Chapter 5: He caught me Looking
1612 Words
I had made one mistake.
I thought I was the one doing the seducing.
It was an easy mistake to make.
I was the one who had chosen the dress.
I was the one who had walked into the library.
I was the one who had told Cassian I wanted him.
So naturally, I assumed I was in control.
I was wrong.
Very, very wrong.
Because the next morning, Cassian Blackthorne decided to make me nervous.
---
Breakfast was unusually quiet.
Mira was sitting beside me, eating fruit.
Adrian was reading something.
Cassian was drinking coffee.
I was trying very hard not to look at him.
Which, naturally, meant I was thinking about looking at him.
Then I made the mistake of glancing over.
His sleeves were rolled up.
That was all.
Just his sleeves.
Yet somehow, seeing his forearms made me forget what I was doing.
I stared.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then Cassian looked up.
Our eyes met.
Caught.
His eyebrow lifted.
I immediately looked away.
Mira whispered,
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“He caught you.”
“I wasn't looking.”
“You were practically undressing him with your eyes.”
“I was observing.”
“You were observing his arms?”
“They're interesting.”
Mira snorted.
Across the table, Cassian's mouth twitched.
He had heard us.
Of course he had.
Then he calmly rolled his sleeves a little higher.
I looked up.
He was watching me.
A smugness I hadn't seen before had entered his expression.
I narrowed my eyes.
“You're doing that deliberately.”
“Doing what?”
“Your sleeves.”
He glanced down at them.
“My sleeves?”
“Yes.”
“Should I put them down?”
I hesitated.
“No.”
His mouth curved.
“I thought not.”
Mira coughed into her tea.
I kicked her under the table.
Adrian looked amused.
“This is fascinating.”
“Eat your breakfast,” Mira told him.
“I'm trying.”
“You're watching us.”
“I'm watching my brother.”
“You're watching Aria watch your brother.”
Adrian smiled.
“Also true.”
I decided I hated both brothers.
Mostly.
---
After breakfast, I went outside.
I needed air.
And distance.
Mostly distance.
The estate gardens were beautiful.
Tall hedges.
Rose bushes.
A stone fountain.
Walking paths surrounded by flowers.
I wandered toward the greenhouse.
I was halfway there when I heard footsteps behind me.
I didn't turn.
“Following me?”
“Yes.”
Cassian's voice.
I stopped.
He came to stand beside me.
“You don't have anything else to do?”
“I do.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because you're here.”
My heart skipped.
I looked at him.
He seemed completely serious.
That was the problem.
“You've been acting strange.”
“So have you.”
“I mean it.”
“So do I.”
He looked at me.
“You've been avoiding me.”
“I haven't.”
“You haven't looked at me once since breakfast.”
I stared at him.
“That isn't true.”
“It is.”
“I looked at you.”
“You looked at my arms.”
I nearly died.
He was smiling.
Actually smiling.
I stared at him in disbelief.
“You're enjoying this.”
“Yes.”
“You're horrible.”
“Probably.”
I turned away.
He caught my wrist.
Not hard.
Just enough to stop me.
I looked down at his hand.
Then up at him.
His expression had changed.
The amusement was gone.
His gaze was darker.
“Why are you embarrassed?”
“I'm not.”
“You are.”
“I simply wasn't expecting you to notice.”
“I notice everything you do.”
My heart stopped.
He released my wrist slowly.
“Especially now.”
I swallowed.
“Why now?”
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stepped closer.
“I'm trying to understand you.”
“Have you figured me out?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because I'd like to remain mysterious.”
He gave a quiet laugh.
“You're not very good at it.”
I smiled.
“Maybe I'm not trying hard enough.”
His gaze dropped to my lips.
Only for a moment.
But I saw it.
And this time, I didn't look away.
The air changed.
Neither of us moved.
I could hear my own heartbeat.
He was close enough that I could feel the warmth of him.
Then—
“Cassian!”
A woman's voice came from behind us.
We both turned.
Seraphina.
She was walking toward us with a bright smile.
My stomach tightened.
Of course.
Of course she would appear now.
She stopped beside Cassian.
“I've been looking everywhere for you.”
Cassian's expression became neutral.
“I was in the gardens.”
“I can see that.”
Her eyes moved toward me.
The smile remained.
But I caught that tiny flicker again.
Annoyance.
She had interrupted something.
She knew it.
I knew it.
And Cassian…
Cassian looked back at me.
For one strange second, he seemed irritated that she had interrupted us too.
Seraphina noticed.
Her smile faltered.
Just slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
---
That evening, Mira came running into my room.
“She touched him.”
I looked up from the book.
“Who?”
“Seraphina.”
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
“She fixed his collar.”
I stared.
“That's it?”
“Yes.”
“Mira.”
“She touched his collar!”
“That's hardly a crime.”
“You didn't see the way she looked at him.”
“I've read the book.”
Mira paced.
“She was doing that sweet little thing.”
“What thing?”
“The innocent thing.”
I knew exactly what she meant.
Seraphina's specialty.
Wide eyes.
Soft voice.
A tiny smile.
The occasional touch.
A carefully timed sigh.
It was never enough to accuse her of anything.
That was what made her so good.
She never openly demanded attention.
She made people give it to her.
I closed the book.
“She'll try to separate us.”
“How soon?”
“Soon.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that's what she does.”
Mira sighed.
“Then we need to move faster.”
I smiled.
“No.”
She frowned.
“No?”
“We don't chase.”
I stood.
“We make them choose us.”
---
That night, I found Cassian in the hallway.
He was alone.
I walked toward him.
He looked at me.
“Aria.”
“Cassian.”
He waited.
I stopped in front of him.
“Are you busy?”
“No.”
“Good.”
I reached up.
His eyes followed my hand.
I fixed his collar.
Exactly the way Seraphina had done earlier.
Except I didn't step away.
My fingers lingered.
His breathing changed.
Barely.
But I felt it.
“You're doing that deliberately.”
“Doing what?”
His eyes darkened.
“You know exactly what.”
I smiled.
“Perhaps.”
His hand settled around my waist.
My breath caught.
It wasn't forceful.
It wasn't demanding.
It was almost questioning.
As though he were waiting for me to move away.
I didn't.
His gaze dropped to my lips.
“Aria.”
“Yes?”
“You should stop.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't think I'll be able to stop myself for much longer.”
My heart pounded.
I looked at his mouth.
Then back into his eyes.
“Maybe I don't want you to.”
For a moment, I thought he would kiss me.
Instead, he stepped back.
His jaw was tight.
His eyes dark.
“Goodnight.”
He walked away.
I stood there, stunned.
Then I smiled.
Because I finally understood.
Cassian Blackthorne wasn't simply attracted to me anymore.
He was fighting it.
And somehow, that was far more intoxicating.
---
Across the estate, Mira was discovering the same thing.
Adrian found her in the sitting room.
He leaned against the doorway.
“You've been avoiding me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I've been busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Thinking.”
“About?”
She smiled.
“You.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Careful.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm beginning to think you enjoy provoking me.”
“I do.”
He walked toward her.
She stayed where she was.
He stopped directly in front of her.
“You're dangerous.”
“So I've been told.”
His hand brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
“Good.”
He smiled.
“Then perhaps you'll understand when I tell you something.”
“What?”
“I don't like other men looking at you.”
Mira's smile faded.
“Why?”
He leaned closer.
“Because you're mine.”
Mira stared at him.
Then whispered,
“That's possessive.”
“I know.”
“Is that supposed to scare me?”
“No.”
His smile returned.
“It's supposed to warn you.”
And that was the moment we both realized our plan had worked.
Our husbands were noticing us.
Wanting us.
Becoming possessive of us.
But neither of us had expected the next part.
The part where they would start becoming jealous.
Because jealousy was exactly what Seraphina had used to destroy the original marriages.
And if we weren't careful—
it could become the thing that destroyed our new ones too.
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