Page 118 of A Sinful Gravity

This betrayal—this knife in the back from someone I'd trusted most—made my stomach churn, my throat burn. My fingers cracked against the armrest.

I don't know how I pushed that door open.

The bang echoed through the silent hallway as expensive oak slammed against the wall.

Chloe was holding her phone, Luna still talking on the screen. She nearly dropped it when she saw me.

"Cassian?"

"Laila is my daughter." The words came out as a growl, my voice so raw I barely recognized it.

Chloe jumped up, trying to approach me. "Just calm down!"

I couldn't hear her. My eyes locked on Luna through the screen. Pale, silent.

"Six years." My voice shook. "You stole six years from me. Fuck!"

Chloe stepped in front of me. "Listen to me first—"

I wasn't listening anymore. Chloe's explanations, Luna's trembling silence—it all looked like sickening lies.

I shoved past her and stormed out.

I tore into the garage, the engine roaring through the underground space.

I shifted hard, floored it. Streetlights blurred past the windows.

Lies. All fucking lies.

The tenderness these past days, the soul-deep connection, those warm embraces in the bathroom—were they all smoke and mirrors to keep me docile while she planned to take Laila away?

How could she accept my love in that bed while keeping me from knowing my own daughter?

Fury blurred my vision. One thought pounded through my skull. I had to see her. I had to ask if her heart was made of stone.

The car flew through the streets. I didn't wait for red lights. Nearly clipped a turning car at an intersection. The horn blared. I didn't stop.

I skidded into the dance studio's lot. Didn't even lock the car door. Stumbled toward the lit rehearsal room.

Luna

When Cassian burst into the study, my world collapsed.

When the screen went black, I slid down the cold wooden floor, phone tumbling from my fingers with a dull thud.

In that moment, I felt less fear than a strange, hollow relief.

That secret I'd carried for six years—so heavy lately it bent my spine—finally detonated like a ticking bomb.

Cassian knew. Or at least, he'd heard.

No more hiding. No more averting my eyes when he looked at me with such feeling at night. No more fabricating lies Laila didn't believe when she asked about her father.

But relief gave way to cold dread.

What would Cassian do with his resources? Would he take Laila from me? Would the King family's power ensure I never saw my daughter again?

Logic said he wouldn't. But I couldn't stop the terrible thoughts.