Chapter 36 — Mine
478 Words
Aurora Devereux tried to convince herself that the kiss meant nothing beyond the moment it happened.
The attempt failed before the day properly began.
Nothing in her routine had changed on the surface. Meetings still filled her schedule, decisions still demanded attention, and responsibilities still required her full presence. Yet something underneath it all felt different, as though her usual sense of control no longer sat in the same place it used to.
She did not speak about it.
Cassian did not mention it either.
That silence, more than anything, shaped the way the day unfolded.
Their first meeting together that morning took place in a room already filled with executives. The discussion moved forward in its usual structured rhythm, covering reports, projections, and adjustments that required approval from both sides.
Cassian arrived before her.
He always did.
He sat at the opposite end of the table, reviewing documents with the same calm precision he carried into every professional setting. Nothing about his expression suggested anything outside of business.
Aurora almost believed it.
The problem was not what he did.
It was what he didn’t do.
No acknowledgment of the previous night surfaced. No hesitation appeared in his behavior. No change disrupted the structure of his professionalism.
And yet, every time Aurora lifted her gaze, she found him already looking in her direction.
Not openly. Not in a way that could be questioned.
But enough that it never felt accidental.
The meeting progressed without interruption. Executives spoke, decisions were debated, and agreements were reached with efficiency. Aurora contributed as expected, responding to questions and reviewing details with practiced control.
Still, a part of her remained distracted by something she refused to name directly.
The awareness did not fade when she forced her attention back to the documents in front of her. It remained, quiet but persistent, threading itself through every moment of the discussion.
By the time the session ended, most people left immediately.
Aurora stayed behind longer than necessary, organizing her files with deliberate slowness. She did not look up until the room had nearly emptied.
Cassian was still there.
He had not left with the others.
He stood near the far end of the room, waiting without explanation, as if remaining was the most natural decision in the world.
“You didn’t leave,” she said finally.
Cassian glanced toward her.
“I had no reason to rush out.”
The answer was simple, but it didn’t explain anything.
It also didn’t need to.
Aurora stepped closer without fully realizing she had moved.
“This doesn’t change anything,” she said, though the words felt less certain than she intended.
Cassian’s gaze held hers for a moment longer than necessary.
“No,” he agreed quietly.
The silence that followed was heavier than the conversation itself.
Because neither of them sounded like they believed it anymore.
- Writer
