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AURORA'S POV

I opened the door slow, heart thudding. Bastian stood there, hands in his coat pockets, eyes heavy with something I could not name. Not anger. Not fear. Just... weight. The kind that hangs behind a person’s ribs.

“I am sorry for showing up like this,” he said before I could speak. “But I need to talk to you. And I could not wait anymore.” His voice cracked a little. That alone made me step aside and let him in.

Cassian stayed in the kitchen, spoon halfway to his mouth, watching like a hawk. Leo was too busy licking ice cream to notice the tension that swelled like a balloon about to pop. Bastian glanced at them, then back at me.

“I need to say it where he can’t hear,” he said, nodding toward Leo. “This is not for him. Not yet.” His voice had a weird tremble to it, like someone about to confess to a priest instead of a mother.

“Upstairs,” I said, already moving. I did not look back to see if Cassian followed with his eyes. I just climbed, one hand trailing the wall for balance I did not actually need. My lungs felt tight. Like they knew something was coming.

In my office, the light was dim. I left it that way. Bastian stood by the bookshelf, not sitting, just standing. His fingers brushed a photo of a sunflower Leo drew. He swallowed hard before turning to face me.

“It was not true,” he said. That was how he started. No build-up. Just three words that made my throat close. “What you thought. About Cassian. About him cheating. It was a lie.” He blinked like it hurt to say it.

I stared at him. My mouth opened, but nothing came out. My knees bent under me without permission, and I sank into the armchair. “What do you mean?” I asked. “What do you mean it was a lie?” My voice felt far away.

He paced then, slow and angry. Not at me. At himself. “I helped plant the photos. I fed the rumor. It was part of the push to get you out of the way. To make you walk.” His hands curled into fists.

My stomach dropped. “You what?” I whispered. My voice shook. My whole body did. “You? You were part of that?” I had trusted him. I had cried in front of him. And now it all felt like broken glass.

“I did not want to hurt you,” he said, fast. Too fast. “I was trying to protect him. I thought… I thought if you left, he would finally wake up. That he would see what he had and come after you.”

“That is twisted,” I said, standing. My legs barely held me. “That is not protection. That is manipulation. I thought you cared about me.” My chest burned like I had swallowed fire and could not breathe through the smoke.

“I did care,” he said, eyes wide. “I do. That is why I am here now. Because you deserve the truth. He did not cheat. Not once. He was reckless. He was cruel. But he was not unfaithful.”

I shook my head. “You do not get to decide how much of my life to ruin and then stroll in here like that makes it better.” My hands trembled. “You let me believe it. For years. You let me break because of it.”

He stepped closer, voice rough. “You had already left by the time I realized what it would cost. And by then, things were moving too fast. The contracts. The selloff. The smear campaign. And I was scared. I froze.”

“You froze?” I hissed. “You destroyed everything I had with him. I thought he betrayed me. I grieved that. I hated him for it. And you stood by and froze?” My vision blurred. My fingers dug into my palms.

Bastian’s eyes shone, wet but not spilling. “I made a mistake,” he said quietly. “A horrible one. But I am trying to fix it. That is why I am here. You need to know the truth. Even if it is too late.”

A knock came at the doorframe. Cassian stood there. Not barging in. Just… there. He had heard enough. I saw it on his face. Like someone had just carved the air out of his lungs and left the shell behind.

“You should go,” Cassian said. His voice did not rise. But it was final. Cold in a way that was not anger, just absolute. “You have done enough damage.” His hand curled around the doorframe like he was holding himself up.

Bastian looked at me one last time. “I am sorry,” he said again. “For all of it.” Then he walked past Cassian, shoulders stiff, like he had to force each step to happen. The stairs creaked under his weight.

I did not sit. I could not. I paced like I was trying to outrun something crawling under my skin. Cassian came inside, closed the door behind him. He did not say anything at first. Just looked at me.

“I did not know,” he said quietly. “I thought you left because I failed you. I thought I was the one who broke it.” His voice was calm. But his eyes were too bright. That scared me more than yelling would have.

“You did fail me,” I said. My voice cracked. “But not like that. Not like what I thought. You shut me out. You made me feel invisible. But I never should have believed the worst of you. Not without proof.”

He sat down slowly. “I tried to remember that night a thousand times. The hotel. The press leak. I could never figure out how it all moved so fast. Now I know why.” His jaw tightened. He was grinding his teeth.

I sank down beside him, but not close. “He said he wanted to wake you up,” I whispered. “Like I was just some tool in your redemption story.” The bitterness in my throat tasted like old rust and regret.

Cassian did not look at me. “I do not deserve your forgiveness,” he said. “But I want you to have the whole picture. Even if you still walk away after. I need you to have the truth. All of it.”

I nodded. I felt hollow. Like someone had scooped out my insides and replaced them with noise. “Why now?” I asked. “Why would Bastian confess now?” It felt too sudden. Too neat. Like something else was unraveling behind it.

Cassian’s eyes narrowed. “Because he is scared,” he said. “And because something bigger is coming. He wants to cover his trail before it reaches us.” His voice dropped lower. “I need to find out what that is. Fast.”

I stood again. My feet were restless. “Leo still sees the world in light,” I said. “But all I can feel right now is shadows. I do not know how to explain that to him.” My throat closed around the words.

Cassian rose beside me. “Then let me help carry it,” he said. “Even if you never want me back, I will carry the part that broke you. Because I helped make that break. And I will not run from it.”

I stared at him, blinking too fast. “I do not know if I can trust again,” I said. “Not just you. Anyone. This world feels too sharp now. Even breathing feels like walking on glass.” My voice was raw.

He stepped back, giving me space. “Then I will stay where you need me. Near. But not close. Ready. But not pushing.” He opened the door slowly. “But Aurora,” he said without turning, “he was not the only one keeping secrets.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, heart jumping again. My fingers clenched around the arm of the chair like it would steady the room. Cassian looked back over his shoulder, eyes dark with something I could not read.

“There is more,” he said. “About my father. About why everything fell apart the way it did. And I think you need to know. Because it did not start with us. It started long before we even had a chance.”