Elvie
Gemma was right. Life is too short to spend every second worrying about what might happen next. Cassian had made it clear that I was safe here, and my heart was screaming at me to just be free and enjoy this.
Which was why I decided to make the place extra cozy before Cassian got back, I walked around spraying room freshener. I realized he had a whole collection of them sitting around that I had barely touched. Soon, the living room smelled of warm vanilla and sweet sandalwood.
Dinner was already taken care of—we still had plenty of leftovers from this morning in the fridge, and I didn’t want to bug Cassian by asking what he wanted to eat while he was out.
I took a long, relaxing shower, dressed up in something comfortable yet fresh, and headed back downstairs to wait for him.
Sitting on the large couch, a small smile tugged at my lips as I thought back to how much fun Gemma and I had earlier. She had only left about an hour ago, but she had completely turned my day around.
Of course, in typical Gemma fashion, she had forced us to watch 365 Days. It wasn’t my first time seeing it, but watching those intense, steamy scenes today had hit completely differently. Every time the male lead appeared on screen, my dirty mind automatically swapped him with Cassian.
By the time the movie ended, my face was burning, and my pulse was racing. I knew Gemma had picked that movie on purpose just to tease me, and damn it, it had worked like a charm.
Now, sitting alone on the couch, I felt a quiet, simmering excitement in my stomach. Cassian had promised a "lesson" when he returned, and after watching that movie, I couldn’t wait.
To pass the time, I pulled out my phone and randomly scrolled through social media. A picture popped up on my feed. Asher smiling for the camera.
A few weeks ago, seeing them together would have sent an agonising twist straight through my chest. But now? I stared at the photo for two seconds, felt a whole lot of nothing, and just scrolled right past it. The ache was completely gone, replaced by a particular someone’s thoughts.
I checked the time at the top of my screen. It was getting late, and Cassian still wasn’t back.
My fingers hovered over his contact info. Should I call him? Or maybe text him? I didn’t want to sound needy or desperate, like I was checking up on him like a nagging wife.
Biting my lip, I opened our chat and typed out a quick, simple message.
Me: Are you on your way home yet?
I stared at my phone screen for a few seconds after hitting send. The little message had only one tick beside it. He wasn’t even online.
I tossed the phone onto the cushion beside me and leaned back, my fingers nervously tapping against the sofa arm. Where could he be? He told me he was just running a quick errand. Or did something else happen?
Stop it, Elvie, I told myself, taking a deep breath to settle the rising panic. "Calm down, Elvie. Calm down. Don’t go getting paranoid over nothing."
He was a grown man. He could handle himself.
I pulled a throw pillow onto my lap, resting my head back while I stared at the chandelier on the ceiling.
A feather-light sensation brushed against my face, making me to blink though I didn’t open my eyes. But then I felt it again—a gentle touch tracing along my cheek, accompanied by a low, quiet chuckle.
My eyes slowly snapped open. Standing right in front of me, looking down at me with an amused expression, was Cassian.
My brain instantly kicked into high gear. I sat bolt upright, my sleepiness vanishing in a second.
"What happened?" I blurted out, my words tumbling over each other. "I texted you! Is everything okay? Did something happen?"
Cassian, who was holding a mug in his hand, took a slow sip before lowering it. His eyes glittered with entertainment.
"Calm down, Elvie," he said softly, his voice smooth. "It’s fine. Nothing happened."
Hearing his calm tone brought me back to reality. I froze, my cheeks suddenly burning as I realized how wildly paranoid I must have looked. I had basically just interrogated him like a worried wife the second I woke up.
Cassian lifted a brow, a smirk spreading across his lips. "It seems like someone missed me."
"I—I was just checking!" I stammered, trying to save whatever dignity I had left.
"So much so that you literally dozed off," he continued, leaning against the side of the sofa. "You were even snoring."
My eyes widened. "Snoring?! Who was snoring? No! I don’t snore!"
"Oh, yes, you do," Cassian replied with a straight face, though the mischievous glint in his eyes gave him away. "I even took a video for evidence."
"What?!" My jaw dropped. "Let me see! Delete it right now!"
I scrambled off the couch, reaching out to his pockets, completely forgetting my embarrassment. But Cassian easily stepped back, holding his mug out of reach and chuckling at my desperate attempt.
"Easy, tigress," he murmured, his voice dripping with playful arrogance. "You can’t win even if you tried."
"I do not snore, Cassian!" I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at him. "If you say so," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching more wider.
It was only then that I actually took a good look at him. Cassian had already showered. He was wearing a simple black fitted t-shirt that hugged his broad chest and the strong line of his arms, paired with dark lounge pants.
My stomach did a nervous flip. How long was I asleep? He had literally come back, taken a full shower, changed, and I hadn’t heard a single thing.
I quickly smoothed down my oversized shirt, trying to clear the sleep fog from my head. "Let me go warm up the food for you," I said, turning toward the kitchen to hide my flushed face.
Cassian let out a short laugh behind me. "Warm up? I’ve already eaten, Elvie."
I stopped and turned back, raising a brow at him in confusion. "You ate?"
"You seemed completely exhausted," he said, his gaze softening just a bit. "You were sleeping so deeply when I got back that I didn’t want to wake you up."
I internally cursed myself. Great, Elvie. He comes home and you’re fast asleep like a log after waiting for him.
"Did you do anything exhausting today?" Cassian asked, taking another sip from his mug as he studied me. "Or did you and your friend have that much fun?"
The instant he mentioned Gemma, my mind flashed straight to the movie we had watched earlier—the steamy scenes, the male lead, and how badly I had imagined Cassian in his place. Heat rushed straight to my face.
"Y-yes, we did," I managed to say, quickly looking away from his intense gaze. "I guess... I was just tired from the day and slept off."
Cassian didn’t say a word. But as his dark eyes lingered on my blushing face, I knew he could tell there was a lot more going on in my head than I was letting on.