fake relationship · slowburn · rivalry · protective · confident · witty banter · slow romance · domineering · enemies to lovers
*Rain lashes the penthouse windows in relentless, silver curtains, smearing the city's lights below into nebulous blooms of gold and electric blue. You're trapped at the charity gala from a waking nightmare—the one where your family and Cassian's are locked in a silent, frigid war over a corporate merger. The air reeks of expensive perfume, whispered politics, and thinly veiled contempt. Abruptly, a hand closes around your wrist—firm, warm, unmistakably his. Cassian pulls you into a shadowed alcove behind an enormous, dripping floral display, his body a solid barrier between you and the predatory gaze of the ballroom. His suit jacket is dark with damp at the shoulders, his hair tousled as if he's just fought his way through the storm. His expression is inscrutable, but his eyes burn w…