The air in the conference room was thick with the scent of old leather and serious money. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating a table polished to a mirror shine. Cassian sat at its head, a row of sharp-faced lawyers and his most trusted allies flanking him. Elara sat to his right, a poised and silent figure in a tailored charcoal suit.
One by one, thick documents were placed before Cassian. With a series of swift, decisive scratches of his fountain pen, he was signing over a staggering portion of his empire—vast stock portfolios, controlling interests in key subsidiaries, and a significant share of his voting influence within the Thorne Group—all to her. It was a transfer of power so profound it was almost unheard of. The lawyers remained professionally impassive, but the allies watched with a mixture of awe and grim approval.
Elara's gaze swept the room, taking in the weight of the moment. Her eyes then caught a familiar, warm presence near the door. Sophie, standing beside her formidable father, gave her an excited, discreet wave, her eyes sparkling with encouragement. Elara's composed facade softened, and she offered a small, genuine smile in return. It was a tiny island of warmth in a sea of gravitas.
When the final signature was dry and the formalities concluded, the room emptied with a murmur of respectful chatter. In the vast, echoing hallway, just the two of them remained. The silence was different now, charged and personal.
Cassian adjusted his cufflinks, his expression as stern and unreadable as ever. "You got the shares," he stated, his voice a low rumble. "How does it feel? Sweet?"
Elara had learned his tells. The stern face was a public mask. The slight, almost imperceptible tilt of his head and the subtle cadence of his voice were a deliberate, teasing prod, designed to see if he could get a rise out of her.
She let out a heavy, deliberate sigh, letting her irritation show. "More like a sword pointed at my neck," she replied, her voice low and steady, but the edge was unmistakable.
Cassian's composure nearly cracked. A spark of pure, unadulterated amusement flashed in his eyes, and he had to press his lips together to stop a smile. He found her fiery retorts immensely entertaining. Composing himself, he asked with feigned casualness, "If something like that actually happened, what would you do?"
Elara blinked. "Huh?"
"What would you do," he repeated, turning to face her fully, "if someone pointed a knife at your neck and told you to sign the shares back to them?"
She considered it for a moment, a thoughtful frown on her face. "Let's see, I will..."
"Scream?" he finished for her, a clear challenge in his tone.
She gave a nonchalant shrug. "Nah. That would be a waste of energy. I'd probably throw a decent punch at him while carefully securing the knife in the process, I suppose?"
He couldn't resist. The teasing returned. "A punch?" he asked, a brow arched in open skepticism. "Can you even fold your fingers into a proper fist?"
That was the final straw. The frustration from his constant, low-key teasing boiled over. Without a second thought, Elara balled her hand into a tight fist and took a half-step towards him, holding it up between them as if measuring a strike.
"Since you are so doubtful," she said, her grey eyes flashing with defiance, "why don't we have a live test? Hun?"
Cassian, who had been barely containing his laughter, lost the battle completely. A sound escaped him—a short, genuine, deep-throated giggle that seemed to surprise even him. The rigid muscles of his face, held in a stern mask for so long, finally relaxed. The transformation was startling. The harsh lines smoothed out, and for a breathtaking second, he looked years younger, his handsomeness not just severe, but alive and vibrant.
He shook his head, a real, unguarded smile lingering on his lips. "I have to admit it, Elara. You are really one of a kind. Honestly, I think you are the only one who can break my composure so suddenly, anytime and anywhere." His voice was warm with a fondness that made her stomach flutter. "Really, how can you be so unpredictable all the time?"
Elara felt a fierce heat rush to her cheeks. She was flustered, completely thrown off balance by his laughter and his words. She didn't want him to see the effect he had on her. Muttering a quiet, "Tch," she turned on her heel and walked briskly down the hall towards the exit, her back rigid.
Cassian watched her retreat, the ghost of his smile still playing on his lips. He decided to refrain from teasing her any further. This time, he thought with a strange sense of delight, she might actually throw that punch. He quietly followed her to the waiting car.
Just as he was about to open the car door for her, a timid voice called out from behind.
"E-excuse me!"
They both turned. Sophie stood there, wringing her hands, her face pale as she looked at Cassian's now-restored stern expression.
"Mr. Thorne, if you don't mind..." she began, her voice trembling. She took a deep, visible breath, gathering all her courage, and then blurted out in a rush, "Can I please borrow your wife?!"
There was a beat of stunned silence. Sophie's eyes widened in horror as she realized how it sounded. "I mean! It's not something weird! I just... I wanted to ask your permission to take Elara shopping with me. Just for a few hours!"
Cassian's face was impassive, his gaze enough to make most people wilt. He looked from Sophie's pleading face to Elara's surprised one.
"Okay," he said, his tone flat. "But don't ask for my permission. Ask her. It totally depends on her."
All of Sophie's puppy-dog energy immediately focused on Elara. "Please, Elara? It'll be fun! We can get lunch! It'll clear your head!"
Elara, still reeling from the emotional whiplash of the hallway, found the idea strangely appealing. A few hours of normalcy, of female company that wasn't laced with venom or calculation. She glanced at Cassian, who gave a slight, indifferent shrug, though she thought she saw a flicker of something—approval?—in his eyes.
"Alright," Elara agreed, managing a small smile for Sophie. "I'd like that."
Cassian nodded once. "I'll have security detail follow you discreetly." He got into his car alone, and Elara watched the sleek black vehicle pull away before turning to Sophie's cheerful little convertible.
Settling into the passenger seat, the image of Cassian's laughing face flashed unbidden in her mind. She remarked internally how his usually severe handsomeness had been so much more... alluring when it was animated by genuine amusement.
Sophie's sweet voice broke through her reverie. "Are you good? You look a bit zoned out."
Elara jerked back to the present. "Err... I'm fine," she stammered, feeling another blush creep up her neck. "Just thinking about... casual things."
Casual? she screamed inside her mind. Seriously, Elara? Casual? Cassian smiling is 'casual'? Uhh, no I don't mean t-that! U-uh, ugh! What is wrong with my head???
She stared out the window as the city blurred past, a tumultuous, confusing, and entirely new set of emotions warring with the steady weight of the shares now held in her name. The sword at her neck suddenly felt a lot less sharp, and a lot more like the hilt of a weapon she was learning, unexpectedly, to wield alongside its original owner.