The kind of kiss that carried so much familiarity it felt almost instinctive.
Heat rushed through her body.
Her fingers tightened around the bedsheet beneath her.
She fought the urge to react.
Fought the urge to open her eyes.
Above her, she heard a low chuckle.
The sound made her stomach drop.
Cassian straightened slowly.
"Sweetheart."
His deep voice rolled through the room.
Warm.
Lazy.
"If you're going to pretend to be asleep, at least commit to it."
Juliet's entire body went rigid.
"You stopped breathing the second I walked over here." The amusement in his voice deepened. "You were doing much better when Elias was still around."
Juliet wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole. For several seconds, she remained stubbornly motionless.
Cassian simply watched her.
Like a hunter who already knew exactly how this ended.
Finally, her eyelashes fluttered. Slowly, Juliet opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Cassian standing beside the bed, one hand resting casually in his pocket while he looked down at her with undisguised fondness.
Her eyes instantly filled with tears.
She could barely believe it.
The man she had spent years thinking hated her—the man she had constantly fought against, provoked, and challenged at every turn—had been in love with her all along.
The realization hit her so hard that her chest ached.
As she lay there staring at him, memories began flooding back one after another. Every argument. Every deal she had stolen. Every time she had deliberately pushed him past his limits just to get a reaction out of him. Looking back now, she suddenly realized how easy it would have been for Cassian to stop her. A man like him could have crushed her countless times over without even lifting a finger, yet he never had. He had let her get away with things no one else ever could have.
Her throat tightened painfully.
She lifted her head and looked up at him.
Cassian was standing beside the bed, staring down at her with an expression she couldn't quite read.
"Cassian..." she whispered. "Are you in love with me?"
Chapter 6 Hate
