Cassian’s POVEthan’s…no, Jonah’s…smirk widened as he tilted his head, eyes glinting like polished razors.“You thought you were smart,” he said, mockery dripping from every syllable. “The great Cassian Morelli, the devil they whisper about in the underworld. Tell me…” He stepped closer, slow, deliberate, predatory. “Are you shocked? Stunned? Heartbroken?”He gave a low, dark chuckle. “It’s a fucking miracle I didn’t kill you the first time you handed me a gun.”My jaw clenched so tight I could feel my molars crack under the pressure. “Careful what you wish for.”He spread his arms, laughing, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. “There it is. That tone. That righteous little bite in your words. I almost missed it.”His gaze flicked toward Lucas. “And you, lapdog…still following him around like a ghost on a leash? Does he even let you breathe without permission?”Lucas didn’t move. Didn’t blink. His hand twitched once near his gun, but I raised a hand to stop him.“No,” I said qui
Cassian’s POVI tapped my fingers on the table, each tap echoing in the silence like a countdown.I leaned back in my chair, forcing myself to steady my breathing. Reina.I needed to get her out of my head…just for now.Focus on the task at hand.But then it hit me.Reina falling from my lap when I grabbed Abigail earlier. The look on her face. The shock. The pain.Fuck.She must’ve felt betrayed. Confused. Like I’d been lying all along.And she wouldn’t be wrong.I picked up my phone, my thumb hovering over her name. I never had to text her before…she was always right there beside me. Always within reach. But right now, I needed her to feel something other than doubt. So I dropped her a message.“I know what you saw, and I’ll explain everything. Don’t run from me, my dove. I still taste you on my tongue, and I’m not done with you yet.”I stared at the message for a moment before hitting send. It wasn’t perfect…but it was me.It was us. She would understand.Ideas rushed through my m
Cassian’s POVMy hands wouldn’t stop shaking even after so many minutes. I held her close, burying my face in her soft hair like I’d done a thousand times before. My Bella. My baby girl. Her tiny fingers clutched my shirt, her head resting on my chest, warm and real.“My baby girl…” The words slipped out, rough and broken. I scooped her up and started walking inside, my pulse thundering in my ears.How?How is she here?How is she alive?I saw her die.I buried her myself.And yet here she is…after almost two years…breathing, holding onto me like she never left.I flicked a glance at the woman trailing behind us. The one I had pushed down for wrapping her stupid hands around me. Tight dress, too tight, like she could barely breathe. There is something oddly familiar about her, but I couldn’t place it. Not my concern anyway.Because my princess was here. In my arms. I could hold her again. Kiss her hair like before.Inside the living room, I set her gently on my lap. My hands were tr
Reina’s POV“Miss Vale?”The voice came from behind me and I froze. My heart leapt stupidly into my throat. What if Cassian had sent someone to drag me back? What if he’d already noticed I was gone and decided to send one of his men after me?I turned around too quickly, excitement flickering across my face like a fool.Then my face fell.“Leon?”He was standing there, one bag slung over his shoulder, the other dangling loosely in his hand.“Miss Vale, where are you going?”I stared at the bag, then at him. “You too?” My voice came out flat, tired.He gave a crooked smile. “I got word that he might…” he lifted his hand and drew a quick, cutting motion across his throat… “me when he comes back for making you lose your job. So I thought I’d take a little trip myself. Do some digging. I’m sure I submitted the letter he asked me to submit.” He frowned, like he was still trying to piece it together. “Where are you going?”“Away, Leon. Back to my life,” I muttered, already reaching for my
Reina’s POVThe courtyard went dead silent.All I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. Lucas’ grip on my arm tightened like he was afraid I’d fall again, but his face stayed unreadable, almost like he knew. Like this wasn’t a surprise to him at all.But the other men? They were whispering, cursing, shifting on their feet like they’d seen a ghost. Some crossed themselves. Some stared at Cassian like they’d never seen him before.And then it hit me again and again.He was standing! Walking!Cassian Morelli was standing on his own two feet. No chair. No support. No trembling.For a second, my brain scrambled for an explanation. Maybe adrenaline. Maybe some miracle because of the little girl. Maybe he’d been hiding his recovery to catch his enemies off guard. Something, anything to make this not what it looked like.But deep down, I knew.He lied. To me. He could have told me if he truly loved me, but he didn’t. Which means he doesn’t trust me enough. So what’
Reina’s POV“Will you marry me?”I heard him say it once, but it rang in my ears like a gunshot echoing in an empty hall…again and again, louder every time.Minutes ago, my world had been spiraling. The call from the head nurse, the words “terminated,” the weight of it slamming into my chest until I could barely breathe. I love my job. I love saving lives. I had planned to leave eventually, but not like this…not in disgrace, not in chaos.And now here I am, suspended in the air thousands of feet above ground, stuck on a helicopter with a man I once swore I’d leave or die trying… and he’s proposing marriage.“No,” I whispered.The word barely made it past my lips, but it cut me like a blade. He doesn’t have the right to turn my life upside down, ruin the only thing that kept me sane, and then try to fix it with a ring.“Reina…”His voice cracked on my name, soft and broken in a way I had never heard from him before. Cassian Morelli…the man who commands an empire, whose word sends men s