137

137
AURORA

I slammed the door shut behind me harder than I meant to.

Lucian stood from the couch instantly. His eyes scanned my face like I had blood on me. Maybe I did. Just not the kind you can wipe off.

He crossed the room fast. “What did he say?”

I yanked my coat off and threw it on the armrest. “He wants me to work with him.”

Lucian narrowed his eyes. “Julian?”

I nodded, teeth clenched. “He offered full legal protection. Ironclad. Said he’d shield me and Leo from Cassian if things… go south.”

Lucian’s jaw tightened. “He is baiting you, Aurora.”

“I know,” I whispered, sinking into the edge of the couch. “But I still listened.”

He crouched down in front of me. His voice dropped low. “And what did he want in return?”

I stared at my hands. “To bring down Cassian. Publicly. Legally. Maybe even personally.”

Lucian’s nostrils flared. “Of course he did. He does not offer protection. He offers a leash.”

“He said I’d be free,” I said, barely hearing myself. “He said Leo would be safe.”

Lucian laughed, bitter and sharp. “Safe with Julian West? The man who tried to buy half of Verdant through a shell company two months ago?”

I blinked. “What?”

He stood, pacing now. “You think he is being honest because he smiled at you over wine and candlelight? He is worse than Cassian, Aurora. At least Cassian’s knives are sharp. Julian dulls his first.”

“You do not know everything,” I snapped, rising. “You were not in that room.”

“I do not need to be,” Lucian bit out. “I have been in a dozen just like it.”

“I can handle him.”

“No, you cannot,” he said quietly. “Not when you are tired. Not when you are scared.”

I took a shaky breath. “Leo’s health is still uncertain. Cassian is circling closer every week. I need backup, Lucian.”

“Then we fight smart,” he said. “But not with someone who would gladly burn the whole house if it meant stealing the foundation.”

I looked at the window. The sky was bruised with early evening. I did not answer.

He came closer again, his voice softer. “Why now? Why today? What pushed you to even consider this?”

I turned to him. “Because I feel cornered.”

He frowned. “By Cassian?”

“By all of it,” I said, voice cracking. “By the lawsuit. By the press digging. By watching Leo sleep and wondering if someone will take him from me.”

Lucian’s expression flickered. “No one is taking him.”

“Unless Cassian gets what he wants.”

He was quiet.

I shook my head. “I keep thinking maybe Julian is just… a way out.”

Lucian folded his arms. “There is no way out, Aurora. Not one that does not come at a price. And his will cost more than you are willing to pay.”

“You do not know that.”

“I do,” he said firmly. “Because men like Julian do not offer shields. They offer debt.”

I paced toward the table and pressed my palms to the cold surface. “And what would you have me do?”

“Trust me.”

“You are not the one Cassian is watching. You are not the one tied to a man like him by blood and paper and a child.”

Lucian walked over. “And I never will be. But that is why I can see this clearer than you. You are walking into a trap. One that looks just like salvation.”

I looked over my shoulder. “If I say no to Julian, Cassian wins.”

“No,” Lucian said. “If you say yes to Julian, you lose.”

I closed my eyes. “Then what is left?”

He stared at me. “You build your own shield. No borrowed knives. No blood on borrowed hands.”

I turned toward him slowly. “You think I have that kind of time?”

“You do not have a choice.”

I walked past him, heart pounding. “Julian said I had until tomorrow night.”

Lucian stepped in front of me. “You are not seriously still considering this.”

I stopped walking. “He offered me a signed agreement. Nontransferable. Undisputable.”

Lucian cursed under his breath. “He is locking you in.”

“Maybe that is better than being hunted.”

“No,” he said again. “It is not.”

We stood in silence. The air in the room thinned.

“Just let me think,” I whispered.

He did not move. “Do not think alone. Not with this.”

“I already have.”

His jaw worked. “If you sign anything, I walk.”

My chest tightened. “What?”

“I will not be part of it.”

“You would leave me?” I asked, voice shaking.

“I would not let myself become part of a slow betrayal,” he said. “You deserve better than Julian West’s chains dressed up as a favor.”

I looked at him. Really looked.

He meant it.

The room felt smaller. My breath hitched.

“I just want to feel safe,” I said, barely above a whisper.

Lucian reached out, brushing my sleeve. “Then do not tie your safety to a man who profits from fear.”

I swallowed. “But what if Cassian—”

“He is already losing,” Lucian cut in. “You think he is circling closer. I think he is spiraling.”

My hands shook. “You are guessing.”

“No,” he said. “I have seen what guilt does. And regret. Cassian Viero is drowning.”

I stepped back. “And what if he drags me under with him?”

Lucian looked at me then like he was seeing through every wall I had ever built.

“Then we fight smarter,” he said again, slower this time. “But not by selling your name to a man who would never say it with respect.”

My throat felt dry. “What if I already told Julian I would consider it?”

“Then tell him you reconsidered,” Lucian said. “Before it is too late.”

I sat down again, lightheaded. “And if he retaliates?”

Lucian crouched again. “Then we make it very clear that you are not standing alone.”

The words sank into my skin like heat. But they did not soothe the ache.

My phone buzzed.

I stared at the screen.

Unknown number.

One message.

No words.

Just a photo.

Cassian.

On a podium.

With Leo in his arms.

Reporters in the background. Flashbulbs.

My chest caved in.

I held the phone out to Lucian with trembling fingers.

He took one look and swore.

I whispered, “What the hell is he doing?”

Lucian’s face was unreadable. “Burning the match before the fuse.”

I blinked. “What does that mean?”

He looked at me. “It means Cassian just made the first move.”