Cassian stormed into the EON penthouse lounge, his usual easygoing charm replaced by something sharper. The other members looked up from their comfortable sprawl on the couches, instantly sensing the tension in his stride.
"Noah," he said, his tone clipped.
Noah glanced up from his tablet, unbothered as always. "What's wrong?"
Cassian crossed his arms, his voice taut. "What's this I'm hearing about you being engaged to Belle?"
Noah blinked, clearly caught off guard by the tone rather than the question. "What about it?"
"So it's true?" Cassian demanded.
"Of course," Noah replied simply, as if stating the most ordinary fact in the world. "We're engaged."
The room fell silent. Jace nearly dropped his protein shake.Theo froze mid-scroll on his phone. Luca looked intrigued as he looked from Cassian to Noah.
Cassian let out a disbelieving laugh. "I thought you'd at least deny it."
Noah tilted his head slightly, confusion flickering across his calm features. "Why would I deny it?"
Cassian dragged a hand down his face, trying to find the right words. "Because Mirabelle just told me you're not engaged. She said it's all a misunderstanding."
Noah's expression shifted. The faintest crease appeared between his brows. "Why is she hiding it?"
Cassian blinked. "Hiding it?"
Noah's tone dropped, quiet but edged with irritation. "She told you that?"
Cassian nodded slowly. "Yeah. She looked serious, too."
Noah leaned back against the couch, tapping his fingers rhythmically against his knee. His gaze turned distant, contemplative. "Then why say that?" he muttered. "What's the point of pretending?"
Cassian stared at him, trying to make sense of it. Mirabelle had looked completely sincere when she'd explained everything—laughing a little, calling it an absurd rumor. But Noah… Noah looked absolutely convinced they were engaged.
Cassian exhaled, his tone gentler now. "Okay, just so I understand this—why do you think you two are engaged? Did you actually… propose to her?"
Noah shook his head once. "No."
Cassian's eyes widened. "Then—"
"She didn't need to say yes," Noah said smoothly, cutting him off. "Her parents agreed. They've always supported us. They offered the sponsorship, and that's when the engagement was arranged. It's how it's always been."
Cassian's stomach sank. "Wait—the sponsorship? You mean the Terania deal? EON's first sponsorship?"
"Yes," Noah said, his tone steady, absolute. "That's when we made it official."
Cassian sat back slowly, the pieces clicking together in a way that only deepened his confusion. Because Noah wasn't lying. He wasn't acting. He genuinely believed every word he was saying.
And that was what unsettled Cassian most.
He knew for a fact that Gideon and Elara Terania hadn't arranged any engagement. If they had, the entire family—and probably the media—would've known. A union between the Terania heir and one of the country's biggest rising stars would have been front-page news. But there had been nothing. Not a whisper.
Which could only mean one thing: somewhere along the way, Noah had misunderstood something.
Noah leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, his voice calm but laced with certainty. "I don't know why she's denying it," he said. "But I'll talk to her. She can't keep pretending she's single. Not when she's mine."
Cassian swallowed hard, exchanging uneasy glances with the others.
Jace blinked, his jaw dropping slightly. "Did he just say 'She's mine'? That's, like… straight out of a BookTok fic."
Theo shook his head slowly, rubbing his temple. "I can already feel this is going to be a mess."
Luca leaned back with a sigh, shrugging. "Well, it's Noah. He's never cared about management before—he'll probably bulldoze right past them again and give the whole PR team a collective heart attack."
Cassian just sighed, pressing a hand to his temple. "This is going to be a problem."