Borrowed Hearts

CHAPTER 2: BORROWED PROMISES

Cassian didn’t believe in waiting. Hesitation in the operating room could mean the difference between life and death, and he carried that same urgency into his personal life. By the next morning, after his late-night meeting with Naya’s teacher, his decision was already firm.

He needed a solution.

And her name was Kiera Bennett.

Cassian had noticed her before—not because she sought attention, but because she didn’t. In a hospital where everyone was eager to impress the famous Dr. Wolfe, Kiera was one of the few who looked him in the eye without awe or hesitation. She was competent, quick on her feet, sharp-tongued when provoked, and, most importantly, utterly devoted to her patients. Naya adored her, though Cassian had never asked why.

That morning, he found her in the pediatric wing, bent over a child’s chart, her chestnut hair escaping its bun and her pen tapping lightly against the clipboard. She didn’t see him at first.

“Kiera.” His voice was clipped, more formal than he intended.

She glanced up, brows arching. “Dr. Wolfe. Is this about Carter’s MRI results? Because I already—”

“It’s not about a patient.” He paused, watching confusion flicker across her face. “It’s about my daughter.”

That made her straighten. “Naya? Is she all right?”

“She’s fine. Physically.” The last word dragged like lead. Cassian cleared his throat, unused to exposing weakness. “It’s… her school. They hold regular family events. Her classmates bring their mothers. Mine refuses to show up. And Naya—” He cut himself short, jaw tightening.

Kiera’s gaze softened, her nurse’s intuition reading the things he couldn’t say. “She feels left out.”

“Yes.” His shoulders stiffened, as though admitting that much was a confession. “She’s hurting, and I won’t let it continue. Which is why I’m asking something unusual of you.”

Kiera tilted her head, wary. “Unusual how?”

“Be her mother. At least in appearances.” The words fell like a scalpel’s slice—precise, deliberate, impossible to take back. “Attend her school events. Stand beside me when needed. Pretend, just enough, to convince the world my daughter isn’t lacking.”

For a moment, Kiera simply stared. Then she let out a sharp laugh. “You want me to play your wife?”

He didn’t flinch. “Yes.”

“Dr. Wolfe, I’m a nurse, not an actress. And even if I were, do you realize how absurd this sounds?”

“Absurd or not, Naya needs it.” His voice was steel, but desperation threaded beneath. “I’ve seen how she looks at you. She trusts you. More than most. Perhaps more than me.”

The last admission cracked something in her. Kiera crossed her arms, trying to shield herself from the weight of his words. “Cassian, this isn’t just about showing up. Kids don’t separate real from fake the way adults do. If I step into that role, even temporarily, Naya might start believing—”

“That you care?” His eyes pinned hers. “Do you not?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it, cursing silently. Damn him. Of course she cared. She had spent enough time in pediatrics to know how sensitive children were, how deep their scars could run. Naya’s soft eyes, her hesitant smiles, her way of clinging to stories at night—Kiera had been quietly drawn in long before this conversation.

But pretending to be the girl’s mother? That was dangerous territory.

“What happens when she gets attached?” Kiera whispered. “When she calls me Mommy and means it?”

Cassian’s jaw tightened. “Then we’ll deal with it. But right now, she needs stability. And I—” His voice caught for the first time. “I can’t give her that alone.”

The silence stretched, heavy and charged.

Kiera rubbed the bridge of her nose, torn between logic and instinct. This wasn’t her fight. She wasn’t looking for ties, certainly not with a man as complicated as Cassian Wolfe. Yet the image of Naya’s small hand clutching hers, her hopeful little voice saying, Stay, Miss Kiera, replayed in her mind.

God help her, she couldn’t say no.

“I’ll do it.” The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Relief flickered in Cassian’s eyes—quick, sharp, gone in an instant. He nodded once, curt and businesslike. “Good. We’ll set ground rules. Appearances only. No blurred lines.”

Her lips curved in a bitter smile. “Rules, of course. Because life always follows those, doesn’t it?”

He ignored the jab. “The first event is Friday. A family brunch at her school. Be ready by nine.”

And with that, Cassian Wolfe, master surgeon, walked away as if he’d just scheduled an operation instead of upending her world.

Kiera exhaled, sagging against the counter. What on earth had she agreed to?

Friday came too quickly.

Kiera stood in front of her mirror, tugging nervously at the hem of her dress. It was simple, navy blue, the kind of outfit that said “respectable” without trying too hard. Her heart pounded like a trapped bird. Pretending to be someone’s wife was one thing. Pretending to be Cassian Wolfe’s wife was another entirely.

When his sleek black car pulled up outside her apartment, she almost didn’t go. But then the back door opened and Naya’s face peeked out, radiant with excitement.

“You look pretty, Miss Kiera!” the little girl squealed, clapping her hands.

The words melted every last piece of resistance.

By the time she slid into the seat beside Naya, Cassian was already behind the wheel, immaculate in a tailored suit, his profile sharp as carved stone. He didn’t comment on her dress, didn’t offer small talk. Just a brief glance, unreadable, before focusing on the road.

Yet when Kiera’s hand brushed Naya’s, the child laced her fingers tightly with hers. And in that fragile grip, Kiera felt the weight of the role she’d just stepped into.

This wasn’t a game. It wasn’t just appearances.

It was a little girl’s heart.

And hearts, she knew, had a way of turning borrowed promises into dangerous truths.