Completely normal.No one would know that my heart had been
As Anne was led carefully into the Condo by Cassius, her brain couldn’t process what she had heard about Sloan. A few days ago, she saw him in her school and he was perfectly healthy.It didn’t make sense to her how things would abruptly go wrong to the extent of him needing a home.She sat on a couch and Cassius sat across from her, staring into her face and waiting for her to snap out of her thoughts.“But… but, Sloan was young and healthy as far as I know. It…” She whispered loud enough for Cassius to hear as she stood up from the couch. “It doesn’t make sense that he suddenly needs special care?”Cassius sighed loudly and stood up too as he approached Annelise.“Right?” She asked looking into his eyes like she was searching for the truth.“I don’t think you should worry yourself with this, let’s not let another man’s problem ruin our first night together after all the drama.” Cassius said as he gently stroked her curls.“I… I know, but as much as I get that you hate Sloan, he was







