120

120
AURORA'S POV

With a long, trembling sigh, the elevator doors open, and for a brief instant, I think the air outside won't be much safer than the air within.

With his hand still warm in the small of my back, Cassian walks out next to me. His voice is forceful and low as it brushes across my ear.

"Aurora, this isn't over."

I stop in my tracks. "Don't begin."

He looks straight ahead and adds, "I'm not threatening you," in a tone too nonchalant to be innocuous. "However, you and I are both aware that a truce does not negate our differences."

I look over at him. "And, Cassian, what precisely is going on between us? A marriage gone bad? A kid you merely happened to learn about? Silence for years?

He twitches his jaw. "And a reality you never allow me to see."

"You were never interested in seeing it."

He starts to protest but then pauses. His face changes in some way. Not rage. Not arrogance. Simply... fatigue.

He murmurs, "Come on," and gestures to the glass doors. "Let's leave this place."

Together, we make our way through the lobby in silence. tense. The guy who had been observing us previously comes into view. Now gone. However, the discomfort he left behind persists like static.

Outside, the sky is bleeding with darkness. The smell of ozone, the type that lingers before a storm, fills the air.

Cassian's vehicle arrives. The driver hardly gives me a look. I pause.

He sees.

"You don't have to enter," he replies quietly. "Leo is waiting, though."

I'm undone by that name alone.

I swallow the lump in my throat and say, "I'll come." "But I don't trust you because of this ride."

He gives a nod. "Comprehensive."

We take the back seat. For the first five minutes, neither of us says anything. Beyond the windows, the city is blurred. I gaze out at it while feigning that the guy next to me isn't reawakening every aspect of me that I spent years attempting to suppress.

“You’ve changed,” he adds.

"You have, too."

"Inadequate," he says. "Seems to indicate."

I give him a quick look. His shirt is crumpled from the previous commotion, and his tie is loose. In spite of this, he nevertheless seems more manly than he did when he was polished.

I inhale. "Cassian, why now? Why Leo?

He has a harsh voice. "Since he is my son."

"You were completely unaware of his existence."

"I ought to have. if I had been listening. I would have been... better.

After then, there comes a strange stillness. Weighted, not empty.

I mumble, "I used to dream that you were chasing me." "Not in this manner. Not via backdoor threats, manipulation, or investments. Simply... appearing. claiming that you were mistaken.

"I was mistaken."

I give him another glance. His gaze is on me this time. steady. Unambiguous.

He claims, "I told myself I didn't love you." "Because I became weak from loving you." At risk.

"Congratulations. You were successful.

At that he winces. Excellent.

He murmurs, "I buried you like a business decision." "I didn't even turn around. Then I discovered the old pictures. The letters. The book you abandoned.

My breath catches. "You held onto that?"

"I did, of course." His voice breaks. "Until you left, I simply didn't know how to read it."

Once again, we descend into quiet, this time with more weight.

I grab the door handle as soon as the vehicle stops in front of my building.

"Hold on," Cassian says.

I stop.

He strokes his hair with his hand. "I need to ask you a question."

"What?"

"Is Leo alright? Specifically, medically?

I give him a blink.

He sees. "You paused."

"I didn't," I tell a fib. "He's all right."

He narrows his gaze. "Aurora—"

"He's fine," I replied.

However, I tighten my hold on the door.

Cassian leans in. "You must inform me if there is a problem. I'm entitled to know.

"No," I yell. "You don't deserve anything. You deserve it. Are you curious about Leo? Show that he is more important to you than your legacy.

He reclines like if I gave him a smack.

I open the door. "He, not us, is the reason for the ceasefire. Keep it in mind.

I then go outside onto the street.

CASSIAN'S POV

I watch until the elevator at the end of the lobby swallows her form and she vanishes inside the building. I'm not following. Not quite yet.

Not until I'm certain I can confront her without destroying everything once again.

It wasn't simply mother protectiveness, however, based on the expression on her face when I inquired about Leo.

Fear was the cause.

There is a problem.

I take out my phone and call my helper. I need a discreet background check, Nate. on the son of Aurora. Pediatricians, hospital records, whatever. Not in direct touch. Be discrete.

He pauses. "Sir, are you certain you want that? I assumed you were laying people off.

I say, "I'm not going to do anything about it." "I just need to be aware of what I'm getting into."

"Comprehensive."

I end the call and take a seat.

Leo. He is more than a youngster. We own him. It wasn't until it was ash in my hands that I knew I desired this life.

She's not saying anything now, too.

Something that may alter everything once again.

I get a buzzing sensation in my pocket. a fresh email. I look at it—and stop.

Alert for an incoming transaction. Biopharm Verdant. A total of $2.6 million was taken out.

I pull it open.

Not from Aurora. Not from any account that is associated with her or her group.

A leak has occurred.

a breach inside.

I was confined in the elevator with her when it occurred.

"The son of a—"

Another message pings before I can finish thinking. from a sender that is prohibited.

Viero, it's too late. You ought to have held her close.

And linked? A security camera remains still.

Me and Aurora.

Inside the elevator.

By themselves.

My heart is racing as I look at it, taking in the message.

They were observing us.

Not just targeting us.

Tracking us.

Therefore, who is responsible for this?

They are aware that we are no longer enemies.

They are aware that we, as a group, are becoming dangerous.

And they've just made their move.