Mira didn't remember how long she stayed standing in the cold driveway after the gate of the Serrano Estate closed behind her. Her father's final words still echoed in her ears, so calm, so measured, so final, that she felt like the ground beneath her had become unfamiliar. She finally moved only when the wind picked up, stinging her eyes and forcing her to wipe her cheeks.
She had nowhere to go. Not anymore.
Her phone buzzed in her palm, startling her. She glanced down, half expecting it to be Livia or her mother asking if she was okay.
But it was a name she did not expect to see.
Cassian Draymond.
Her breath caught. Of all times… why now?
She opened the message.
Cassian: I'll handle everything in the media.
No greeting. No explanation. No softness.
Just a statement. A promise. A responsibility.
Her eyes blurred again, and she typed slowly, each word trembling.
Mira: I'm… I'm disowned.
I'm no longer the heiress of Serrano Empire.
She didn't add anything else. She didn't have the strength to.
She pressed send and lowered her head, letting one tear slip free and fall onto the back of her hand.
Minutes passed. Enough that she thought he wasn't going to reply. Enough that she wondered if maybe, despite the baby growing inside her, he'd decide it wasn't his problem anymore.
Then her screen lit up.
Cassian: Come to me.
Draymond Tower. Private residence level.
I'll take care of you.
She read the message again and again. The words were not warm, but they were steady, grounded, nothing like the chaos she had walked out of. Nothing like the ice-cold dismissal her father had thrown at her.
He wasn't telling her to come because he wanted her.
He was telling her to come because he had decided she was now his responsibility.
It hurt, but it was also the only lifeline she had left.
Mira swallowed hard and typed one final message.
Mira: Okay. I'll come.
She didn't know what life waited for her there. She didn't know what Cassian intended beyond the duty he had imposed on himself. But she had no other path, not tonight.
She turned back toward the estate for the last time.
She still had to pack.
When Mira walked into the house again, the tension was thick enough to feel on her skin. Livia stood at the base of the stairs with red eyes, and Elena, her mother, lingered near the living room doorway, her hands clasped tightly, too tightly, to look composed.
"Mira," Livia breathed, rushing toward her. "Where did you go? Why did Dad… why did he say all that? You didn't even fight him, you just.."
"I'm going to pack," Mira said softly, brushing past her and heading up the stairs.
Livia followed immediately, voice shaking. "Pack? Pack for what? Mira, what do you mean pack?"
Mira didn't answer until they reached her room. She stared at the familiar space, the lavender curtains, the framed photos, the neat bookshelf, all things that had once signified security.
Now they were just memories of a life she wasn't allowed to have anymore.
She opened her suitcase with quiet hands.
Livia's voice cracked. "Mira, stop. Tell me what's going on. Where are you going?"
Mira folded the first set of clothes slowly before answering. "To the person who said he would take responsibility."
Livia froze. "You mean… him? Cassian Draymond?" Her voice shook with disbelief and fear. "No. No, Mira, you can't. You can't go to him. Dad will.. Dad will go insane if he finds out."
"Dad already threw me out," Mira said gently, refusing to let her voice break. "There is nothing more he can do."
"But that doesn't mean you have to leave!" Livia cried, grabbing her hand. "Stay here. I'll talk to Mom. We'll convince him together. You don't have to run to Cassian-"
"I'm not running to him." Mira closed the suitcase and finally lifted her head. "I'm going because I have nowhere else to go. And because… it's his responsibility now."
Livia's eyes welled again. "You're going because of the baby, aren't you?"
Mira looked away.
Livia shook her head hopelessly. "I can't believe this. You're leaving us for him. For them. For the Draymonds."
Mira stepped forward and pulled her sister into a tight hug. "I'm not leaving you. I'm just… going somewhere else for now."
"But I don't want you to go," Livia whispered into her shoulder. "I want you here. I want things to be normal again."
Mira closed her eyes. "I know. But nothing is normal anymore."
The bedroom door creaked, and Elena stood there, already crying.
"Mira…" Her voice was soft, trembling. "Your father is stubborn. Once he says something, it's like stone. But I-" Her breath hitched. "I don't want you to go alone."
Mira rushed into her mother's arms. Elena held her tightly, stroking her hair like she had when Mira was a child.
"You're strong," Elena said quietly. "Stronger than your father knows. This doesn't have to be your end. Maybe… maybe it's the start of something else."
Mira felt her throat close. She didn't feel strong. She felt terrified. Yet hearing her mother say it gave her the strength she needed to stand on her own.
"Where will you stay?" Elena asked.
Mira hesitated, but answered honestly. "Cassian asked me to come to Draymond Tower."
Elena's breath stuttered with fear, but her arms tightened instead of loosening. "If he said he'll take care of you… then go. If he gave you his word, even as a Draymond… then go."
Livia immediately shook her head. "No! Mom, how can you say that? She's going to the enemy!"
"She's going to the father of her child," Elena said, gentle but firm. "And right now… that matters more than the rivalry between two old men."
Mira couldn't help it- she started crying again.
Her mother cupped her face. "You'll find your way. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But you will."
Those words, warm and fragile, sank into Mira's chest like a quiet promise. She hugged both of them again before lifting her suitcase.
"I'll call," Mira whispered. "Every day."
"You better," Livia muttered, trying to wipe her tears angrily. "If you don't, I'll find Draymond Tower myself and drag you back."
Mira smiled weakly. "I know."
She walked down the staircase for the last time, her mother and sister watching her like she was taking a piece of their hearts with her.
Maybe she was.
The driver sent by Cassian arrived exactly when he said he would. A black car with tinted windows. No crest. No symbol. Nothing that screamed Draymond,nothing that could attract media.
Mira got in quietly, her suitcase settled beside her. She watched the estate gates open for her once more, but this time, there was no comfort in crossing them.
Only the ache of leaving behind everything she had ever known.
The city blurred past her window as the car drove toward the towering glass structure of Draymond Tower. It loomed against the skyline like a silent, unapproachable force, cold, powerful, untouchable.
Just like Cassian himself.
When she stepped out, a private elevator was already waiting. A guard nodded once, typed a code, and stepped back.
"Private residence floor," he said. "He asked us to bring you straight up."
Mira swallowed hard. Her fingers trembled slightly as she stepped into the elevator alone.
The higher the elevator climbed, the more her heartbeat stuttered.
Was she doing the right thing?
Was she walking into another mistake?
When the doors opened, she found Cassian standing near the large window of his penthouse, overlooking the city lights. He didn't turn immediately. He didn't rush to her. He didn't say her name.
But when he finally looked back, his eyes swept over her, in a way that wasn't gentle, but it wasn't dismissive either.
"You came," he said simply.
Mira nodded once. "You told me to."
He studied her quietly before speaking again. "You told me what happened with your father."
She looked down, unable to meet his eyes.
Cassian's voice wasn't soft, but it wasn't harsh either. "You're under my responsibility now. I meant what I said."
Mira's fingers tightened around the handle of her suitcase. "I don't expect anything from you."
"I didn't say you needed to expect anything," Cassian replied. "But I take responsibility for what I create."
Her pulse skipped.
He wasn't talking about her.
He was talking about the child.
He motioned slightly. "Set your bags down. We'll talk after."
Mira hesitated. "Cassian… I don't know what you expect from me being here."
Cassian's jaw shifted, a subtle movement. "I don't expect anything. I said I would take care of you. And I will."
The words weren't emotional.
They were a vow.
A binding one.
Mira exhaled, the last piece of her former life falling away.
She had stepped into a new one, one shaped by an unborn child, an impossible rivalry, and a man who didn't offer warmth but offered something else, Security.
Responsibility.
A place to stay when she had none.
It wasn't love, Not yet.
..Maybe not ever, But tonight, it was enough.