CASSIAN
My gaze drifted once more… and it found her.
It always fucking did.
A pulse of pride surged hot in my chest. This was my woman.
My Ayla.
My Bambolina.
For a heartbeat, under the weight of the lights, it felt like there was a crown on her head.
Maybe there was.
In this life, I'd been humbled… utterly, and by a woman… by her.
I turned back to the crowd with an air of balance floating around me. I inclined my head once more. "Thank you all for coming tonight," I began.
"It's an honour to be surrounded by people—loyal people—who see the angel you are…" I scratched a knuckle on my stubble, "…or maybe the brute and devil you are."
Soft laughter rippled through the gold-dripped ballroom.
"My life," I continued, voice calm and smooth, "has never been built on luck. It was built on power. Decisions. Hard ones. Bloody ones." A pause. "And loyalty."
A few knowing nods in the crowd. They understood that much.
