Chapter Two: The Proposal (Expanded)
924 Words
The next morning came too fast.
Nova Elaine Lane rubbed sleep from her eyes, staring at the sketch still sitting on her nightstand. It looked even more unnerving in daylight—the cold eyes, the crisp collar, the smirk that didn’t reach his eyes. She didn't remember drawing it, and that terrified her more than the fact that she’d drawn it at all.
He was in her head. Literally and figuratively.
She shook herself awake, tied her curls into a lazy bun, and threw on her thick coat. The café needed her. The real world needed her. Not… whatever mystery that man came wrapped in.
By the time she pushed open the café door, the snow had started again, light and slow like falling whispers. The bell chimed, but instead of the usual silence, someone was already sitting inside.
Nova froze.
It was him.
Cassian Wolfe.
Clean suit, new coat, same unreadable expression. His eyes tracked her like a calculation.
“Back for a second spill?” she asked carefully, setting her bag down.
He didn’t smile. “Actually, I’m here for you.”
Nova’s brows arched.
“I need your help,” he said plainly. “And before you say no, just listen.”
She crossed her arms. “You came all the way to my job to say that?”
“I came here,” he said, stepping closer, “because I don’t trust anyone else.”
Nova laughed. “That’s hilarious. We’ve spoken once.”
“And you still managed to ruin my suit and insult me. Impressive, really.”
She stared. “Are you trying to compliment me?”
“No,” he said dryly. “I’m trying to hire you.”
She blinked. “As a barista? Because I’m already that.”
He shook his head. “As my girlfriend.”
The silence hit like a snowstorm.
Nova gawked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“My company is dealing with... scrutiny. Personal rumors. I need a distraction. Someone believable. Untraceable. Unknown. Someone like you.”
Nova scoffed. “You want me to fake date you? Why not hire a model?”
“Because this isn’t a red-carpet stunt. It’s deeper. I need someone who doesn’t already belong to this world. Someone who doesn’t care about status or power.”
She narrowed her eyes. “So you want someone disposable?”
His jaw ticked. “No. I want someone convincing.”
Nova stared at him for a long moment. The nerve. The audacity. But beneath the ego, there was something else—desperation? Regret?
“I don’t even know your name,” she muttered.
“Cassian Wolfe,” he said. “And yes. That one.”
Nova swallowed.
He didn’t look like a man used to asking for anything. He looked like a man used to buying whatever he wanted.
“Why me?” she asked again, quieter this time.
His expression softened—barely.
“Because you’re the only person I’ve met in years who didn’t flinch around me.”
She hesitated.
“And,” he added, reaching into his coat, “because I’ll pay you ten thousand dollars upfront. Cash.”
He laid the envelope on the counter between them.
Nova stared at it like it might burn.
That night, Nova didn’t sleep.
She paced her tiny apartment like a caged thing, hands trembling with the weight of the offer. Ten thousand dollars. For pretending. For smiling in front of cameras. For sitting beside a man who made her nervous in a way that wasn't just about fear.
She grabbed her sketchbook and flipped back through it. There he was again. Cassian. Drawn from angles she didn’t remember sitting at, expressions she swore she’d never seen.
She’d drawn him weeks ago.
She didn’t know how or why.
"You're not real," she whispered to the paper. "You're not part of me."
But the silence didn't agree.
Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.
Are you in or not?
Nova stared.
She typed back, heart racing:
One month. That’s it. I’m not pretending forever.
Cassian responded in seconds.
One month. One role. No lies—except the one we agree on.
Nova exhaled like she hadn’t breathed in days.
Elsewhere, in a glass tower lined with security, Cassian paced his office.
"She agreed," he told Sabrina. "One month."
Sabrina didn’t smile. “Orion Vale won’t wait that long.”
Cassian turned, expression darker. “If he makes a move, he’ll regret it.”
“She’s still a threat, Cassian. The data inside her—it’s not dormant. You know what happens when it activates.”
He clenched his fists. “I know. And I won’t let anyone else near her.”
The next morning, Nova stood outside Wolfe Technologies.
It was colder here. Not just the weather, but the energy.
Glass and steel rose high above her, all sharp edges and mirrored lies. She adjusted her coat and walked inside.
Cassian met her in the marble atrium.
No smile. Just a nod. Just business.
But his eyes lingered on her longer than necessary.
"You came," he said.
"You paid," she replied.
He smirked faintly. "Let’s get one thing clear. In public, you’re mine. In private, you’re my shadow."
Nova tilted her head. “And if I stop pretending?”
He leaned in. “Then you disappear. From my world, and every other."
She should’ve run.
But she didn’t.
Because part of her—a part buried beneath fear, memory, and logic—already knew this man.
And she had no idea why.
- Writer
