Chapter Four: We Must Become Strangers

I didn't remember how I got home. One moment, I was standing in the lobby of Blackthorne Global, my hand resting in Kael's. 

The next, I was sitting alone in the backseat of the car, watching the lights of Manhattan blur past the window like memories I had spent four years trying to forget. 

My hands rested quietly in my lap, yet they seemed to remember the warmth of his touch.

I slowly curled my fingers into a fist,it  shouldn't have affected me,it had been nothing more than a polite handshake between two people pretending they had never loved each other. 

So why did it still feel as though my heart had been left behind in that lobby?

I closed my eyes, but the memory came anyway.

"You're still worried."

I looked up from the cup of hot chocolate warming my hands. "I'm not."

Kael chuckled softly. "You've been twisting that napkin for the last five minutes."

I glanced down and realized he was right. "I just..." I hesitated. "I don't like that you're leaving tomorrow."

His smile softened as he reached across the small café table and slipped his hand over mine. "Lia." My heart always softened whenever he said my name like that. "No matter where I have to go," he said quietly, "I'll always come back to you."

I searched his face. "You promise?"

"I promise." His thumb brushed lightly across my knuckles. "And when I do, you'll be the first person I look for."

I laughed, trying to hide the tears gathering in my eyes. "I'll hold you to that."

"I hope you do."

My eyes opened slowly to a silent bedroom,a bitter smile touched my lips….I had believed every word.

Slowly, I sat up. That part of my life had ended the day I married Cassian. 

Whatever yesterday had awakened inside me had to stay buried,Kael wasn't mine anymore….he was my husband's stepbrother. Nothing more, nothing less. If we couldn't erase the past, then we would just have to become strangers.

*******

Blackthorne Global's grand ballroom glittered beneath crystal chandeliers,soft music drifted through the room as waiters moved gracefully between guests carrying silver trays filled with champagne. 

Laughter rose and fell around me while camera flashes occasionally lit the room,tonight wasn't simply another corporate celebration….it was also a welcome home for the company's new Executive President.

I stood beside Cassian as one executive after another stopped to greet us,he introduced me whenever necessary before effortlessly slipping back into discussions about acquisitions, overseas investments, and quarterly projections. After a while, the conversations became more technical than I could follow.

"I'll be right over there," I told him.

He gave a distracted nod. "Don't wander too far."

A faint smile touched my lips. "I won't."

A waiter passed carrying sparkling water, and I exchanged my empty glass for a fresh one.

"Aurelia." I turned to find Mrs. Whitmore, one of Rosa's oldest friends. "It's so good to see you."

"You too." She embraced me warmly before asking how married life had been treating me,I answered with the careful smile I'd perfected over the last four years….long enough to satisfy her curiosity, but careful enough to hide the truth.

When she was called away by another guest, I quietly exhaled,the ballroom suddenly felt much larger than before, and somehow, much lonelier.

Without thinking, my eyes wandered across the room and found him instantly. 

Kael stood surrounded by several international executives, listening attentively as someone explained a proposal. 

He looked calm and confident, as though he had always belonged in rooms like this, and as though four years had never touched him.

Perhaps he felt someone watching, because he slowly lifted his head. Our eyes met, and everything else faded…the music, the conversations, the laughter.

For a moment, it was just us then he looked away first, returning his attention to the discussion as though nothing had happened. 

Relief settled over me, followed almost immediately by disappointment,but that was how it had to be.

Across the ballroom, Bianca walked toward Cassian carrying a slim leather folder. "I finally found it," she said with an easy smile.

"You just saved me." Cassian accepted it with obvious relief. "I've been looking everywhere for this."

Bianca laughed softly. "I figured you might need it." As she straightened the cuff of his jacket almost absentmindedly, neither of them seemed to realize how natural the gesture looked.

Vivienne noticed,her approving smile lasted only a second before disappearing behind practiced elegance, though no one else appeared to think anything of it.

I lowered my gaze to my glass. Maybe I was the only one who felt out of place inside my own marriage.

A moment later, the chairman stepped onto the stage and the conversations gradually quieted. "Ladies and gentlemen..." He welcomed everyone before inviting Kael forward.

Applause echoed throughout the ballroom.

"Please join me in welcoming home the Executive President of Blackthorne Global's International Division."

Kael accepted the microphone, his voice carrying easily across the room. "Thank you. It's an honor to be back." He spoke briefly about the company's international growth and the opportunities ahead, 

thanking the board for its continued confidence. 

He didn't speak for long….he didn't need to,by the time he stepped away from the podium, the applause was louder than before, and executives and investors immediately gathered around him.

I looked away,the less I watched him, the easier forgetting him should become. At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

I had barely lifted my glass when that strange feeling returned….quiet awareness, as though someone had whispered my name across the room. 

Against my better judgment, I looked up.

Kael was looking at me, neither openly nor intentionally, but just for a fleeting moment before someone spoke to him and he turned away,I  lowered my eyes just as quickly. Neither of us was trying to do this, yet somehow, our eyes kept finding each other.

"Aurelia." Cassian's voice pulled me back.

I turned. "When did you come over here?"

"Only a minute ago." He studied my face. 

"You look tired."

"I didn't sleep well."

Concern flickered briefly across his expression. "You should've told me." Before I could answer, another executive called his name, and Cassian excused himself.

As he turned away, I noticed his gaze drift across the ballroom.It stopped on Kael for only a moment before returning to me. 

A faint crease appeared between his brows, but whatever he had been thinking, he seemed to dismiss it just as quickly.

Nearby, Vivienne slowly swirled the wine in her glass,our eyes met briefly, and then her attention shifted beyond me toward Kael,something unreadable crossed her face, gone almost as quickly as it appeared.

"Aunt Vivienne." Bianca approached with a pleasant smile. "I think Mr. Holloway has been looking for you."

Vivienne smiled graciously. "I'll be right there." She walked away without another word.

For reasons I couldn't explain, an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. 

The music resumed and conversations flowed once more. For a little while, everything almost felt normal.

Then Cassian's phone rang,he glanced at the screen, and the color drained from his face. "I need to take this."

He stepped away, returning several minutes later while already reaching for his car keys. "I'm sorry. I have to leave."

My heart sank. "So suddenly?"

"It's urgent," he said, sounding genuinely frustrated. "I wouldn't leave if it could wait."

Before either of us could say anything else, Bianca walked over. "Cassian, are we still meeting Mr. Dawson tonight?"

"Yes." He nodded. "We should leave now."

Bianca looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry. Business never seems to give him a night off."

"It never does," I replied with a small smile.

Cassian slipped his phone back into his pocket. "My driver is stuck in traffic." 

Another call came through before he could finish, and he answered it immediately. 

Barely looking at me, he muttered, "If he doesn't make it... find your own way home."

He was already listening to the caller before I had the chance to answer….I wasn't even sure he realized what he'd just said. A moment later, he and Bianca disappeared through the ballroom doors, already discussing the meeting ahead.

I stood there long after they were gone,watching my husband leave with another woman shouldn't have hurt,it was business….I knew that. Yet the dull ache spreading through my chest refused to listen to reason. 

I looked down at the untouched drink in my hand, and suddenly, I didn't want to stay anymore.

I picked up my handbag and made my way toward the entrance,the moment the doors opened, a cold gust of wind rushed inside as thunder rolled across the Manhattan skyline. 

Rain crashed onto the pavement in heavy sheets, turning the city into a blur of lights and water. Guests gathered beneath the covered entrance, hoping the storm would ease.

I stood quietly at the edge,the driver still hadn't arrived, and neither had a taxi. 

Wrapping my arms around myself, I watched the rain fall.

Across the street, a black luxury sedan slowed to a stop,the rear door opened, and a pair of polished black shoes stepped onto the rain-soaked pavement. Then he emerged. 

Kael.

Even through the heavy curtain of rain, his eyes found mine and for the first time that evening, I no longer felt invisible.