Week 10, Friday Night
Lyra's POV – Suite 39A
The elevator moved too quietly, as if the air inside had been taught to hold its breath.
Lyra smoothed her coat once more, though it didn't need adjusting. When the doors opened, no assistant greeted her this time. Just the hush of carpet and the soft glow of downlights along the corridor.
Letizia Dorne had left the door ajar.
She didn't rise when Lyra stepped in. She sat already at the table. No centerpiece, no servers, only two place settings and a stillness that hummed with the echo of old choices.
"You look rested," Letizia said, pouring water into a glass. "That's good."
Lyra nodded and moved to sit.
"You didn't have to come," Letizia added. "But I'm glad you did."
"I had questions," Lyra replied.
"Then we're even."
They didn't rush into the meal. For several minutes, they simply sat. Not exactly in silence. Cutlery shifted faintly, and the radiator clicked every now and then. But the quiet between them had softened since their first meeting.
Letizia spoke first. "I assume you've heard some of the noise around the office."
Lyra gave a faint nod. "Bits of it."
"Well, let me fill in the parts worth knowing." Her tone was dry but not unkind. "The Virelux merger proposal fell through. Not because of incompetence. Because of mistrust. Cassian pulled out. Said he wouldn't bind our company's future to a boardroom where his personal life was being used as leverage."
Lyra blinked.
Letizia set down her fork. "It wasn't just about you, but you were part of it. There were whispers,'a new assistant,' 'a scandal,' 'a pregnancy.' The old guard tried to corner him. Thought they could scare him into finishing the deal and formalizing the engagement."
Lyra's fingers tightened under the table. "And?"
"He canceled the engagement."
"I didn't mourn it," Letizia added, voice cool. "Cassian's taste has finally improved."
No fanfare. Just the sharp slice of consequence.
"I wasn't consulted," Letizia added. "But I didn't stop him either."
Lyra looked down. "I didn't want him to destroy everything."
Letizia's gaze didn't soften. "He didn't. Not yet. But he's changing the rules, and that always draws blood."
They sat in that knowledge for a moment.
Letizia leaned back. "You didn't inherit him. You interrupted him."
Lyra blinked again.
"That's not an insult. Most of us live in the wake of legacy. You walked into its current and didn't drown."
"I didn't want to be here," Lyra said quietly. "Not like this."
"But you are. And from what I can tell, you're not flinching."
Letizia's voice gentled further. "I've seen Cassian lead through crises. I've seen him dismantle threats. But I've never seen him choose someone over the company."
Lyra said nothing.
"That's why I invited you," Letizia continued. "Not to intimidate you. Not even to protect him. I needed to know what kind of future he's risking everything for."
"And?"
Letizia offered a faint smile. "You're sharp. You're afraid. You're still standing. That's more than most."
Then she added, "And you're carrying the next generation. That matters, whether you want it to or not."
Lyra's hand hovered unconsciously near her abdomen.
"Let's eat," Letizia said gently. "You've got a child to feed. And I think you've earned dinner."
---
Cassian's POV – Lobby Outside Suite 39A
He didn't go up. Letizia had asked him not to. Said if Lyra was going to stand beside him, she needed to be seen on her own.
So he waited.
Not out of obedience, but out of respect.
The lobby was quiet at this hour. He stood near the window wall, phone untouched, hands deep in his coat pockets.
When the elevator finally dinged, he turned.
Lyra stepped out alone, her coat folded over one arm, her eyes clear but unreadable.
He didn't move to her.
She came anyway, stopping just close enough that her presence felt like gravity.
"How did it go?" he asked.
"She fed me."
He almost smiled. "A mercy."
"She told me about the merger. And the engagement."
Cassian's jaw moved, barely. "I figured she would."
"She didn't ask about the baby. Not directly."
"But she knows."
"She knows everything."
He nodded.
"She said I interrupted you," Lyra added.
"That sounds like her."
"I think she respects you more now," Lyra said softly. "Because of what you gave up."
"I didn't give up anything that mattered."
She studied him, long and silent.
"You don't have to do any of this alone," he said.
Her throat worked around that. Then she nodded once.
And for tonight, that was enough