The wind outside howled like it was warning them. But Cassandra stood still, frozen by something colder than the storm—the truth.
She hadn't slept. Not a wink. Her eyes burned from crying, and her chest ached from everything she didn't say the night before. Her fingers gripped the windowsill as she stared out at the white fields of snow covering the Ashford estate. It looked peaceful from here. Serene. A lie.
Behind her, she heard the soft creak of the door. She didn't turn.
"I know you're there, Julian."
He paused at the threshold. "How long have you been up?"
"All night," she replied. "Thinking about what you said. Or rather, what I overheard."
Julian didn't answer immediately. He stepped into the room, his footsteps hesitant, like he already knew he'd lost her.
"I never meant for you to hear it like that," he said quietly.
She turned then, slowly, her eyes sharp with hurt. "You didn't mean for me to hear that I should never know the truth?"
Julian flinched. "It wasn't about you. It was about keeping you safe."
Cassandra's voice cracked. "Don't do that. Don't pretend this is noble. You shut me out. You lied."
"I didn't lie," he said. "I just... didn't say everything."
"That's the same thing!" she snapped.
Julian closed the distance between them, his voice still calm but edged with desperation. "Cassie, listen to me. The people who want this alliance to fail—they're not just businessmen. They're dangerous. Political. Powerful. I was trying to protect you."
"You keep saying that. But you don't get to decide what I can or can't handle."
Silence.
The only sound was the wind pressing against the windows, whistling through the cracks like ghosts trying to get in.
Finally, Julian took a slow breath. "Do you really think I don't care?"
"I don't know what to think anymore."
"I care," he said, his voice trembling now. "More than I should. And I've been trying so damn hard not to fall for you, but Cassandra—I've already fallen."
Her chest rose sharply.
Julian stepped closer. "This marriage started as a contract. A business alliance. But something changed. You changed everything."
Cassandra's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Then why didn't you let me in?"
"Because I was scared," he admitted. "Of what this means. Of losing control. Of losing you before I even had the chance to deserve you."
For a moment, she just looked at him. Then she reached for his hand.
"You idiot," she whispered. "We were already in this together. You didn't need to carry it alone."
He wrapped his fingers around hers. "So, what now?"
"We fight. Together. For the truth. For each other."
Julian nodded slowly, his expression softening for the first time in days. He leaned in, his forehead resting gently against hers.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "No more secrets. No more pretending."
She nodded back. "No more walls."
And just like that, the storm outside no longer felt so threatening. Not with his arms around her. Not with their hearts finally in sync.
But deep within the Ashford estate, behind locked doors and sealed files, the real storm was just beginning to stir.
And this time, it wasn't the snow they had to fear.