Chapter 21

I smiled at the note. This was cute.

I cleared my throat as I tried standing up.

The wounds on my feet didn’t hurt as much anymore. There was a slight discomfort, but I didn’t want to bother Cassian with carrying me everywhere, even though that was very convenient.

As I made my way downstairs, an aroma filled my nose. It smelt delicious.

My stomach certainly agreed, and it growled in response.

“Elara? Why didn’t you call me to come get you? You shouldn’t be walking around.” Cassian’s voice caught my attention.

Cassian walked up to me and picked me up before I could protest.

It took me a second before I noticed he was shirtless.

Oh my God.

I’m sure my whole face was red as he dropped me on the seat closest to where he sat.

I looked up, trying to keep my eyes from his chest as I looked at him. “This isn’t normally where I sit.” I said in a nervous breath.

“Well, it’s a big ass dining. I don’t want to shout if I want to speak with you.” He said, giving me a smile.

“Did you cook?” I asked, surprised.

I had no idea he could cook.

“Just made a little something. Don’t worry, my cooking skills are quite decent.”

“At least let me help out. I can’t just watch you do everything.” I stood up.

“Sit down, Elara. I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t able to handle it.” He placed a plate in front of me and took a seat.

“Oh, yeah, I need to go wear a shirt. The one I had on before got stained.”

I bit my lip as I watched him walk away.

He was hot, that was for certain.

I cleared my throat as I took a glass of water, hoping to calm my red cheeks.

Cassian came back down, and we began eating.

“I haven’t thanked you for what you did yet. No one has ever stood up for me that way before. I really do appreciate it.”

“It was nothing. I married you. It is my job to protect you.”

I almost choked on my food.

This was kind of awkward.

He looked at me in amusement. “Careful, darling. You don’t want to choke.”

I gave him a look as I chugged down a glass of water.

“I want to return to my painting as soon as possible. My wounds are not so bad.”

“Absolutely not. You need complete and proper rest before returning to that. You also can’t go to work for the meantime.”

“But-“

“It’s not an argument. You need to fully recover. I won’t allow you to go anywhere.”

I scowled as I returned to eating.

His concern was justified, but if I didn’t work, it would cause a lot of delays for me.

“Elara, I know you want to work, but pushing yourself might only cause a relapse and delay you further. It’s best to completely heal.”

I sighed.

“I know. Thanks. I’ll be returning to my room now so I can get some sleep.”

“Alright then, good night, darling.”

I didn’t respond as I went to bed.

I laid in bed for an hour as I thought about Cassian.

He defended me earlier. Why?

And what exactly happened  to Celeste?

She just disappeared. Did they fight or did they end things?

And shirtless Cassian was a sight I could definitely get used to.

He was in nothing but grey joggers and the waistband rested dangerously on his hips. If something had just dragged it down a little lower then-

“Elara! Get your mind out of the gutter!”

I scolded myself as I tried putting him out of mind and falling asleep.

 

The next day was quite boring.

The only way I knew Cassian was in the house was the breakfast he dropped on my bedside before I woke up.

He had been locked in his study for half the whole day.

So much for taking care of me until I was better.

The only source of life in the house was the men who kept bringing in items in crates and taking them to a room.

I decided to spend my day reading in my room since there was practically no one to talk to.

I spent the next few hours dozing in and out of sleep, then eventually showering so I could feel fresh.

As I dried my hair, a knock sounded on my door.

“Yes? Come in.” I said.

Cassian slowly opened the door and walked in. His eyes were fixed on me for a moment.

“Cassian, is something the matter?”

He cleared his throat.

“Yeah, are you busy? I wanted to show you something.”

I gave him a look.

“You ignored me the whole day, and now you want to show me something?”

He leaned on the door, an amused look on his face. “I didn’t know you were the kind who wanted attention. Well, I promise you will no longer be mad after seeing this.”

“Hmm.” I hummed as I finished, then walked to the door.

He led me downstairs, in the direction of where I saw the men moving crates.

We stopped in front of a door.

“Open it.” He said.

“How am I sure you don’t want to do something bad?” I asked, folding my arms as I raised a brow.

“If I wanted to do something bad, it wouldn’t be this.” He responded with a smirk.

I gave him a look before finally deciding to open the door.

I wondered what was waiting for me behind it.

The room was dark until Cassian turned on the lights.

My eyes widened as I looked around the room. There was no way!

I turned to him. “Is this for me or is this a joke?”

He laughed. “It’s for you. I figured you needed a bigger space and you didn’t have a proper studio. Well, now you have one.”

My own studio. My own studio!