The morning sun filtered through sheer curtains, casting a golden hue across the living room. Cassian stretched on the couch, the faint ache in his back reminding him that he'd slept in jeans. But for once, he didn't care.
From the kitchen, the scent of brewing coffee drifted in. He sat up and saw Raina moving around quietly, still in her robe, hair slightly messy from sleep. It was a scene that felt intimate. Domestic. Dangerous — because it made him crave a life that still felt out of reach.
"Morning," he said, voice husky.
She glanced over her shoulder. "You snore."
He grinned. "You kept me up pacing."
She raised a brow but said nothing, handing him a mug. Their fingers brushed. Too long. Too familiar.
"You don't have to play house just to prove a point," she said softly.
"I'm not," he replied, holding her gaze. "This is the first time in years I've woken up feeling like I'm exactly where I'm meant to be."
Raina hesitated. Her heart fluttered — not because of his words, but because she believed him. That was the problem.
The day moved slowly. Cassian spent hours helping Liam build a cardboard castle. Raina watched them, biting back tears more than once. This was all Liam had ever wanted — a father who stayed. A mother who didn't have to carry everything alone.
But later that evening, the peace shattered.
Raina's phone buzzed. A message. No name. Just:
"You think he's changed? Look deeper."
She froze.
Another message followed — a picture.
Cassian, entering a hotel last week. Alone. But the timestamp overlapped with the day he missed dinner with Liam.
Her chest tightened. She turned to look at Cassian, who was folding laundry with Liam like some domestic god.
It didn't make sense. He said he was at a board meeting. He hadn't mentioned a hotel.
"Everything okay?" he asked, noticing her face.
She forced a smile. "Yeah. Just tired."
But her mind was racing.
That night, after Liam was asleep, Raina stood on the balcony, staring at the photo. It could mean nothing. Or everything.
Cassian stepped out beside her. "You've been quiet."
She hesitated, then handed him the phone. "Care to explain?"
He took one look and stiffened. "Where did you get this?"
"Does it matter?"
He exhaled. "That day… I went to meet a private investigator."
Her brows lifted. "What?"
"I needed to make sure there were no custody issues. That I had legal ground to be part of Liam's life. I didn't want surprises."
"You couldn't just tell me?"
"I didn't want to drag you through more legal garbage unless I had to. I was trying to protect you."
Raina crossed her arms. "So your idea of honesty is lying by omission?"
"I was trying to do it right this time."
"But secrets are how we broke in the first place, Cassian!"
Silence fell between them like a curtain.
"I understand if you don't trust me yet," he said, voice low. "But I'm not hiding anymore. Ask me anything. I'll tell you everything."
She studied him. The old Cassian would've shut down, redirected, twisted the truth until she doubted herself.
But this man?
He looked scared.
And sincere.
"I need time," she whispered.
"You have it. All of it."
He reached out but didn't touch her — waiting for her to meet him halfway.
She didn't.
But she didn't walk away either.
And maybe that was enough for now.
Later that night, Raina sat beside Liam's bed, watching him sleep.
Cassian quietly stepped in. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine," she said. "But I'm not sure I am."
Cassian knelt beside her. "You don't have to be. Not alone."
She didn't reply.
He whispered, "I'm not perfect, Raina. I'm just trying to be better. For both of you."
She met his eyes — eyes she once loved, once feared, and now couldn't stop searching for answers in.
"Then prove it."
"I will," he said. "Every single day."
And as she looked at her son — their son — and then back at the man who had broken her and now was piecing himself back together, she made a silent vow:
To watch. To wait.
And maybe, just maybe… to hope.