Chapter 60- I must have a baby in my arms

— SCARLETT REED —

The lie stayed in the air between us long after I said it.

Smooth. Polished. Perfectly delivered.

And completely exhausting.

Cassian didn’t react right away. He rarely did. He simply stood there, studying my face with that cool, evaluative gaze—as if I were a report he hadn’t yet decided whether to approve or discard. His silence pressed down on me harder than any accusation could have.

I forced myself not to fidget. Not to overact. Not to reach for my stomach in the way I’d practiced in the mirror.

Finally, he straightened, already compartmentalizing, already filing this conversation away under temporary instability.

“I’ll have my people tighten security,” he said calmly. Efficient. Detached. “No more unnecessary stress. No more contact with Liana.”

As if it were that simple.

As if Liana were a nuisance instead of a threat.

He leaned down and pressed a brief kiss to my forehead—impersonal, careful, more habit than affection. A gesture meant to reassure without promi