The dawn crept through the floor-to-ceiling windows, pale light washing over the tangled sheets and two bodies locked in restless sleep. But beneath the fragile calm, everything was fracturing.
Cassian stirred first, eyes snapping open to the sharp ache of betrayal burning in his chest. The night's passion now felt like a fragile veneer masking deeper fractures—trust cracked, promises broken.
Riven lay beside him, his expression unreadable but shadows of doubt flickering behind dark eyes. The air between them was heavy with unspoken truths and dangerous silences.
Cassian's voice was tight when he finally broke the quiet. "You lied."
Riven's jaw clenched, a flicker of guilt crossing his face, but his defiance remained. "I did what I had to."
The words ignited a storm between them—years of passion, power struggles, and obsession boiling over. Their hands clenched fists, yet desire still pulsed under the surface, twisting the pain into a maddening, aching hunger.
Cassian's fingers found Riven's wrist, but instead of gentle touch, there was a hard grip, a question hanging in the tense air—fight or surrender?
Riven met his gaze, a silent challenge blazing in his eyes. "What now?"
The answer was in their bodies, torn between rage and need, between breaking free and falling deeper into the velvet chains binding them.
In this shattered moment, they both knew—their bond was broken, but not beyond repair. Or destruction.