Zara's POV
The man's eyes opened. They were gray. Storm gray. The kind of gray that made you think of winter mornings and sharp edges and things that could cut you if you got too close.
Not brown like Jason's. Not soft or familiar or safe. I scrambled backward on the bed, the sheet clutched to my chest, my heart hammering so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.
"Who are you?" My voice came out as a broken whisper.
He didn't move from the chair, just watched me with those cold, assessing eyes. A slight smile played at the corner of his mouth, like he found my panic amusing.
"You don't remember?" His voice was deeper than Jason's, rougher around the edges. "You seemed quite certain last night."
Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God.
I looked down at myself. I was still wearing the red dress, though it was wrinkled and damp. My shoes were by the door. Nothing else seemed disturbed, but my memory was a blur of rain and tears and strong arms.
"What happened?" I asked, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer. He stood, and I realized how tall he was. Taller than Jason, broader in the shoulders, built like someone who did more than sit behind a desk all day. He wore black pants and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing forearms marked with what looked like scars.
"You stumbled into my room, soaking wet and crying." He moved closer, each step deliberate and controlled. "You threw yourself at me, actually. Called me Jason. Seemed quite desperate for comfort."
Heat flooded my face. "I didn't, I wouldn't.."
"But you did." He stopped at the foot of the bed, his gaze pinning me in place. "You looked like a woman begging to be ruined. So I didn't stop you."
The room spun. I pressed my hand to my mouth, fighting the urge to be sick.
"No. No, I would never.."
"Are you sure about that?" He tilted his head, studying me like I was something interesting under a microscope. "You were quite convincing. All that pain, all that need. It was almost beautiful, watching you break."
Tears burned my eyes. "Please tell me nothing happened."
"Would you believe me if I said nothing did?"
"Did it?"
The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. He seemed to be enjoying this, my terror, my shame. Finally, he shrugged.
"You passed out before anything interesting could happen. Pity, really."
Relief crashed through me so hard my hands shook. "Then why would you say.."
"Because you believed it." His smile was cruel now, sharp as broken glass. "That's the difference between guilty and innocent, isn't it? You were so ready to believe the worst of yourself."
I hated him. In that moment, I hated this stranger more than I'd ever hated anyone.
"Who are you?"
"Cassian." He said it like I should know the name, like it should mean something.
And then it clicked.
The twin. Jason's twin brother. The one he never talked about, the one whose name made their mother's face tighten at family dinners. The black sheep. The dangerous one.
"You're Jason's brother."
"Half brother," Cassian corrected, his voice sharp. "Important distinction. I'm the one our father got right the first time, before he met Jason's perfect little mother and had his golden child."
The bitterness in his voice was thick enough to taste.
"Why are you here?"
"This is my wing of the house." He gestured around the room. "Has been for years. Jason just never bothered to tell you I existed, did he?"
He hadn't. In five years of marriage, Jason had mentioned a brother exactly once, saying only that they didn't speak.
"I should go." I started to stand, my legs unsteady.
"Yes, you should. But I don't think you'll make it far."
"What does that.."
The door slammed open. Jason stood in the doorway, still in the same clothes from last night, his face red with rage. Tessa was right behind him, fully dressed now, her expression twisted with false concern.
"I knew it," Jason snarled. "I knew you were a lying whore."
The words hit like a physical blow. I stepped back, nearly tripping over my own feet.
"Jason, I can explain.."
"Explain what? That you slept with my brother the same night you caught me?" He moved into the room, his hands clenched into fists. "That you came running to him like some desperate slut?"
"It wasn't like that!"
"She was in his bed, Jason," Tessa added sweetly, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "I mean, what else could it be? She's clearly been having an affair."
"No! I thought, I was confused, I didn't know.."
"You didn't know?" Jason laughed, the sound harsh and ugly. "You accidentally ended up in Cassian's room? In his bed? How stupid do you think I am?"
"You were with Tessa!" The words exploded out of me. "In our bed! With my best friend!"
"That's different."
"How is it different?"
"Because you drove me to it!" Jason's voice rose to a shout. "Years of your pathetic neediness, your constant weakness. I needed someone strong, someone who actually wanted me. You have no right to judge me when you went and did the same thing!"
"I didn't do anything!"
"Then why are you here?" Tessa moved closer, her eyes glittering with triumph. "Why are you half dressed in his room? Face it, Zara. You're not the victim you pretend to be. You're just as bad as the rest of us."
I looked at Cassian, desperate for him to say something, to tell them the truth. He was leaning against the wall now, arms crossed, watching the whole scene with detached amusement.
"Tell them," I pleaded. "Tell them nothing happened."
Cassian's smile was slow and dangerous. "But something did happen, didn't it? You came to me. You wanted me."
"No!"
"You begged me to make you forget him."
"Stop lying!"
Jason lunged forward and grabbed my arm, his fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. "Five years I wasted on you. Five years of pretending you were enough, that you could be what I needed. And this is how you repay me?"
"Let go!" I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.
"You're pathetic. You were always pathetic. I should have left you years ago."
"Then why didn't you?" Tears streamed down my face. "Why stay if I was so terrible?"
"Because I felt sorry for you!" Jason's face was inches from mine now, his breath hot and angry. "Because you had nothing, no one, and I thought maybe I could fix you. But you can't fix broken Zara. You're just broken."
His hand moved to my throat, not squeezing but resting there, a clear threat.
"Jason, you're scaring me."
"Good. Maybe fear will teach you what love couldn't."
A hand appeared on Jason's shoulder, strong fingers gripping hard enough to make him wince. Cassian had moved so fast I hadn't seen it happen. One moment he was across the room, the next he was right there, his body a wall between Jason and me.
"Let her go." Cassian's voice was quiet, but something in it made the air go cold.
"This doesn't concern you."
"When you put your hands on a woman in my room, it concerns me."
"She's my wife."
"Was your wife." Cassian's grip tightened, and I saw Jason's face go pale. "Past tense. Or are you too stupid to realize she's done with you?"
"Get off me." Jason tried to pull away, but Cassian held firm.
"You want to hurt someone? Hurt me." Cassian leaned in close, his voice dropping to a whisper that I could barely hear. "Touch her again and I'll kill you."
The words hung in the air like smoke.
Jason froze. Actually froze, his whole body going rigid.
"You're insane," he breathed.
"Yes." Cassian smiled, and it was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen. "We both know I am. So let's see if you're brave enough to test me."
Tessa grabbed Jason's other arm, pulling him back. "Come on, baby. She's not worth it. Let her have him. They deserve each other."
Jason let himself be pulled away, but his eyes never left Cassian's face. The hatred there was so intense it felt like heat radiating off him.
"This isn't over," Jason said.
"It never is with you." Cassian released him with a slight shove. "Now get out before I forget we share blood."
Jason and Tessa backed toward the door. At the threshold, Jason turned to me one last time.
"You'll regret this, Zara. Both of you will."
Then they were gone, their footsteps echoing down the hallway. I sagged against the wall, my legs finally giving out. Cassian caught me easily, his hands steady on my arms.
"Why did you do that?" I whispered. "Why help me?"
He looked down at me, those gray eyes unreadable.
"Because I hate him more than you could possibly understand."
And in that moment, watching the shadows move across his face, I realized the truth.
Whatever existed between these brothers, it was deeper than rivalry. Darker than jealousy. It was the kind of hatred that could burn down worlds. And I'd just walked right into the middle of it.