Elvie
I had never felt this nervous or awkward in my entire life. Even back at the mansion, whenever I had to sit at the long dining table with Asher’s parents, who carried on with their own conversations as if I were invisible, leaving me out of everything. Back then, I didn’t care. I never felt the need to belong to their world.
But now? Sitting across from Cassian at his polished dining table, watching him prepare to take a bite of the food I made, my nerves were completely shot.
My skin still prickled with the ghost of his touch from earlier in the kitchen. When he had caught me from falling, his strong hands had held my waist so firmly that I could still smell his cologne lingering around me—a rich, intoxicating scent of dark cedar, vanilla, and fresh rain. It was making it almost impossible to concentrate.
He had been so ice-cold this morning that I was genuinely shocked when his text popped up on my phone earlier, asking for dinner.
Cooking had always been a quiet comfort for me, but the thought of feeding him had sent my anxiety into overdrive. What if he hated it? What if he picked it apart the same way he rejected his coffee?
When I brought the plates over, I had fully intended to take my own food back into the kitchen to eat alone. But the moment I turned, he had looked up and told me to sit down.
Now, I sat across from him, my fingers gripping my fork so tightly my knuckles were turning white. I held my breath, waiting for any sign of a reaction as he lifted a piece of the chicken to his mouth.
For a few agonizing seconds, he went completely quiet. He chewed slowly, his face an unreadable mask. My stomach twisted into a tight knot.
"It’s good," he said softly, his deep voice breaking the heavy silence.
A massive breath of relief escaped my lips so loud that I instantly grabbed my glass of water and took a fast sip to cover it up.
He didn’t shower me with praise or go on about how amazing it was, but those two words were more than enough. I couldn’t bear the thought of cooking a whole meal for my employer only for him to push it away.
"Thank you," I murmured, keeping my eyes fixed on my plate as I focused on eating my own portion.
I just couldn’t understand why he affected me like this. The sheer presence he carried. This quiet, commanding aura that seemed to fill every corner of the room was entirely overwhelming. Sitting this close to him felt like standing near an open flame, unpredictable and far too intense for my fragile peace of mind.
I reached for my water glass and took another sip, even though I had just taken one a few minutes ago. Trying to eat normally in front of Cassian was practically impossible.
I kept my head down, slowly pushing the food around my plate with a fork, taking tiny, quiet bites. The silence between us was so thick it felt heavy.
"You don’t have to be this quiet," his deep voice suddenly broke through, making me flinch slightly.
I looked up. He wasn’t looking at me; he was cutting a piece of chicken on his plate with effortless grace.
"I know we set boundaries. But you live under my roof now. Despite the fact that you’re my student, I am not holding you prisoner here. Feel free to make yourself comfortable. If you want to watch TV, use the living room, or spend time in the house, you have full access."
I blinked, completely caught off guard. My tongue felt tied.
Cassian paused, finally lifting his dark eyes to meet mine. "I don’t bite, Elvie."
He went right back to his meal, but not before I caught the subtle, unmistakable curve of a smirk at the corner of his lips. It was the exact same arrogant, knowing look he had given me across the lecture hall earlier today.
My heart did a confusing, erratic flutter. Is this man serious? Why does he keep doing this to my head? One minute he was an impenetrable wall of ice, and the next he was easing the tension like it was nothing.
"Can I... paint?" I asked before I could stop myself.
That caught his attention. He paused, his fork hovering just above his plate, and lifted a single dark eyebrow. "You paint?"
"Yes," I murmured, clutching my napkin under the table. "I don’t have my supplies here yet, but I’m getting them. My friend is bringing them over tomorrow."
Right on cue, my phone vibrated against the table.
I picked it up, to Gemma’s name was glowing on the screen.
Gemma: These people are literally insane. Do you know they just handed me your bags without even asking where you were? Asher’s mother is so unbelievably fake and annoying.
A quiet ache settled in my chest. I had begged Gemma to stop by the mansion to collect my things because I couldn’t stomach the thought of facing them myself. Deep down, a small, foolish part of me had wondered if they even noticed I was gone. Hearing that they handed over my entire life without asking a single question hurt, even if I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Before I could type a response, another notification flashed across the top of the screen.
My breath hitched. It was from Asher.
Asher: Running away like a coward? Sending your friend to pick up your trash? If you think anyone in this house is going to chase after you or beg you to come back, you’re delusional.
A cold, bitter sting rushed through my veins. My fingers tightened around my fork so hard the metal dug painfully into my palm. My throat felt tight, the quiet warmth of the dining room instantly vanishing under the weight of his cruel words.
"Is everything okay?" Cassian’s voice snapped me out of the spiral. He was leaning back in his chair, his sharp, dark eyes shifting between my phone, and my face.
"Everything is fine," I stammered, my voice cracking on the last word. "I’ll... I’ll just take these to the kitchen."
I scrambled out of my chair so fast it scraped loudly against the floor. Blood rushed to my ears, hot and suffocating, as tears pooled at the edges of my vision. I grabbed my plate, and bolted toward the kitchen.
The moment I set the dish in the sink, my shoulders shook with a silent sob. I couldn’t break down here. Not in front of Cassian. I left the dirty dishes sitting in the basin, turned on my heel, and practically ran for the stairs.
I felt Cassian’s sharp, dark gaze burning into my back the entire way, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. I couldn’t let him see me like this: weak, ruined, and still broken by the people who had discarded me.
I sprinted up the stairs, threw open my bedroom door, and shut it behind me, twisting the lock with a desperate turn. Slipping off my shoes, I dragged myself onto the bed, pulled the heavy duvet over my head, and finally let the tears fall.
I curled my knees to my chest as Asher’s cruel words echoed in my head. Coward. Trash. Delusional. I hated how his words still affected me.
The sudden sound made me freeze under the blanket. My breath hitched in my throat.
It had to be Cassian. But why was he up here? Did he come to reprimand me for running away from the table? To remind me of my duties and tell me to finish the dishes?
I would have ignored but the knock came again. Wiping my face aggressively with the sleeves of my sweater, I took a deep, shaky breath and tried to smooth my hair. I forced my posture straight, walked over to the door, and slowly unlocked it.
Standing in the glow of the hallway light, Cassian towered over me, his shadow stretching long against the wall.
The first thing my eyes landed on was a glimpse of his chest where the dark, jagged edge of a tattoo peeked out against his skin. My breath hitched, and I quickly dragged my eyes lower, only to freeze when I saw what he was holding in his right hand.
My phone.
Fuck. How could I be so stupid? In my desperate rush to escape the dining room, I had left it right on the table. And now he was standing outside my bedroom door because of my own carelessness.
His dark eyes held mine, his jaw set so tight I could see the sharp muscle flex beneath his skin. There was no outward anger on his face, but the way his gaze lingered over my red, swollen eyelids told me everything. He knew. He knew I had been crying, and the silent intensity in his expression sent a fresh wave of nerves straight down my spine.
"You left your phone," he said, his deep voice carrying a quiet, controlled rhythm.
He extended his arm, offering it back to me.
Internally cursing myself for making another foolish mistake in front of him, I reached out to take it. As I pulled the phone from his grip, my fingers grazed directly against his.
The moment skin met skin, a sudden, violent heat plummeted straight through my body, coiling tight and heavy right between my legs.
My heart leaped into my throat, my entire body going rigid from the breathless surge that rushed through my veins.
Panic flared alongside the heat. I instantly yanked my hand back.
"Thank you... goodnight," I muffled out in a breathless rush, stepping backward and shut the door flat on his face.