I answered on speaker so Cassian could hear.
“Lia?” Her voice was brighter than yesterday, but still threaded with nerves. “I’m … I’m with Daniel. We’re having lunch at the hotel again. He’s taking me to the Battery later.”
I glanced at Cassian. His expression didn’t change, but his hand settled on my lower back—steady, grounding.
“That’s good,” I said. “You sound happy.”
A small laugh. “Terrified. But happy. He’s … different than I remembered. Gentler, somehow. Or maybe I’m the one who’s changed.”
I swallowed. “Mom?—”
“I know what you’re thinking,” she cut in softly. “The same thing I thought when Mabel told me about that man of yours. The irony. The risk. But Lia … sometimes the thing we’re most afraid of is the thing we need most.”
Cassian’s thumb brushed my spine.
“I’m not judging,” I said. “Just … be careful.”
“I will.” A pause. “Are you? With him?”
I looked at Cassian—dark eyes steady, hand still on me like an anchor.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I think I am.”
We hung up.
Cassian didn’t talk about what she’d said. He didn’t need to.
The afternoon blurred. I answered a few emails—careful, measured replies to colleagues, no commitments yet. Cassian worked quietly at the dining table, laptop open, fielding calls in low tones. Every so often our eyes met across the room, and the pull between us felt physical, like gravity.
By four, I stood at the window and felt the day’s weight settle. The gala was in three hours. The speech I hadn’t written yet loomed like a storm cloud.
Cassian came up behind me, hands on my hips.
“You’re tense,” he said.
“I haven’t decided what to say.”
He turned me gently to face him. “You will.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I know you.” His thumb brushed my cheek. “You don’t run from truth. You face it.”
I leaned into his touch. “Even if it costs everything?”
“Especially then.”
We stayed like that until the light began to fade.
I dressed slowly, choosing the vibrant blue dress I’d worn to last year’s gala—the one that hugged my curves, made me feel powerful. Cassian watched from the bed, eyes dark with approval.
“You’re coming?” I asked.
“If you want.”
I nodded. “I do.”
He rose, dressed in dark slacks and a white shirt that made him look like he belonged anywhere.
