Cassian’s POV
The room was loud with laughter. Glasses clinking. Music drifting through the polished atmosphere.
It all felt like noise to Cassian.
Useless noise.
Cassian stood near the edge of the ballroom, a half-finished glass of champagne in his hand, his gaze fixed on one person alone.
Isabelle Quinn...
No—her.
His eyes were trained on her even from across the room, catching the moment when she smiled.
It was flawless...measured. Elegant. Controlled.
Her every movement was precise, as if she were on autopilot... Every word placed exactly where it needed to be.
To anyone else, she was perfect.
To him... She was wrong.
His gaze sharpened slightly as she tilted her head at something an elderly woman said, her lips curving just enough to be polite, not enough to invite familiarity.
Calculated... Too calculated.
The Isabelle he remembered wasn’t like this. She was a people pleaser even at a young age... What changed?
His fingers tightened slightly around the glass.
Because he could see what sat beneath all the lies and smiles.
Fear.
It wasn’t the shallow, social kind. Not embarrassment. Not nerves.
No.
Real fear... The kind that lived in the bones.
He had seen it before... In men about to die.
Cassian’s gaze shifted slightly when Ryan entered his field of vision.
He watched as Isabelle avoided Ryan’s gaze when he passed her.
Ryan approached a group across the room, but his eyes kept drifting.... back to her.
Again.
And again.
He recognized the look in Ryan’s eyes. It didn’t look like the protective gaze of a "brother". It wasn’t that familial gaze he was used to.
Ryan’s gaze was possessive.
Cassian’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
Interesting... Very interesting.
Cassian’s gaze moved back to her.
"She seems different, doesn’t she?" The voice came from his side.
Cassian didn’t turn; he could recognise Ryan’s voice anywhere.
"She was always... softer. Always running after you when we were young," Ryan continued. "At least that was the case until you stopped visiting... Then she finally noticed me. Wouldn’t stop clinging to her big foster brother."
Cassian hummed faintly. "Now she’s focused on me. Just like it’s supposed to be."
"Not that much," Ryan muttered. "She’s just performing... her duty... to family."
Cassian finally took a slow sip of his drink, his eyes never leaving her.
"Is that right?" he asked quietly. "Keep being her "foster" brother while you can. She won’t give a damn about you in the near future."
Ryan stiffened. He let out a dry chuckle and began to move away.
~~~
Isabelle laughed at something someone said. It was soft and controlled... A second too late, but still, everyone turned to watch.
Cassian’s gaze dropped to her hands.
They were still... too still... Like she was holding herself together.
His mind replayed it again. "Y-you know about the man I’m in a relationship with—"
He remembered the panic in her eyes, how she corrected herself, and ultimately lying to him... Again.
His mind replayed her again... coming out of that room with Ryan.
That tension... That suffocating silence and the way she looked at him... Like a stranger.
Cassian exhaled slowly. Maybe he had played detective all his life, but this wasn’t about identity.
Not yet.
This was about something far more interesting.
She was hiding something... Something big enough to make her afraid.
Something dangerous enough to make her lie in a room full of predators.
His lips curved faintly.
She was fire and sin dressed as an angel. And yet...
His fingers flexed slightly at his side. He could still feel it.
That warmth.
From earlier.
From her... The way she reacted to him.
The hitch in her breath, the trembling in her voice.
His gaze darkened.
You don’t feel like a lie... Isabelle.He kept wondering the storm she’ll unleash if he pushes further. The chaos she could cause.
Across the room, her eyes flickered— and for a brief second... They met his.
She froze.
Just for a fraction.
Barely noticeable. But he saw it.
Oh, he always saw it.
Cassian set his glass down. Then slowly, deliberately and with his final decision made.
He straightened, already moving toward her.
Run all you want...
You’ll still end up exactly where I want you.
~~~♧♧♧~~~
Yvette’s POV
I could feel it even without looking. Even without turning.
Cassian was watching me.
His burning gaze crawled across my skin like a warning I couldn’t escape.
Every laugh felt forced. Every word tasted wrong. Every second stretched too long.
Ryan knew I wasn’t Isabelle. Cassian suspected.
And the Quinns... they trusted me.
One mistake. That was all it would take.
One slip.
One wrong word.
One wrong reaction... And I’d die again.
I smiled at something another cousin said. I nodded and responded when needed, but... fuck, I didn’t even remember what the conversation was about.
Because my attention was elsewhere.
Him.
I could feel him getting closer.
Not rushing.
Not hesitating... his steps measured, just like everything he did.
My pulse spiked.
I told myself not to react, not to look. Don’t turn—
Too late.
"Enjoying the evening?" His voice came from behind me.
Low... Close... Too close.
I turned slowly, carefully dragging it out and then finally facing him.
Cassian stood there, his expression calm.
Too calm.
But his eyes... Those icy blue eyes... They weren’t calm at all.
"I should be asking you that," I replied smoothly, tilting my head slightly. "You’re the one who arrived late."
His gaze lingered on my face, his eyes unblinking—intense.
"I had something more interesting to attend to."
My stomach tightened. Was that a threat? Or a test?
I smiled anyway.
"More interesting than your own engagement party?"
"It depends," he said quietly.
"On what?"
His gaze dipped briefly to my lips, then back to my eyes.
"On who I find more interesting."
My breath hitched... Just slightly.
But he noticed.
Of course he did.
I forced myself to recover. "Well," I said lightly, "I hope you found what you were looking for."
Something flickered in his eyes. It was dark and consuming.
"Not yet."
The silence that followed was thick and heavy, stretching between us.
This was dangerous... He was dangerous.
I needed control.
Now.
"Tell me," I said, folding my arms slightly, "are you always this vague, or is this a special occasion?"
His lips curved faintly. "You tell me."
I held his gaze, inwardly squirming but not looking away.
"Alright," I said. "Let’s not play games then."
His expression didn’t change. But something in the air did.
"What do you want to know?" There, I said it.
A mistake?
Maybe.
But I needed to know how much damage had already been done.
Cassian stepped closer, unfortunately not enough to touch, and I didn’t know why that bothered me... and that was worse.
But I could feel the heat of him, and that was enough before he messed with my senses.
"Tell me something," he said softly. "Something only Isabelle Quinn would know."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
It was a trap... And I had already stepped into it.