Thalia walked with a straight, elegant posture toward the private elevator. Every step she took commanded attention. People moved aside instinctively, their eyes following her not just with admiration, but with envy too.
Her heels clicked against the marble floor, steady and unhurried, as though she had all the time in the world. In truth, she didn't. But no one needed to know that. Thalia knew the importance of appearances; power wasn't only in what you held but in what others believed you held.
No one stopped her. Even the secretary at the front of the CEO's office didn't lift her head. That alone said everything: Thalia was well known here.
She pushed the office door open without knocking.
The man behind the large mahogany desk looked up from the document in his hands. When he saw who it was, his face broke into a familiar smile.
"Lia! What brings you here?" he said, rising to his feet.
Thalia smiled back as she shrugged off her coat, tossing it over the nearest armchair like she owned the place.
"Can't I come just to see you, hmm... Cassian?" she teased, walking further into the room and sinking into the couch uninvited.
Cassian smirked as he sat across from her. "Everyone knows that when the almighty goddess Lia pays a visit, something is about to go down."
She rolled her eyes. "Where did you hear that nonsense? Elias?"
"No. The wind whispered it to me, dear almighty Lia," Cassian joked.
"Liar."
"Scout's honor," he said, holding up a hand solemnly.
She tilted her head, the teasing smile slipping. "So? Are you going to ask why I'm here or keep pretending you're a mind reader?"
Cassian leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, smile still lingering. "Alright. What brings you here? You clearly want something."
Thalia crossed one leg over the other. "Since you're so eager to get to the point, I'll make it simple."
She paused for effect, eyes meeting his.
"I want you to marry me."
Cassian choked on his saliva. He coughed hard, clearly caught off guard. Thalia was already on her feet, pouring him a glass of water. She handed it to him silently.
After a few gulps, he wiped his mouth and stared at her.
"You hit your head on something?" he asked bluntly.
"I'm fine, Cassian. I promise you, I'm in my right mind," she said calmly. "So... are you up for it?"
Cassian was speechless. Of all the things she could've said, this wasn't even in the top hundred.
"And before you freak out any further," she continued, "I mean a fake marriage. Just a contract. It benefits both our families' businesses. You, of all people, should understand why I need this."
Clearly he understood what she was trying to say. Her step-siblings were circling like vultures, waiting to tear her late mother's family company apart. They wanted the legacy, the power, the wealth things Thalia refused to let fall into the wrong hands.
"My step siblings are trying to take over the company. And if they succeed, everything my mother's family built will be handed to them like a gift." Her voice was firm, but her eyes softened briefly, betraying something raw beneath.
She paused. "My mother worked harder than anyone. Her name is tied to everything good that company ever achieved. But she married a scumbag as a husband, and now his children think they're entitled to it all. I can't allow that."
Her words echoed in the quiet office.
Cassian's gaze didn't waver. He studied her the way he always had, sharp, searching, as though peeling back the layers she kept so carefully constructed.
"Voltren Holdings is at the top now, sure," Thalia continued, "but your grandfather built it to where it is today with the same kind of determination my grandparents had. You know what it's like to watch people try to take credit for someone else's sweat."
Cassian leaned back, steepling his fingers. The faintest glimmer of admiration flickered in his eyes. Thalia was bold, as always walking into fire without hesitation.
"You want a merger," he said slowly.
"A temporary one," she corrected. "Six months. Just long enough for me to block their takeover, secure my position, and then we divorce quietly. You get some added credibility in the East Asia market through my family's network. I get to protect my mother's legacy and what's rightfully mine."
For a long time, the only sound in the office was the quiet hum of the city beyond the glass windows.
Finally, Cassian let out a low chuckle. "You always did know how to come in swinging."
Thalia smiled faintly. "You always liked that about me."
"I did," he admitted. His voice dropped, quiet, almost intimate. "Still do."
Her lips curved
"So?" she asked.
He exhaled, slow and heavy, his gaze never leaving hers. "Let me think."
Thalia stood, her composure unshaken. "Of course. But don't think too long. Time's not a luxury I have right now."
Cassian watched her cross the office with that same poised elegance she'd always had. It was infuriating, the way she could throw the world into chaos and walk away untouched.
But beneath the irritation was something else something heavier.
Damian.
His twin's name surfaced like an echo, uninvited.
Cassian's jaw tightened. He remembered too well those days back in high school: Thalia laughing with their group, her hand brushing Damian's arm as she defended him from jeering classmates. She hadn't thought much of it, he was sure. But Damian…
Damian's gaze had lingered on her long after everyone else turned away. Soft, helpless, reverent.
Cassian had seen it. Again and again.
So he'd made his decision back then. His brother had so little no confidence, no strength, no place in the spotlight. If he wanted Thalia, even silently, Cassian would step back. For once, Damian could want something without his twin overshadowing him.
And yet here she was now, standing in his office, asking him to be her husband even if only on paper.
Cassian rubbed a hand over his face. "Damian," he muttered under his breath.
The name tasted bitter.
-------
Thalia's heels clicked against the marble as she left Voltren Holdings. She didn't let herself falter until she was in her car, door shut, city noise muffled.
Only then did her shoulders sag.
A fake marriage. It wasn't something she'd ever imagined herself proposing. But desperation left little room for pride.
Her step-siblings wouldn't stop until they ripped everything from her. And Cassian… Cassian was the only one with enough power to shield her.
She closed her eyes, leaning back against the seat.
"Six months," she whispered to herself. "That's all."
But even as she said it, a strange unease settled in her chest.
Cassian remained at his desk long after she left.
Six months.
Six months of playing husband to the woman he'd once quietly loved, the same woman his twin had never stopped looking at.
He could almost see Damian's face if he ever found out. The silent betrayal.
Cassian cursed under his breath.
But Thalia had always been fire and fire, once it entered your life, was impossible to contain.
And whether he admitted it or not, a part of him had already said yes.