Hell in his arms

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Cassian’s POV

I walked to Anya's room, couldn't help but pause a little when I stopped in front of her room, before knocking once, and pushing the door open.

She was sitting on the edge of her bed, with her back straight, and eyes unfocused like she was lost in thought. When she saw me, she blinked, then looked away quickly.

“I heard shouting,” she said quietly, she said as she looked up at me.

I nodded, walking in slowly. “ Yeah, it was Celina, are you okay?”

Anya didn’t ask for details, she just nodded her head. She looked a little bit tired, confused and guarded.

I stepped closer, careful not to rush. “Did she say anything to you?”

Anya nodded. “A lot. Some of it… messed with my head a little bit.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. I paused, I hadn't expected her to be this open about what she and Celina talked about. “That won’t happen again.”

Silence stretched between us, she looked up at me, and for a second, I saw the fear was still there, but behind it, something else. Trust. Something fragile and uncertain, but real.

“Why did you care so much that she was talking to me?” she asked.

My throat tightened, I didn’t have an answer I liked. And I didn't want to scare her, but I gave her the truth.

“Because I can’t stand the idea of her turning you against me.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “Why?”

I walked to the bed and sat beside her, not too close.

“Because you’re the only person who makes me feel like I’m not completely lost.”

The tension shifted. She struggled to take deep breaths and I saw the pink rise in her cheeks.

I reached out slowly, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know what this is between us. But it’s real. And I don’t want to lose it.”

She didn’t move away.

“I’ve tried to ignore it,” she whispered. “Tried to hate you. But…”

I leaned in slightly, giving her time to stop me. “But what?”

She swallowed. “I can’t.”

My hand moved to her jaw, fingers light. Her skin was warm and soft.

“You’re mine,” I said quietly.

She nodded, just barely.

And then I bent forward and kissed her.

It wasn’t rushed, It wasn’t aggressive It was slow, careful, almost unsure.

Her lips moved against mine hesitantly at first, then with more certainty. Her hands came up to my chest. She wasn’t pushing me away. She was pulling me in.

I shifted slightly, my hand resting at her waist, holding her gently. Her body leaned into mine, and I felt her melt against me.

She broke the kiss first, breath uneven. Her forehead rested against mine.

“I still don’t understand you,” she whispered.

“I don’t expect you to.”

We sat like that for a long time, no pressure, no more words. Just the quiet hum of something finally slipping into place between us.

That night, I didn’t leave her side. I stayed with her. I just held her until she fell asleep.

Anya’s POV

I woke up to find myself alone in the room, my heart ached a little at the sudden loss of Cassian's arms on my waist.

That day, Celina didn't come back. I hadn’t seen her since that last meeting before Cassiand came back. Whatever he has said to her made her back down.

I got up to take my bath and prepare for schooling, we had been on vacation and I couldn't wait to resume. I missed my friends, I would go and see my parents to see how they were doing.

I got to school with two guards, but honestly, something felt really off. I couldn't help but remember the last time I was kidn*pped right here in the parking lot.

I shook off the feeling, I was probably just having a déjà vu.

“Anyaaa!” Tessa's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, I turned and saw her coming towards me with Eli by her side.

I met them halfway and enveloped them in a hug. “How have you been?” Eli asked, still gripping us in a hug.

Tessa was the first to break the huh, “isn't it obvious Eli, she's fine, I mean, look how she's glowing.” Tessa smiled at me.

We laughed and headed to our various classes

Later that evening, after a long day of classes and meetings, I told the guards I wanted to stop by a bookstore a few blocks from campus. They hesitated, then nodded, following me inside like shadows. I picked up a few books, browsed for a while.

Meanwhile…

Celina Marquette was seething. Every second that passed since Cassian pinned her to that wall played on repeat in her mind.

The humiliation, the rage, the dismissal.

How dare he toss her aside like trash for a little girl with wide eyes and a naive heart?

She sat at a dark wooden table in a quiet house tucked deep in the outskirts of New York’s forested backlands. It wasn’t her usual scene, there was no luxury, no wine, no soft lights. Just grit, anger, and the cold satisfaction of planning revenge.

Two of her most loyal subordinates stood nearby, waiting for her orders.

“She leaves the estate almost every day now,” one of them, a wiry man named Theo, said. “To school, a bookstore sometimes. But she's always with guards.”

Celina drummed her nails on the table. “She’ll be harder to grab in public, but not impossible.”

She looked up at them, eyes glittering. “I want her alive. Do you understand? Alive.”

They nodded.

Celina smiled faintly. “She’s his weakness now. Let’s see what he does without her.”