All Chapters of Flash marriage with the billionaire enemy : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

ENIDThe rest of Aurelia’s week passes faster than I want it to.It feels like I blink and suddenly it’s the last morning before Cassian has to take her back to Maris’s. Aurelia clings to my leg while I help her zip her little coat, her face scrunching unhappily.“I don’t wanna go,” she whines softly.My smile is gentle but tight. “You’ll be back soon, okay?”“Soon?” she repeats, looking up at me with those big, hopeful eyes.“Very soon,” I promise.She throws her arms around my neck, squeezing tight. The sweetness of it hits me in the chest, painful and warm all at once. I stroke her hair back as she buries her face against me.“Enid?” her small voice mumbles. “Will you miss me?”The lump in my throat is immediate. “More than you know.”She pulls back, eyes shining. “I’ll miss you a whole bunch.”I kiss her forehead, inhaling the faint smell of vanilla from her curls. “I’ll miss you a whole bunch too.”Cassian stands by the doorway, watching us with that unreadable expression he gets

ENIDMy mother’s eyes rake over me like I’m something she found growing in the wrong corner of her garden.“Enid,” she repeats, colder this time. “So it’s true. You’re actually parading yourself around like nothing is wrong.”Heat spikes under my skin, but my voice stays steady. “What are you doing here?”“What am I...?” She lets out a sharp, humorless laugh. “I could ask you the same. Running off to get married like a reckless child, in a courthouse no less, without us, without your family, without dignity.”Behind me, I hear footsteps. Maria must have heard the commotion. She appears near the doorway, brows knit, watching quietly but protectively.My mother barely acknowledges her before turning back to me. “Is this the kind of place you spend your days now? Art galleries and brunches, pretending you haven’t disgraced the entire Armand family?”A familiar shame flickers in my chest, but I smother it.“I didn’t disgrace anyone,” I say, keeping my chin lifted. “I made a decision for m

ENIDBy the time Cassian disappears up the stairs, I’m still rooted in the same spot, staring at the empty space where he stood as if my mind can’t fully catch up with what just happened.He acts like he hates me. Then he acts like he doesn’t.He pushes me away. Then pulls me close without meaning to. Then pretends none of it existed.I exhale shakily and finally force myself to move, heading toward my room. My footsteps echo through the quiet hallway, bouncing off the high ceilings and expensive artwork like I’m trespassing in someone else’s life. Sometimes that’s exactly how it feels.When I step into my bedroom, closing the door behind me, the silence hits harder than usual.My heart is still pounding from our conversation. My skin still remembers how close he stood, and my mind keeps replaying his words like a glitch that won’t stop looping.I sit on the edge of the bed, rubbing my hands over my face.“This is insane,” I whisper to no one.It feels like I’m being pulled in two dir

ENIDBy the time I drive through the mansion gates, my heart still hasn’t stopped its uneven rhythm.Thane.Of all people to run into. Of all mornings. Of all coincidences, or whatever that was.I pull into the circular driveway, cut the engine, and sit there for a moment gripping the steering wheel like it might steady the storm inside me.The house looks the same as it always does, cold, elegant, quiet. But I don’t feel the same. Something unsettled has taken root inside me, something that whispers I’m standing on ground that isn’t as solid as I thought.I finally climb out of the car and step into the foyer, but instead of going to my room, I go straight to the living room. I drop onto the couch, curl my legs under me, and stare at the far wall.I’m trying not to think about Thane.But I am.I’m trying not to think about Cassian either.But I am.Mainly, though… I’m thinking about my parents.My mind circles back to the same question, again and again. Why did they set me up with Th

ENIDEver since the first time I came to the gallery. I’ve been looking forward to my next visit.I wasn’t really knowledgeable about art, but I know how to appreciate creativity, and that’s what I’m surrounded by.There are tons of creative pieces that’ll just make a person forget about their worries and just appreciate the essence of art. Maria’s workroom smells like clay, varnish, and something warm and earthy that never fails to make my shoulders loosen. I slip inside quietly, but she still looks up, a smear of pale marble dust streaked across her cheek like war paint. The sight makes me smile before I even realize it.She looks so focused on what she was doing, and I almost feel bad for interrupting her. Even though she was the one who invited me. Basically, threatened to come drag me out of the house if I didn’t come see her.“There you are,” she says, setting down her sculpting tool. “I was beginning to think Cassian locked you in the mansion.”“He didn’t,” I laugh, closing th