Cassian stood at the edge of the hallway window, the city sprawling beneath him like a chessboard. The lights blinked in slow rhythms, cars moved like ants, and somewhere out there… she was preparing to walk into his web.
His hands were tucked deep in the pockets of his black coat, his knuckles aching from how tightly they had curled moments earlier. The room behind him was dim, quiet, smelling faintly of the black coffee he hadn't touched in hours. His mind was somewhere else. On someone else.
Her.
The girl with laughter in her voice and fire in her eyes. The one who didn't bend easily like the others. The one who hadn't looked twice at his money, his name, his tailored suits. The one who dared to walk past him — past him — like he was invisible.
Ziva.
He exhaled sharply, the name pulsing through his blood like a drug he couldn't quit.
She wasn't supposed to matter. Just another pretty girl in a world full of them. But from the moment he saw her—saw the chaos in her spirit, the untamed light in her smile—he knew. She would be his undoing. Or his beginning.
He hated how much he wanted her.
And he hated himself even more for what he had done to bring her closer.
Manipulating the best friend had been... easy. Pathetically easy, actually. Sweet little Lila, who wore her insecurities like perfume. All it took was a few conversations—gentle, calculated flattery, veiled concern, offers of "help" and "opportunity"—and she unraveled in his hands like soft ribbon. He never touched her, never had to. His words alone were enough.
He had planted the job idea like a seed, knowing Lila would water it with hope and pass it on. And she did. Like clockwork.
But then… she went silent. For weeks.
He clenched his jaw at the memory. Those days were a torment. His carefully designed plan suspended in uncertainty. Every night he'd pace these same polished floors, checking his phone, checking her profiles, waiting for a sign. Had she disappeared? Had she figured it out?
And then, like fate relenting, she reappeared.
"Still available," Lila had texted. Still available. He almost laughed when he read it. The irony. She had no idea she'd just handed her friend over to the wolf in the dark.
Tomorrow, at exactly seven, Ziva would walk into his home.
Into his world.
Into him.
Cassian moved from the window and sat slowly at the edge of the bed. The room had been prepared for weeks. Every detail arranged with surgical precision—the vacant position, the false recommendation, the renovated guest quarters she'd think were for her.
But they weren't.
They were for control. For monitoring. For safety.
Hers.
He would protect her. Even from herself, if it came to that.
He pressed his palms together, head bowed, breathing slow.
He knew it was wrong. Every part of it.
But love had never been gentle with him. It had always been cruel, obsessive, tangled in power and possession. And this time, it wasn't going to be any different.
She would hate him.
At first.
But hate was still intimacy. Still fire. Still something he could work with.
He didn't want a docile lover. He wanted her—exactly as she was. Loud. Bold. Rebellious. He wanted to break her down just enough to make her stay. Not out of fear. Not out of confusion.
But out of need.
Cassian leaned back, closing his eyes, imagining her voice echoing in the hallway, the smell of her perfume lingering in the elevator. Tomorrow, her shadow would fall across these walls. Tomorrow, she would sit across from him, unaware of the strings that led her here.
He would watch her closely.
He always had.
The cameras in Lila's apartment had been a last resort. A guilty one. But necessary. He'd seen the way Ziva touched things, the way she laughed when no one was looking, the way her fingers danced across her phone when she was deep in thought.
No one had ever made him feel like this.
Tomorrow, he would finally speak to her without layers between them.
Tomorrow, he would take what fate owed him.
But tonight…
He stood again, walking to the mirror, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt with calm precision. His face was blank. Only his eyes betrayed the storm within.
Tonight, he would wait. Let the darkness hold him one last time.
Because tomorrow, light was coming.
And her name… didn't even need to be said.
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