Cassian
I never saw much importance in talking about my past. As far as I was concerned, whatever life I left behind was dead and buried. But I knew Elvie would be curious—she had been dropping subtle questions since last night. I could have easily brushed it off or changed the subject, but there was no harm in giving her a piece of it. I didn’t know what she planned to do with knowing who Victoria was but I figured I might as well tell her, just like I told her how she ended up here with me.
"She was my ex-wife," I said plainly.
Elvie blinked, her lips forming a small, quiet ’O’.
I raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t exactly the dramatic reaction I was expecting from her.
"It was a one-year marriage," I added, leaning back against my stool. "Purely for business. We signed the contract, did whatever was required of us as a couple, and when the time was up, we ended it."
It really was that simple. Getting married had never been part of my plan when I left the country to start over in France. And I sure as hell hadn’t planned on getting entangled with a French woman. But Victoria had been too practical and too kind to turn down when she brought the proposal to my door. It benefited us both, and we walked away clean when it was over.
"Was it a love marriage then, or..." Elvie’s soft voice pulled me out of my head.
I couldn’t resist letting out a low chuckle. After everything I just explained, she was still trying to piece together some grand romantic tragedy. But well, Elvie was Elvie. That quiet curiosity was one of the main reasons I liked her so much.
Wait. Did you just say you like her, Cassian?
I inwardly shook my head, cutting off the thought instantly. Don’t go there.
I crossed my arms over my chest, watching her closely. "What if it was a love marriage? Do you not like the idea of your Cassian having been in love before?"
Her eyes widened instantly at my words. "My Cassian?" she repeated, her voice catching.
I didn’t miss the rosy flush creeping down her neck and onto her chest before she quickly looked away from me.
"No... I’m not... I’m just saying...You know... you have every right to be in love with another woman. I have no right to question that. I don’t even know how much you two..."
She was blabbering, completely tripping over her own words, and seeing this flustered, jealous side of her brought a genuine smile to my face. Before I could stop myself, I reached across the counter, my fingers wrapping firmly around her jaw to pull her in.
I captured her mouth in a deep kiss. She went completely rigid for a split second, surprised by the sudden motion, before her tension melted away and her lips parted, giving me full access.
Fuck.
I had told myself from day one that this was just going to be about sex. Nothing more. But lately, this girl was completely messing with my head. She was making me spill secrets I never intended to share with anyone. She was making me want to shield her from every cruel thing in this world for the rest of her life. She was making me want to wake up every single morning to her beautiful face, touching her, kissing her, and listening to her moan my name like a holy chant.
Elvie let out a soft, breathless sound against my mouth, breaking through the storm of my thoughts.
I nibbled on her full lower lip, sinking my teeth in just hard enough to draw a tiny drop of blood before slowly pulling back. I smoothed my thumb over her bruised lip, wiping the speck of red away while holding her dazed, heavy-lidded gaze.
"Victoria is in my past," I said softly, my voice lower than usual. "You don’t ever have to worry about her."
I wasn’t even sure why I was reassuring her. Maybe it was because I could read right through her.
Silence stretched between us for a moment as we got back to eating. I didn’t plan on adding anything else, but seeing her sitting there looking so deep in thought made me speak up again. "I did it to save her company,"
Elvie froze, her eyes snapping back up to mine in surprise.
"Her father was a very good man," I continued, "He was the director of the company I worked at. He got sick, and his last wish was for his daughter to get married before his death so she could secure her position as the sole heir to everything, so..."
"So you two got into a contract marriage," Elvie finished for me, her voice soft as she put the pieces together.
I gave her a nod. "Exactly. That was it."
Her eyes lingered on me, reading my face for a moment before she slowly pushed her stool back and stood up. She walked around the island until she was standing right beside me.
"Well, thank you for telling me about your past, Cassian,"
Before I could say anything else, she wrapped her arms loosely across my chest and pressed a quick, soft kiss to my lips. "Now I’m assured you don’t have another woman hiding in your life."
I raised a single brow, a slow, teasing smirk pulling at the corner of my mouth. "What if we had a child?"
Her eyes blew wide open. She instantly tried to pull away, but my hand shot out, wrapping firmly around her wrist before she could take a step back. With a smooth tug, I pulled her right down onto my lap.
Oh, my cute Elvie.
I let out a low chuckle at the panic flashing across her face. "Relax, little birdie. I’m kidding."
She let out a breath, though she quickly crossed her arms and pouted. "Who knows? Maybe you had two children with her."
I laughed out loud, the sound echoing in the kitchen. "Two children within a single year?"
She avoided looking at me, her cheeks dusting with pink as she muttered under her breath, "Yes... maybe twins."
I shook my head, a strange, warm feeling settling in my chest. I really liked this new side of her. She might not even realize it, but she had grown so much stronger compared to when she first arrived here. She was more independent, more secure in her own emotions and mindset.
"Look at me," I said, my voice dropping to something much softer.
She lifted her chin, meeting my gaze while still holding onto that cute, stubborn pout.
"Do you trust me?" I asked. She gave a small nod.
"Good. That’s enough," I murmured, my thumb brushing against her knee. "Now... do you actually think I have a child with her?"
She held my gaze for a long beat, studying me, before finally shaking her head.
A satisfied smile spread across my face. "That’s my little birdie. Now go get ready for school before I pin you right over this counter and fuck you raw again."
Her face flushed a blazing, beautiful red. She swatted playfully at my chest. "Bad boy," she muttered, scrambling off my lap. But before she could dart away toward the stairs, I brought my hand down with a firm, resounding slap against her ass. Fuck! I’m doomed when it comes to this girl.
**
I sat at my office, my eyes locked onto the screen of my laptop. A steady tap-tap-tap echoed through the quiet room as I rhythmically tapped the end of a pen against the wood of the table, my jaw set into a hard, rigid line.
So this was what the asshole had been doing.
The image displayed on my screen showed Norman sitting across from a man in a sleek conference room, deep in discussion. I narrowed my eyes, trying to piece together where I recognized the man’s face. It was far too familiar. Had I crossed paths with him back in the city before I left, or was it somewhere during my years in France?
From what Julian had casually mentioned to me recently, Norman was striking some massive, high-stakes deal with this exact individual. I had told myself a thousand times that it had nothing to do with me anymore. My brother had already proven the true depth of his greed by hijacking everything belonging to the family, shutting me out without a second thought. But I just said let me take a look since Julian came all the way to my house to tell me and now, my gut instinct was screaming that something was fundamentally wrong.
Without thinking twice, I dropped the pen, picked up my phone, and scrolled down through my contacts until I landed on a number I hadn’t dialed since the day I packed up and left France behind. It was a miracle I hadn’t deleted it.
I pressed call and brought the phone to my ear. It only rang once before a gruff voice answered from the other end. "Cassian?" He sounded surprised. Well I was also surprised that I called him. He’s the accountant from the company in France.
I didn’t waste any time on pleasantries. "I’m getting straight to the point, Dominic. I’m sending you a picture of someone. I need you to run it and confirm who he is for me."
"Right away," he voice replied without missing a beat.
I hung up, snapped a quick photo of the man on my laptop screen using my phone’s camera, and forwarded it directly to the number.
Barely two minutes ticked by before my phone buzzed against the desk with an incoming message. I opened it, scanned the text, and slammed my fist down hard onto the wood. Fuck! I knew it. This asshole.
A wave of hot, choking anger surged up through my chest. With a rough, impatient jerk, I reached up and loosened my tie, pulling the silk away from my collar.
Before I could even catch my breath, a knock sounded on the heavy wooden door of the office.
"Come in," I snapped, my voice dangerously low.
The door creaked open. I lifted my head, expecting anyone, but the moment the visitor stepped into the light, every ounce of anger I was already harboring doubled instantly, making my jaw clench so hard my teeth ached.