Chapter 136: 136

AURORA'S POV

My fingers dug into the door frame.

Julian’s smile stayed fixed like it was stitched onto his face.

“I said,” he repeated slowly, “I have a deal for you. A real one. Ironclad. No tricks. No loopholes.”

Cassian stepped up beside me, eyes narrowing.

“I am not interested in anything you have to offer,” he said, voice cold.

Julian laughed under his breath. “That is cute. Really. But I was not talking to you.”

I blinked. “You think I would trust you? After what you did to Verdant? After the games you have played?”

“You trusted Cassian once,” he said smoothly, “and look how that turned out.”

That hit like a slap. My chest tightened.

“I am not that girl anymore,” I said quietly.

“Exactly.” Julian’s eyes glinted. “That is why you are ready for what I am offering.”

Cassian moved half a step forward. “You have two seconds to walk away before this gets ugly.”

Julian did not flinch. “Are you going to throw me out, Cassian? In front of your son?” His gaze flicked toward the living room.

“Leave Leo out of this,” I snapped.

“I would love to,” Julian said, shrugging. “But children have a way of getting dragged into messes their parents make.”

Something in me snapped.

“Say what you came to say,” I bit out. “Then leave.”

He nodded once, slowly. “Fair enough.”

He pulled a folded document from inside his coat and held it out.

“I have a team of lawyers,” he said. “They specialize in protective separation clauses. Business entanglements. Custody shields. Reputation firewalls.”

I stared at the paper. I did not take it.

Cassian scoffed. “Translation. You paid a room full of vultures to build you a contract.”

Julian kept his eyes on me. “It protects you, Aurora. Not him.”

“And what do you want in return?” I asked.

His smile returned, sharper now. “Just your trust. Your partnership. Maybe a quiet stake in your next venture.”

Cassian’s voice turned hard. “You want to buy her.”

Julian’s eyes flicked to him. “I want to invest in someone smart enough not to get burned twice.”

I glanced at the paper. Then back at him.

“I already have a company,” I said. “And I already have protection.”

“Do you?” Julian asked gently. “Because I see a man who let his father drag you through hell. I see a legacy built on lies. And I see a woman who is still cleaning up someone else’s mess.”

My stomach twisted.

“Do not talk like you know me,” I said.

“I know your silence,” he replied. “You disappeared instead of fighting back. That tells me you are tired. That you want out.”

Cassian’s voice dropped. “And you are the exit, is that it?”

Julian ignored him again. “I can make the past irrelevant,” he said to me. “I can erase your name from everything Viero touched. You will never have to answer for what happened again.”

A lump formed in my throat. “Even if I wanted that,” I whispered, “it would come at a cost.”

Julian’s smile softened. “Everything worth having does.”

I looked at Cassian.

He was still. Quiet. But his fists were clenched.

I looked back at Julian. “You think I am scared of Cassian.”

“No,” Julian said. “I think you are scared of what he pulls you back into. Of what you lose when you love him.”

The air felt thin.

“You do not know what I feel,” I said.

He tilted his head. “You are right. I do not. But I know you deserve power. Real power. Not just survival.”

Cassian stepped closer, voice low. “Do not do this, Aurora.”

I turned to him. “Do what?”

He searched my face. “Let him use your pain as a weapon.”

“I am not the one who made me choose between silence or ruin,” I said sharply. “That was you.”

His jaw twitched. But he said nothing.

I turned back to Julian. “What does this contract actually say?”

“Read it,” he said, handing it over. “Or have your people read it. Every clause protects your rights. Your assets. Your son.”

The word son made my heart lurch.

I took the paper slowly. My fingers shook.

Julian stepped back. “I will give you twenty-four hours.”

“Why so generous?” I asked.

He smiled again. “Because I know you are smart enough not to waste it.”

Then he looked at Cassian one last time. “You never deserved her.”

He turned and walked away.

I stood there, staring at the paper.

Cassian did not say a word. Not at first.

Then, finally, “You are not seriously considering this.”

“I am considering protecting my son,” I said quietly.

“And you think Julian West is the answer?”

I met his eyes. “Right now, I do not know who the enemy is. But I know I have to protect myself.”

He shook his head. “He wants something.”

“They all do,” I said. “At least he is honest about it.”

Cassian looked like he had been slapped.

“I am sorry,” I added quickly. “But I cannot keep pretending I am safe just because you want me to be.”

He stepped back, like I had cut him.

“You really think I would let anything happen to you?”

I looked down at the paper.

“I do not think you would mean to,” I said. “But meaning to is not the same as stopping it.”

Cassian was silent.

The sound of Leo laughing faintly from the other room broke the silence.

I held the paper tighter.

Then I turned and walked into the kitchen, leaving Cassian standing alone in the hall.

I needed air. I needed time.

I needed to not cry.

I sat at the table, the contract spread in front of me.

Lines and clauses. Terms and protections.

Promises on paper.

My chest ached.

The front door opened again.

I turned, expecting Cassian.

But it was not him.

It was Lucian.

His eyes flicked from the contract to me.

His face darkened.

“You need to tear that up,” he said. “Right now.”