I blinked.
“That must’ve been an interesting conversation,” I said.
“It was,” she said, smiling faintly. “And he listened.”
That landed.
Harder than anything else.
Cassian didn’t offer explanations. He didn’t defend himself.
He showed up.
For me.
For my world.
Even the parts that didn’t fit easily into his.
Harper cleared her throat.
“Well,” she said, “this is … unexpectedly impressive.”
“I try,” Cassian replied dryly.
She shot him a look. “Don’t ruin it.”
He didn’t respond.
I stepped closer to him, my hand finding his almost without thinking.
“You didn’t have to prove anything,” I said.
“I wasn’t proving,” he replied. “I was choosing.”
The same word.
Again.
And somehow, it meant even more this time.
My mother watched us, something unreadable in her expression.
Then she smiled.
“Good,” she said simply.
Later, after everyone had settled, after the conversation had shifted from shock to something warmer, something steadier, I stood in the courtyard with Cassian.
The fountain murmured softly between us.
“You ambushed me,” I said.
“Not intentionally.”
I raised an eyebrow.
He almost smiled.
