Chapter Fifteen

Liora’s POV

The driver pulled the black car up to the front entrance of the Virelli mansion, and the second the vehicle came to a complete stop, I hurried out of the passenger seat without waiting for help, holding my orange-stained dress together with one hand while my five-year-old son Stanley sat quietly in the back seat with his nanny.

I rushed straight up the front steps, led Stanley into the living area, and sat him down on the long sofa just as Cassian walked into the hallway through the front doors, his expression completely dark and distant after everything that had happened at the restaurant.

"Cassian, please, you have to listen to me before you make any sudden decisions about us," I cried out, stepping directly into his path while tears streamed down my cheeks, "I know I lost my temper at the restaurant, but I was just so overwhelmed and hurt by how Elaris treated me after all these years."

"I told you at the restaurant that I do not want to hear any more of your excuses today, Liora," Cassian said, stepping around me without looking at my face as he walked toward his private study, "you humiliated yourself and made a scene in front of dozens of people over a child's accidental spill."

"It wasn't just an accident, Cassian!" I sobbed, following him closely into the study and wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, "Elaris brought those children to the city specifically to target me and ruin my reputation, and all the stress from her sudden appearance is making my chest hurt so badly."

"Your chest hurting does not excuse you putting your hands on a six-year-old boy, Liora," Cassian stated firmly, leaning against the edge of his table while crossing his arms over his chest, "you dug your nails into that child's arm, and if I hadn't stepped in to stop you, things would have turned far worse."

"I was just panicked, Cassian, because you know how fragile my health is, and you know how much care Stanley needs every single day," I pleaded, turning to point through the open door toward Stanley, who was sitting on the sofa holding a small toy in his pale hands, "Stanley's chronic blood disorder has been acting up again all week, and the doctor said his treatments are going to cost even more money this month."

Cassian glanced out the doorway at Stanley for a brief second, his face completely devoid of warmth or affection as he looked at the boy, before turning his eyes back to me without moving an inch toward his supposed son.

"The medical bills for Stanley's blood treatments will continue to be paid directly by my family foundation like they always have been," Cassian said, his voice flat, neutral, and completely detached, "so you do not need to worry about his hospital care."

"Thank you, Cassian, but we need more than just money right now, we need to stay here in the mansion where Stanley can be safe and close to his doctors," I insisted, taking a step forward to grab his arm while looking up into his cold eyes, "if you throw us out of the house like you threatened at the restaurant, the emotional stress will destroy Stanley's weak immune system, and I don't know how his body will handle another major blood collapse."

Cassian let out a long, heavy breath, looking down at my hand on his arm for a moment before slowly shaking his head in annoyance.

"You and Stanley can remain in the guest wing of the mansion for now," Cassian finally agreed, his voice lacking any genuine emotion, "but you will stay out of my way, you will stop following Elaris around the city, and you will not cause another scene anywhere in public."

"I promise, Cassian, I will do whatever you ask, as long as we can stay here together as a family," I said quickly, forcing a grateful smile onto my face even as my heart hammered wildly against my ribs.

"We are not a family, Liora," Cassian corrected me coldly, pulling his arm away from my grip and walking behind his table to open his laptop, "I am letting you stay here strictly so Stanley can receive his medical care without disruption, so take him upstairs to his bedroom right now because I have work to attend to."

"Of course, Cassian, I will take him upstairs right away," I whispered, backing out of the study with my head bowed until I reached the hallway where Stanley was waiting for me.

I took Stanley by his small, thin hand and led him up the wide staircase toward the guest rooms, but the moment we stepped into my private bedroom and closed the door behind us, my whole body began to shake violently with sheer panic.

Looking down at Stanley's pale face and thin arms, a wave of deep terror washed over me because I knew that Cassian had never once shown a single shred of paternal affection or natural bond toward this boy during the entire five years of his life.

Cassian only accepted Stanley as his child because I had carefully orchestrated that night six years ago, slipping into his bed after watching Elaris walk out of his room in the morning, making him believe that he was the one who had gotten me pregnant during his drunk state.

If Cassian's growing obsession with Elaris and her twins caused him to look closely into Stanley's blood disorder or request a routine genetic blood test for the hospital treatments, he would discover that Stanley was already conceived weeks before that night, completely exposing my affair with my former driver and destroying every single lie I had used to keep my place in the Virelli family.