Page 117 of A Sinful Gravity

In the quiet house, Luna's voice drifted from the half-open study door, tight with tension.

"Chloe, I know. But I'm not ready... the way he's changing scares me. I'm afraid this is just a dream."

I froze on the stairs. Inside, Chloe was on the phone with Luna. Luna's voice held a struggle I'd never heard before.

Chloe's voice was low but clear. "Luna, the longer you wait, the worse it gets—if you're planning to let them know they're father and daughter."

The words slammed into me.

Father and daughter.

They detonated in my brain.

My hand gripped the railing, knuckles white. My stomach twisted violently. My heart nearly burst.

Laila... father... daughter...

All the doubts I'd buried, the possibilities I'd dismissed—they shredded my fragile sanity in one second.

My blood ran backwards.

I'd missed five years of her life. Let her grow up alone in a foreign country, in the rain, without me.

I stood frozen in the stairwell shadows, a stone statue about to crumble, staring at that study door.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Cassian & Luna

Cassian

The world tilted. My fingers gripped the armrest, knuckles bone-white, barely keeping me upright.

Laila... was mine.

My heart stopped. Then it slammed against my ribs like it wanted to break free.

That child who wrapped her arms around my neck, calling me Cassian, whose bright-eyed smile made me willing to take a bullet for her. My blood ran through her veins.

A wild, feverish joy tore through my chest. I knew it!

That inexplicable closeness, that soul-deep tremor I felt looking at her—it wasn't some damn "fate." It was blood screaming from the depths.

Then fury crashed over me, scorching enough to incinerate everything.

Luna had hidden this from me for six years. Six goddamn years. How dare she?

I'd missed her first cry in the cradle. Missed her first wobbly steps. When she was sick, I wasn't there. When she needed a father...

"I wish you were my dad."

Laila's words from moments ago echoed in my ears. Guilt and rage tangled until I couldn't breathe.

I'd lost so much time with Laila.

Luna had countless chances to tell me. But she didn't. Was she planning to let that bastard Seb be Laila's father instead?

I remembered seeing him holding my daughter at our reunion, calling her sweetheart while I stood there like a fool.