Chapter Sixteen

Cassian’s POV

I sat completely alone behind my table in the dimly lit study, staring blankly at the dark screen of my laptop while the absolute silence of the mansion heavy around me made every single thought in my head echo with intense frustration and confusion.

I leaned my back against the leather chair, pressed my palms firmly against my face, and tried to make sense of the wild chaos that had consumed my life ever since Elaris walked into my corporate office earlier this morning demanding my signature on our old divorce registry.

No matter how hard I tried to focus on my financial work, my mind kept drifting straight back to the riverfront restaurant, replay after replay of the exact moment I shoved Liora's hand away from that little boy named Casey.

I firmly believed in my heart that I had never once touched Elaris during the entire two years of our marriage, because I had spent those two years remaining cold, distant, and completely separate from her out of resentment for how she took Liora's place on our wedding day.

So why did my chest burst open with such deep, sickening pain the second I saw that six-year-old child crying into Elaris' skirt, and why did I feel an overwhelming, uncontrollable urge to protect him as if my own life depended on his safety?

Before I could process the strange, instinctual pull that was driving me completely insane, the doors of my study pushed open without a single knock, and my mother, Mrs. Virelli, walked into the room carrying her small handbag, her face set in a stern, disappointed frown that I knew all too well.

"Mother, I am really not in the mood for a lecture tonight," I said, letting out a heavy sigh as I lowered my hands from my face and looked up at her, "I have had an extremely exhausting day dealing with issues at the office and at the restaurant."

"I don't care about your exhausting day, Cassian," my mother replied sharply, walking directly up to my table and setting her handbag down on the wood with a loud thump, "I just heard from the household staff that Liora came home crying with an orange stain on her dress, making wild claims that Elaris attacked her downtown."

"Elaris did not attack anyone, Mother," I corrected her immediately, rubbing my temples with my fingers as I spoke, "Liora went behind my back, tracked Elaris to a private lunch, and grabbed Elaris' six-year-old son by his arm so aggressively that I had to physically intervene to pull her off the boy."

"She grabbed a child?" my mother asked, her eyes narrowing with pure disgust as she shook her head, "That wretched girl has been living in this house for six years on your foolish charity, causing nothing but trouble, while the sweet girl who actually cared about this family was forced to leave!"

"Elaris was the one who left me, Mother!" I argued, my voice rising as I stood up from my chair and looked down at her, "She packed her bags, vanished overnight six years ago, and never once attempted to contact anyone in this family until she showed up today demanding a final divorce!"

"And can you honestly blame her for walking out, Cassian?" my mother snapped back, stepping right up to the edge of the table and pointing a sharp finger at my chest, "You treated Elaris like an unwanted ghost for two whole years, ignoring her daily kindness, refusing to look at her, and constantly comparing her to Liora, who ran away on her own wedding day like a coward!"

"I treated her that way because she forced her way into my life when Liora disappeared!" I shouted back, feeling a wave of old bitterness rising in my throat, "And now she is back in this city acting like a wealthy corporate power, walking around with six-year-old twins who look strikingly like my own childhood photos, and standing beside Enzo Everhart!"

"Twins?" my mother repeated, her stern expression softening slightly as a look of intense curiosity washed over her face, "Elaris has twins?"

"Yes, a boy named Casey and a girl named Cassandra," I answered, leaning both of my hands on the table while staring directly into my mother's eyes, "and when I saw that little boy today, I felt a strange, terrifying connection in my chest that I cannot explain, because I swear to you I never touched Elaris during our marriage!"

"You were always a complete fool when it came to your own feelings, Cassian," my mother said softly, her voice dropping into a serious tone as she looked at me with deep concern, "you let your blind anger toward Elaris cloud your judgment for two years, and now you are completely lost because you realize what you threw away."

"I am not lost, Mother, I just need answers," I said firmly, pulling a small white piece of paper out of my jacket pocket and sliding it across the table toward her hand.

"What is this?" my mother asked, picking up the paper and unfolding it to read the neatly written address.

"That is the private luxury penthouse address where Elaris is staying downtown with Enzo Everhart and the children," I explained, looking at her with a desperate, dark intensity in my eyes, "you always adored Elaris, and she always respected you more than anyone else in this family, so I need you to go there tomorrow."

"You want me to go visit her?" my mother asked, raising her eyebrows as she looked up from the paper.

"I need you to visit her, Mother," I demanded, stepping around the table until I was standing right beside her, "I need you to talk to her, look at those children with your own eyes, and help me understand what Elaris has been doing for the last six years, because if those kids belong to me, I will burn this entire city down before I let another man raise them."