Chapter 192

The storm raged on wildly beyond the windows of Asher’s apartment.

Cecilia curled up on the couch with one of his throw blankets, but each time the lightning struck outside, her heart soared into her throat.

She had always been terrified of storms—of the loud noises and the flashing lights and the sound her old apartment made when the wind would push hard against it. A sound like her whole world was about to fall down. But this storm was unlike any Cecilia had ever experienced before. The thunder whipped against the earth, rattling the air around her—sending cars into alarm and crackling violently across the earth.

She didn’t know what to do but to sit there in the lonely apartment living room, curled up in a ball, her eyes wide open and afraid.

She should’ve never come. It was a stupid idea to begin with, but how was she supposed to know that Asher would return home to this particular apartment? He typically spent his nights at the mansion or with Clover. It had to be tonight of all nights that he decided to return home. Now Cecilia was stuck under his glower, in the midst of a raging storm.

She hugged herself and shook until she couldn’t take it anymore. Until the raging, snarling thunder and the crash of lightning flashing through the curtains simply became too much.

Cecilia crept into Asher’s room on her toes, praying he wouldn’t wake. That he wouldn’t notice she’d entered and banish her before she’d even had the opportunity to explain that she couldn’t sleep alone like this. She had never had to, anyway. Back at the slums, she would crawl into bed with her mother during storms like this. And as much as he might’ve hated her, Cecilia still found a sense of safety when she was close to Asher.

So she crept quietly along the floorboards, finding him sound asleep on the left side of his bed.

Slowly, Cecilia maneuvered herself atop the mattress, gently lying beside him and pulling the blankets over her body.

When he began to stir, she felt her heart sputter. But Asher didn’t seem to wake up at all. Instead, he turned over—facing away from her. If she was careful like this, he wouldn’t know she had been here at all. She could probably sleep through the night and return to the couch before he was any wiser.

But the storm outside was volatile and it was beating fiercely against his bedroom window, too. When the lightning flashed through the glass and a snarl shook her to the bone, Cecilia found herself grabbing at him—clinging as closely as she could to the warmth of his back.

This finally seemed to wake him.

He made a tired sound of exasperation and turned over.

Cecilia expected to shoved from his bed, tossed from his room without a word about it. But instead, she found herself swallowed up in his arms. She wasn’t sure what exactly was happening as he pulled her in close, tucked his chin over her head and grunted, “Quiet, Cecilia. Sleep.”

Had he just called her by her name? He didn’t do that often anymore. And why was he holding her so closely?

Something was…different. No, not different. Exactly how it used to be.

Then, for some reason, it was like Asher awoke from his strange return to his former self. He went stiff, slowly unwound his arms from her and turned his head to the ceiling.

Cecilia felt awkward, lying there in the silence. “Uh…” she began. “I’m sorry. I was scared of the storm.”

Asher seemed just as confused as she was. “Why did I just…”

Cecilia flushed a little. It was strange, like she was meeting him again for the first time. “We were like this before. I think maybe you might’ve…remembered subconsciously. Just for a second.” There was another blast of thunder. Cecilia jolted, curling desperately into his side. “J-just don’t make me leave. Please.”

Asher gave a deep sigh through his nose. She could tell he was hesitant—fighting with himself over something. Then he turned on his side to look at her. For a long moment, he just stared. Cecilia didn’t know what to do, but to look back into his eyes, which lit the color of lapis every time lightning glared through the windows.

Strangely, he reached for her, and Cecilia felt herself pulled awkwardly into his arms. She didn’t know why he’d done such a thing, but she accepted his warmth gratefully, a feeling of calm suddenly washing over her.

Then, in the silence, he muttered, “I’m getting hitched.”

It felt like a warning to Cecilia, but instead, it came to her as a shock. She didn’t know how to respond, simply pressing her face to him and closing her eyes, listening to the storm rage on. Asher didn’t make her leave, nor did he try anything else but lie there holding her until eventually, Cecilia woke to an empty room. Asher was gone, along with his belongings, and she still hadn’t any idea if he was the man she knew him to be or someone entirely different.

-

He couldn’t stand it anymore.

Sleeping beside her all night was fucking torture.

He threw open the door of Ryan’s office open and stormed in, finding him—to no one’s surprise—sitting at his desk with a curious look in his eyes.

Asher batted away the belongings on his desk, sending papers and files flying. Ryan didn’t flinch at the sudden act of rage. “What the hell is your problem?” he snarled. “You sent her there last night, didn’t you? If you want the fucking Omega so bad, why are you pushing her at me?”

Ryan raised a brow at his outbursts as if to say he was overreacting. Being a child. This only irritated Asher more.

He slammed his hands down on the desk. “Answer me!”

“First of all,” said Ryan, rising to his feet and adjusting the tie on his chest. Asher hated how small he felt in Ryan’s shadow. He was a tall man—taller than Grayson or Sebastian—but no one was really tall compared to Ryan. The lucky bastard had been blessed by the gods. “I didn’t send Cecilia to do anything. She’s an investor in our company, and as such, we have designated a portion of the mansion to her and her mother. That’s how it goes in this group, isn’t it? We buy shares, we share assets. That’s how it’s always been.”

“I don’t give a shit,” Asher snapped back. “I wasn’t at the mansion last night. She showed up at my apartment. How? Who told her I’d be there?”

Ryan gave a small scoff. “How was I supposed to know you’d be there? I don’t keep tabs on what you do. I don’t give a shit enough to.”

“Deal with your woman,” Asher snarled.

“Why should I?” said Ryan. His eyes suddenly held a flash of something daring. “Is she confusing you? You don’t like feeling like you care about her, do you?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Asher hissed.

“Any one of us would gladly take her off your hands, you know. But that’s not what she wants.” He was stalking closer, which made Asher uneasy, but also made him bristle with anger.

“Then take her,” he snarled. “Leave her with me and I’ll drop her at the curb like trash, you understand?”

Ryan had him by the collar of his shirt in no time. The look in his eyes was potent—full of hate and frustration. “Do you have any idea what I’m giving up for you?” For just the slightest moment in time, Asher thought maybe he saw tears in Ryan’s eyes.

His clothes felt too tight, the room too hot. He was confused. Why did he care about Ryan? Why did he care about an Omega? He hadn’t cared about those things just days ago—not from what he remembered.

He tore away, leaving the office and slamming the door behind him. Asher did not bother to wait for the elevator—rather, he ran down the steps, two at a time and launched himself into his car. Then he headed out for Clover’s apartment tower.

When he opened the door, he had not expected her to be home. Usually, she was running about on business excursions until well into the evening. But she seemed to have gotten home early, and surprisingly, he found her in the kitchen, chopping up carrots.

“Oh, hey,” she said. “I thought I’d give this cooking thing a try, seeing as we’ll be tying the knot soon enough. Gotta figure out this wife thing, right?” She was waving a knife around cluelessly as she spoke, but Asher didn’t care.

He pulled her roughly into his arms and kissed her, hearing the gentle clatter as her knife dropped onto the kitchen counter. Her arms wound around his neck and he felt the softness of her lips kiss him back.

Then she pulled back to look him in the eye, clearly confused by this outburst. “What’s going o—”

“Let’s do it,” he said. “Let’s get hitched. This weekend.”