Cassian returned to his penthouse long after the city lights had dimmed. The usually sterile silence of the space felt heavier now — like it was missing something. Or someone.
He loosened his tie, walked past the untouched dinner his housekeeper had left on the marble counter, and dropped into the leather armchair facing the window. Below him, the world kept moving. But his world had tilted.
Liam.
A son with his eyes and Raina's smile.
He had missed seven years. Seven birthdays. Seven first steps. First words. His heart clenched with guilt — a foreign feeling for a man who rarely apologized, much less looked back.
But this wasn't a business deal he could walk away from.
This was his second chance. And he wasn't going to waste it.
—
Meanwhile, back at her apartment, Raina tucked Liam into bed. He was still buzzing with stories from the park, the ice cream, and Cassian's jokes that weren't even funny but made him laugh anyway.
"Do you think he'll come again tomorrow?" Liam asked, pulling his blanket up to his chin.
Raina smiled softly. "He might. If you want him to."
"I do," Liam said. "I like him. He feels… like mine."
Raina leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Sleep, baby."
But long after Liam fell asleep, Raina remained awake, sitting on the edge of the couch with her thoughts spinning.
Cassian had changed.
Or maybe he hadn't, and she was just desperate to believe he had.
She rubbed her temples. Co-parenting wasn't just logistics. It was emotion, history and unresolved pain.
And hers ran deep.
—
The next morning, Cassian showed up at Liam's school with a packed lunch, surprising both mother and son. Raina wasn't sure whether to be touched or suspicious — but the sparkle in Liam's eyes when he saw his dad was enough to quiet her doubts for the moment.
"You packed his lunch?" Raina raised a brow.
"I may have bribed a chef," Cassian admitted.
She laughed, a sound he hadn't heard in years.
And just like that, something shifted.
—
That evening, the three of them had dinner together for the first time — nothing fancy, just pasta, garlic bread, and lemonade that Liam spilled twice.
But it was perfect in a way neither of them had expected.
Cassian washed the dishes without being asked. Liam dozed off mid-cartoon. And Raina found herself watching Cassian, wondering how he could still feel so familiar and yet so dangerously new.
He caught her staring. "What?"
"Nothing," she said too quickly, then added, "I just forgot what this… felt like."
He nodded, drying a plate. "Me too."
But they both knew this wasn't simple. This was years of love, loss, and silence. Of unspoken words and unshed tears.
Still, as the night wore on, and Cassian carried Liam to bed like he had done years ago — effortlessly, gently — Raina's heart whispered a terrifying truth:
She still loved him.
And that would either save them… or destroy her again.