An unexpected welcome

Zara 

The rest of the drive passed in silence. 

My question lingered in the air long after I’d asked it. 

River never answered. 

Instead, he’d stared ahead at the traffic light as though the question had unlocked a door he’d spent years keeping shut.

I shifted in my seat, stealing a glance at him. 

Maybe I had asked something too personal. 

His hands rested loosely on the steering wheel, his attention fixed on the road.

I bit the inside of my cheek. Deciding not to ask anymore questions and just remain quiet. 

The city slowly changed around us. The busy streets gave way to quieter ones lined with sleek glass buildings that seemed to scrape the clouds. 

A few minutes later, River turned into the driveway of one of them. 

I couldn’t stop myself from looking up. 

The building was breathtaking. 

The glass exterior reflected the afternoon sun like polished crystals, and uniformed security guards stood at the entrance, greeting residents as they arrived. Expensive cars occupied almost every parking space, their glossy finishes gleaming beneath the lights. 

This wasn’t just luxury. 

It was another world entirely. 

River parked with practiced ease before switching off the engine. 

“We are here.” 

I nodded, suddenly feeling more nervous than I had all morning.

As I reached for the door handle, he spoke again.

“Leave the luggage.”

I looked at him.

“What?”

“Someone will bring it upstairs.”

“Oh…”

I slowly withdrew my hand from the suitcase handle.

“I’m not used to that.”

“I know.”

He stepped out first, and I followed.

A member of staff appeared almost immediately, greeting River with a respectful nod before wheeling both of my suitcases away.

I watched them disappear.

“I hope they don’t lose my things.”

“They won’t.”

“You sound very sure.”

“I am.”

There wasn’t even the slightest hint of doubt in his voice.

I smiled to myself and followed him into the lobby.

Everything inside looked impossibly elegant.

The marble floors shone beneath soft lighting, fresh flowers decorated every corner, and the air carried the faint scent of vanilla and cedarwood.

Even the silence felt expensive.

River pressed a key card against a private elevator panel.

The doors slid open almost instantly.

Neither of us spoke during the ride.

I watched the numbers climb higher and higher until they finally stopped at the very top floor.

The doors opened.

A long hallway stretched ahead of us, ending at a pair of dark wooden doors.

River unlocked them.

Before either of us could step inside, a cheerful voice echoed through the apartment.

“There you are, my darling boy!”

I looked up.

A woman, perhaps in her late sixties, hurried toward us with surprising energy.

She was elegantly dressed in a pale blue dress, her silver hair neatly styled around her face. There was warmth in her smile—one that reached all the way to her eyes.

River froze.

Then, for the first time since I’d met him…

He smiled.

A real smile.

One that transformed his entire face.

She wrapped her arms around him without hesitation, and after the briefest pause, he hugged her back.

“My darling boy,” she repeated, gently cupping his face. “Look at you.”

“I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I know.”

She laughed softly.

“That’s why it’s called a surprise.”

They spoke so naturally that I almost forgot I was standing in the doorway.

Almost.

The woman suddenly noticed me.

“Oh?”

Her curious gaze settled on me.

“And who is this beautiful young lady?”

River turned.

For a second, it looked as though he’d forgotten I was there, but it wasn’t quite that simple. His shoulders went still, and his fingers tightened once against the edge of the door before easing again.

 A flicker crossed his face—surprise, maybe, or something more guarded—gone so quickly I might have imagined it. He looked at me, then back at her, as if weighing how much of me to reveal and how quickly.

He opened his mouth.

Before he could say anything, I smiled politely and stepped forward.

“Hello. I’m Zara…”

I hesitated for only a heartbeat.

“…River’s girlfriend.”

The words seemed to settle over the room in a way I hadn’t expected.

River’s gaze snapped to mine. For the briefest moment, something unreadable moved across his expression—an almost imperceptible tightening around his eyes, the faint pull of his jaw, as though the word had caught him off guard in a place he hadn’t meant to expose. 

His hand lifted halfway, then dropped again, and he rubbed the back of his neck with a motion that looked casual only if you didn’t know him well enough to notice the tension beneath it.

I blinked.

Did I say something wrong?

Maybe I should have waited for him to—

Before I could finish the thought, the woman’s face lit up with the brightest smile I’d ever seen.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

She closed the distance between us and pulled me into a warm embrace.

“It is so wonderful to finally meet you.”

I stood there for a second, completely stunned.

When she finally let go, she kept hold of my hand as though we’d known each other for years.

She looked over her shoulder at River, her smile never fading.

“What took you so long to introduce this lovely girl to me?”

River opened his mouth.

Then closed it again.

For what might have been the first time in his life…

River Cassian seemed to have no answer.

Still smiling, the woman gently squeezed my hand and led me farther into the apartment.

“Come,” she said warmly. “You must be exhausted. Sit with me for a while.”

She guided me toward a cream-colored sofa that overlooked the city through floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Sit, dear.”

I did, still trying to process everything that had just happened.

She settled beside me, her hand still resting warmly over mine, while River remained near the entrance, watching us with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said with a smile.

I smiled back politely.

“Thank you.”

She patted my hand affectionately before turning her head toward River.

“Well?” she asked. “Aren’t you going to stand there all day, or are you finally going to come and join us?”