Cassian stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of his penthouse, the city lights a kaleidoscope of distorted color reflected in the rain-streaked glass. His fingers clenched around a crystal tumbler, the amber liquor inside untouched. Behind him, the silence had teeth.
Riven leaned against the doorway, shirt wrinkled, his eyes shadowed. "You called me here," he said softly. "So talk."
Cassian's shoulders tensed. "And yet you still came."
"I always come," Riven replied. "Even when I shouldn't."
Silence settled like ash between them.
Cassian turned slowly, gaze sharp as a blade. "You sold me out."
Riven flinched. "I didn't—"
"Don't lie," Cassian growled, stepping forward. "That gallery in Prague? The painting I wanted gone before the auction? Someone leaked my offer to the board."
Riven's jaw clenched. "I never—"
"You were the only one who knew." Cassian's voice dropped, rich with fury and hurt. "So if it wasn't betrayal, what was it?"
Riven's fingers curled into fists. "Survival."
That one word cracked the air between them.
"I've lived in shadows my whole life, Cassian," Riven whispered. "I've fought tooth and nail for every breath, every scrap of freedom. You—" his voice trembled, "—you were the first man who made me feel like I didn't have to fight."
"And then you ran," Cassian said, bitterly. "The moment things got real."
"No," Riven stepped forward, eyes blazing. "I ran because you made me feel caged."
The words were a slap. Cassian's eyes narrowed, but behind the glint of fury was pain.
A slow breath passed between them. The city crackled with lightning outside.
"I don't know how to love like this," Riven admitted. "But I want to. I want you. Even if it burns."
Cassian stared at him, heart in his throat. "Then come here."
Riven moved. The distance closed in heartbeats.
When their hands met, it wasn't gentle. Fingers tangled, breath hitched, and the kiss that followed was sharp, desperate — a collision of pride and longing.
Cassian pulled Riven closer, their foreheads pressed together.
"Don't make me choose between power and you," Cassian whispered.
"You don't have to," Riven said, voice low. "But if you want all of me... you'll have to let some walls fall too."
In the silence that followed, something fragile yet vital shifted.
No more masks. No more pretending.
Just fire and fracture—and the chance to rebuild.
Together.
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