The car rolled to a smooth stop at the front entrance of the Vale estate, the evening clouds still heavy from the earlier rain. The marble steps shone under the soft golden lights, familiar and grand the way they always were.
But inside the car, nothing felt familiar.
Not to Juliette.
Not with the way Cassian held her.
She lay curled against his chest, half-asleep, her cheek warming the fabric of his shirt. She knew this house. She had walked these halls for weeks. Slept behind these doors. But she had never… arrived like this.
In his arms.
Protected.
Carried.
Held like she was something he didn't want to let go of.
Cassian looked down at her, watching the slow rise and fall of her breath. Sleep softened her features, made her look younger, fragile, innocent.
His hand large, steady, impossibly gentle rested against her back, feeling the faint tremor that still hadn't left her body.
She survived.
He still couldn't fully believe it.
He brushed a thumb across her shoulder, moving a stray lock of hair from her face with careful fingers.
He had touched diamonds, secured multi-billion partnerships, held power by the throat without blinking…
But this girl made him handle her like she was the most delicate thing he had ever carried.
And he hated how real that felt.
He hated how much he felt at all.
"Sir," the driver murmured quietly.
Cassian looked up.
Nodded once.
The door opened.
Cold air swept in, and Juliette shivered in her sleep. Instinct pure, immediate made him pull her closer, shielding her from the night air with his body.
He stepped out, holding her firmly but gently.
Her arms loosened around his shirt, then tightened again as if her body recognized safety even before her mind did.
He froze.
Then kept walking.
Inside the Mansion
Warm air hugged them the moment they crossed the threshold. The soft scent of jasmine drifted through the halls familiar, yes, but tonight it felt different.
Maybe because Cassian had never brought her in like this.
Never held her like she belonged against him.
Never looked like losing her had carved a bruise into his chest.
Juliette stirred faintly.
Her lashes fluttered.
Her voice came out weak, tired, scratchy:
"…we're home?"
Cassian lowered his head slightly toward her.
"Yes."
He said it calmly, but something pulled tight beneath the single word.
She blinked slowly up at him confused, because she knew where she was. Of course she knew. This was Vale Estate. She lived here.
But she had never been carried past these doors like a man afraid to drop her.
"Did I… fall asleep?" she whispered.
"Yes," he murmured. "You needed it."
She swallowed, wincing softly as a bolt of pain traveled through her ribs.
Cassian felt it.
Every shift of her breathing.
Every tremor.
"You should have woken me," she whispered.
"I wasn't going to."
His voice dropped low, protective, leaving no room for argument.
"You're hurt, Juliette."
Her eyes weakened, unsure.
"You didn't have to carry me all the way in."
He paused mid-step.
His gaze lowered to her face.
And for a moment, he let her see the truth not the cold power, not the distant man, not the perfect mask.
Just the fear.
"I wasn't putting you down," he said quietly.
Heat climbed to her throat.
She looked away.
She didn't know what scared her more
the accident
or the way his voice felt like a confession.
Cassian pushed her door open with his foot. Soft lights glowed warmly. The bed was turned down, blankets arranged, pillows fluffed. Maya had prepared everything. It felt quieter than the rest of the house gentle, careful.
He lowered Juliette onto the bed, slow and controlled, as if she were glass.
She hissed softly when her ribs touched the mattress.
Cassian stiffened instantly.
His hands hovered above her, adjusting her pillow, lifting her slightly to ease the pressure, tucking the blanket under her legs.
Juliette blinked at him.
He had never touched her like this.
Never looked at her like this.
Never cared like this.
She wet her lips.
"Cassian… you don't have to"
"Yes," he cut in, his voice low but firm. "I do."
She froze.
He continued adjusting her blanket, smoothing it over her stomach, checking her breathing as if he had memorized the pattern.
"I don't want you straining anything," he said.
"But the doctors said"
"The doctors are not me."
The room went quiet.
Juliette's heart beat an unsteady rhythm in her chest.
She stared at him.
He wasn't being cold.
He wasn't being distant.
He wasn't being indifferent.
He was being… attentive.
Protective.
Soft.
Things she didn't expect.
Things she didn't know how to understand.
She took a shaky breath.
"Cassian…"
He looked at her.
Her voice trembled only a little:
"Why are you being… gentle?"
A muscle ticked in his jaw.
For a second, he said nothing.
Then he stepped closer, his voice dropping to something deeper honest, restrained, breaking through cracks he'd never let anyone see.
"Because you scared me, Juliette."
Her breath hitched.
He wasn't smiling.
He wasn't performing.
He wasn't pretending.
He meant it.
He swallowed hard.
"You walked out of that event alone… and I should have made sure you were safe. I should have been there."
Her eyes softened in shock.
He continued quiet, rough:
His jaw clenched.
Something warm spread through her chest.
But it hurt too.
Because she remembered that woman.
Remembered how small she felt.
How invisible.
Her eyes moved away, unsure, insecure.
Cassian saw the shift instantly.
Saw the hurt.
Saw the question she didn't want to ask.
And something dark flared in him anger at himself, at the woman, at the situation, at everything except Juliette.
"Juliette."
He said her name like a command and a plea.
"Look at me."
She hesitated… then did.
"I brought you home," he said quietly, "because I didn't want you anywhere I couldn't see you."
Her throat tightened.
He stepped even closer.
"And I'm not leaving you alone tonight."
Juliette's breath trembled.
Not because of fear.
Because the loneliness she'd been drowning in?
It felt like it finally cracked open.
She whispered:
"I thought you didn't want me around."
He exhaled shakily, closing his eyes for half a second before opening them again darker, clearer.
"I was wrong."
Silence wrapped around them like a warm blanket.
Juliette blinked slowly, exhaustion pulling at her again.
Cassian reached for the bedside control panel and dimmed the lights.
"Rest," he murmured. "Your body needs it."
Her lashes fluttered.
"Will you…"
She swallowed.
"…still be here when I wake up?"
Cassian didn't look away.
"Try getting rid of me."
He stepped back toward the door
Paused.
Then turned slightly, letting her see the expression he'd been trying to hide all night.
Soft.
Raw.
Unfamiliar even to him.
And he whispered:
"Goodnight, Juliette."
The door closed quietly behind him.
And in the hallway, Cassian leaned against the wall…
breathing out like a man who had just realized
he was already too far