CHAPTER 5
1179 Words
SERAPHINA’S POV
The news broke before sunrise.
By the time I finished my morning tea, Thorn Enterprises’ name was flashing on every finance network’s breaking ticker.
A canceled deal.
An eight-figure loss.
I set my cup down gently, the faint chime of porcelain on glass the only sound in my penthouse suite.
And Cassian Thorn never saw it coming.
It wasn’t about money, it was a lesson.
It was about watching the unshakable man who once crushed me without blinking realize that I could crush him back—and do it in a suit and heels, without raising my voice.
By nine a.m., Vale Jewelry’s press lines were lighting up with interview requests.
By ten, He was at my door.
Literally.
The double glass doors to my executive office burst open so hard they rattled. My assistant barely got out of her chair before he was inside.
Cassian.
Six-foot-two wrapped in charcoal wool, his tie perfectly knotted like the day wasn’t unraveling beneath his feet. His storm-grey eyes locked on me, and for a moment, I was thrown backward in time, before the lies, before the divorce papers when those eyes used to soften just for me.
“Clear the room,” he said. His voice was calm and collected for a man who just lost millions to me. He took walked in without looking away from me.
My staff exchanged glances. No one argued, they rolled out silently and within seconds, it was just us.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Thorn?” My tone dripped the same polite venom he’d once used on me in his study.
***
Flashback
Cassian with that cold glance, the same cold civility in his voice as he handed divorce papers toward me.
“Sign them, Sera.”
*****
The memory made my fingers curl against the armrest of my chair.
“You know exactly why I’m here,” he said now.
His voice was low and husky, it was controlled. That meant the control was seconds from snapping. He closed the distance to my desk in long, deliberate strides, planting both palms flat on the glass surface.
“You went after my deal,” he said, each word a measured strike. “My investors. My company."
I tipped my head slightly. “Business is business.”
His mouth curved in a humorless smile. “You are one feisty girl. I like that. I don't care about the money Sera, You know what I want."
I rose slowly from my chair, my heels clicking against the marble as I circled the desk. “What do you want?"
He followed my movement with his eyes so sharp and predatory.
“Tell me...did you spend the night thinking about how to ruin me, or did you finally give me a chance to talk to you?”
I stopped a breath away, my chin high. “You are here right now. Don't waste your time trying to chase what can't be caught”
***
Flashback
Cassian’s breath on my ear, years ago, when we still shared the same bed.
“Don’t ever forget, Sera—you’re mine.”
The way he used to claim me—like possession was love.
*****
The air between us shifted.
One second there was space, the next my back hit the wall. His arm braced beside my head, caging me in without touching me.
Cassian was close enough that I caught the faintest hint of his cologne. Nicely scented musk that always melted my insides.
“You always think about me,” he said quietly, almost like it was a truth we both knew but only he had the arrogance to speak. “Even now. I can see it in your eyes.”
I refused to drop my gaze. “What you see is the reflection of your own arrogance.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. His eyes flicked down to my mouth—just for a second, but I caught it.
***
Flashback
That same gaze, softer, the night I told him I was pregnant.
“Nice touch,” he’d said. “Desperation looks good on you.”
My throat tightened, but I didn’t let the hurt show now.
***
He leaned in, his breath warm against my cheek. “I missed this… that fire. The way you push back even when you’re cornered.”
Once, those words would have undone me. Once, I would have given in just to feel his mouth on mine again.
But not anymore.
“You mistake survival for longing, Cassian.” My voice was soft, lethal. “I learned a long time ago—when a wolf corners you, you make sure you walk away with his teeth.”
His eyes darkened. The mask of control cracked just enough to show something raw underneath—want, maybe, or regret.
“You think you can win this?” he murmured seductively. " I'll have you back.."
“Good luck with that,” I scoffed.
I slid sideways out of his cage, my shoulder brushing his chest as I passed. My heart pounded hard enough to hurt, but I didn’t let it show.
From behind me, his voice came low. “You’re playing with fire, and I'll find out if that little girl is mine."
I didn’t turn. “Then maybe it’s time you burned.”
I was back behind my desk before I let myself breathe. “Now get out of my office before I decide your company isn’t the only thing I want to dismantle.”
***
CASSIAN’S POV
She’d always been beautiful.
But now… now she was lethal.
I’d walked in ready to corner her, to tear an explanation from her lips for gutting my deal. I’d expected denial, excuses—maybe even the trembling girl I’d once left standing in the rain.
Instead, I got this.
This woman.
Sharp as glass. Untouchable as smoke.
And damn it if I didn’t want her more for it.
Her perfume lingered in the air long after she’d brushed past me, my body still remembering the heat of her shoulder against my chest. I hated that part of me—the part that wanted to drag her back to the wall and see if she’d still taste like she used to when she hated me.
But under the want was something else.
I should have walked out. I didn’t.
I stood there, watching her settle back into her chair, the faintest ghost of a smile tugging at her mouth like she knew exactly what kind of chaos she’d left in my head.
"I can be persistent,” I told her.
Her eyes didn’t flicker. “You are chasing the wind.”
Her phone buzzed. She picked it up without dismissing me, her gaze dropping to the screen as if I were already gone.
The dismissal was a blade to the gut.
I turned and left before I did something reckless—like kiss her, or admit how close she was to making me forget why I’d ever let her go.
- Writer
