Chapter 9

Cassian’s POV

She came back.

Of course she did.

Although, a part of me had wanted her to prove me wrong.

For her to try to survive on her own.

Even though I needed her for sisi

I just wanted her to attempt to prove me wrong ayleas

But she didn’t

I watched her approach from the east side of the balcony, I atvhed the guards try to stop her as she moved towards us.

She didn’t seem at all terrified of the place.

The way she held sisi

Like she was her own flesh and blood

And sisi?

She looked…alive.

Her cheeks were rosy pink, and her arms were wrapped around Selena’s neck like she needed survival.

Dont judge me, I made my research about her.

And for a second—just a damned second—

I wanted to see whatever it was sisi saw in her and believe that she was the girl’s mother.

Selena lifted her gaze to me. Her expression didn’t waver, didn’t soften. If anything, she looked more determined than ever.

She cleared her throat and said, “Is the offer still on the table, Alpha?”

She said it formally. Stiffly.

Like it wasn’t personal. Like her fingers weren’t curling into Sisi’s coat for dear life.

I stared down at them, disgust was beginning to simmer under my skin. “No,” I said coldly.

Her brows lifted slightly, but she didn’t flinch. “I see.”

“You had your chance, Selena,” I continued, descending the stone steps. “You should’ve taken it when it was offered. I don’t repeat myself.”

She gave a small nod, her lips pressing into a line. “Then I’ll take my leave.”

I waited for her to plead. To grovel. To argue. But she did none of it.

I hated how complicated she was to figure out.

One minute she was taking my offer, holding my daughter like her entire being depended on it and the next she was… acting nonchalant about the offer.

I gave her few more minutes,

Maybe the weight of what I had said was yet to settle in her head.

My eyes followed her every move and just when I thought she turned to speak to me,

Instead, she kissed the top of Sisi’s head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” she whispered. “This was all a mistake.”

Then she gently lowered the girl to the ground.

Sisi blinked, confused. “Where are we going?”

Selena’s voice cracked. “You’re staying.”

The child’s confusion quickly twisted into dread. “No.”

Selena stood, turned away.

And Sisi exploded.

“No!” she screamed. “You said you’d stay!”

“I can’t—”

“You’re my mummy!” Her voice was sharp, more like scared “You can’t go! I waited for you forever!”

Selena froze.

My blood ran cold.

“Mummy,” Sisi sobbed, running to clutch at Selena’s skirt. “You’re the one I dream about. The one who makes the monsters go away.”

Selena turned slowly, her face pale.

“I can’t live without you,” Sisi wailed and I felt my heart break. She had never said those words to me and now, she’s obsessed with someone she has barely had fifteen minutes worth of conversation with?

Wow.

“You make the bad dreams stop,” sisi added, looking at her with pity eyes.

“You smell like the forest I saw in my sleep. Like sunshine and honey. You’re my mummy—I know it!”

The courtyard stood still.

Even the guards turned their faces, some swallowing hard.

I bet even they were shocked that she uttered that number of words in two minutes.

Selena knelt down, brushing tears from the child’s cheek. “Sisi… I’m not who you think I am. This—this isn’t fair to you.”

The girl pulled her into a hug, sobbing into her shoulder.

I clenched my fists. My chest felt like it might cave in.

This wasn’t part of the plan.

I took a step forward. “Enough.”

Selena looked up, shielding Sisi. “She’s just a child.”

“She’s my child,” I snapped.

“And she’s begging not to be abandoned again,” she shot back.

I hated her in that moment. Hated her calm. Hated her strength. Hated how she didn’t cower before me like everyone else did.

Sisi tugged on her sleeve. “Don’t leave, Mummy. Please.”

Selena’s hands trembled.

She was about to break.

And for reasons I didn’t want to name, I was, too.

Damn it.

I exhaled slowly and said, “Come back.”

Selena blinked. “What?”

“You heard me.” My voice was harder now, controlled. “The deal is back on the table. And as always, I’m setting the rules.”

She rose to her feet, those brown eyes searching my face for any expression my words didn’t give. “What rules?”

“Ten million now. Ten million after the agreement ends.”

“And the agreement is…?” she asked cautiously.

“Marriage.” I said it like it left a bad taste in my mouth. “A staged union. No romance. No emotion. Just a front.”

Selena raised a brow. “I thought it’s slready been established that you want me to pretend to be your Luna.”

“Not pretend,” I corrected. “Legally, you’ll be the Luna of Silvercrest for the duration of our contract.”

Her lips parted in disbelief. “You’re insane.”

“And yet here you are, begging for scraps at my palace gates.”

She stepped closer. “I’m not begging. I came for her.”

I glanced down at Sisi, still holding unto her like her source of life. “Ten million up front,” I repeated, “and another ten when the contract is terminated. You’ll get all the perks of Luna—security, wardrobe, personal guard, royal status.”

“No maid chores?” she asked dryly.

I narrowed my eyes. “Do you think I’m hiring a cleaning lady or a public illusion?”

“I think you’re desperate,” she replied coolly. “And I think you’re afraid of how much your daughter loves me.”

Silence.

Then I growled, “You’ll have to stay in my room, just in case that wasn’t clear the last time”

“Agreed.”

“No manipulation. No lies. No overstepping.”

“I could say the same to you, Alpha.”

I almost smiled.

Almost.

Instead, I turned to Sisi. “You’ll stay with her during the day. But she reports to me. Understand?”

Sisi nodded quickly. “Yes, Daddy.”

Selena’s gaze softened at the word Daddy, but I didn’t let it touch me.

I was in control.

I had to be.

Selena adjusted the scarf around Sisi’s neck and looked me straight in the eyes. “When do we start?”

“Now,” I said.

Because anything later, and I might’ve changed my mind.