All Chapters of Rebirth: The Sweetest Ruin: Chapter 11 - Chapter 16

From the moment Cassian stepped into the ballroom, he had taken note of the little bird seated beside Damien.Crimson dress. Elegant neck. The same softness in her features he remembered, yet the air around her had shifted. It was no longer the scent of spring flowers; it was the calm before a storm. This was the first time he was seeing her in months, and the change was visceral.The room was a theater of wealth and deception—gilded laughter, the rhythmic clinking of crystal, and hostility veiled behind polite grins. But Cassian’s world had narrowed until all he could see was her.Elara.He almost didn’t recognize the woman now poised beside the Blackwoods—so composed, so terrifyingly self-contained. As he watched her, a ragged, tattered, and wronged memory of her flashed in his mind, but he shook it off. It was a ghost of a lifetime only he was plagued to remember and hate himself for not doing anything before it was too late.Cassian Vale had always had a soft spot for Elara Voss,

Elara watched the disdainful creatures slither away like snakes in designer heels. Only when the rhythmic click-clack of their departure faded did she move to push the restroom door open—then she paused.If she entered unprotected, she would succumb to the mist just as easily.Searching herself instinctively, her fingers brushed against a seam she hadn't noticed before. To her surprise, she found a black satin mask tucked into a hidden slit on the side of her gown.A pocket?She hadn’t realized the dress had been modified with one. Nor had she packed a mask. The realization sent a chill of confusion through her, but she didn't have the luxury of time. She slipped the satin over her nose and mouth, the fabric smelling faintly of cedar, and pushed open the door.The scent hit her like a physical wall—overpowering, floral, and cloyingly sweet. It coated the air like invisible, heavy smoke. Even through the mask, she could feel the edges of her mind beginning to fray, a synthetic warmth t

He had never left.Cassian had watched from the shadows of the VIP lounge as the Blackwood family made their hurried, arrogant exit. He had known the moment he saw Damien’s smug expression that the bastard had left her behind.He didn't pull away. Instead, he lingered, instructing his bodyguard to keep a sharp watch on the grand entrance. The moment the alert came—“She’s out, sir”Cassian made a deliberate show of returning to his car. He wanted her to see him. He wanted to be the only hand reaching out in the dark.Elara felt as if she had stumbled upon a savior. To his eyes, the clueless little lamb had run straight to the Big Bad Wolf—exactly as he had orchestrated.“You called?” Cassian muttered. His voice was glacial, a stark contrast to the heat of satisfaction blooming in his chest at the sight of her standing so close.Elara bent slightly, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. When she finally stood straight, she found herself staring. She