(Cassian's POV)
Cassian sat in the small, dimly lit office he had turned into his temporary war room.
Papers were stacked neatly in piles—incident reports, legal correspondence, security camera footage screenshots—all pieces of a fight he never wanted but now had no choice but to win.
His phone buzzed. Cassian snatched it up like a man starved for good news.
"It's done," the private investigator said simply.
Cassian's pulse leapt.
"We confirmed Nicole's boyfriend."
Cassian closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling slowly. "Send me everything."
Minutes later, his inbox lit up with a detailed report: photos, timestamps, eyewitness accounts. Nicole—the woman screaming about loyalty and betrayal—had been sneaking around with a man named Jared Matthews for months. Jared wasn't just a fling; they had been seen together often, meeting at hotels, slipping out of private dinners, even traveling together once.
Cassian stared at the evidence, a bitter taste rising in his throat.
She had been lying from the beginning.
Without hesitating, he forwarded the entire report to Nicole's parents' email addresses, along with a single sentence:
"Before you accuse me again, please get your facts straight."
Cassian leaned back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes.
It took less than twenty-four hours for the explosion to come.
The next morning, while sitting with his lawyer preparing affidavits, Cassian's phone buzzed furiously with calls and texts.
Nicole's father had gone on a furious public rampage—storming into Cassian's father's office building, shouting accusations, trying to drag Cassian's name through the mud in front of investors and staff.
Nicole's mother wasn't far behind, calling Cassian's personal phone repeatedly, leaving voicemails filled with venomous threats about "exposing" him.
It was messy. It was loud. And—most importantly—it was all happening in public.
Exactly what Cassian's legal team had been waiting for.
Within hours, their lawyer filed emergency petitions for a restraining order against both Nicole and her parents, using the violent threats, public harassment, and ongoing attempts to defame him as evidence.
The judge, seeing the mountain of documentation—the emails, the security footage, the witness statements, and now the public outbursts—fast-tracked the case.
By the end of the week, Cassian was granted full protective orders against Nicole and her family.
No contact.
No appearing at his home, workplace, or any mutual public space.
Violations would result in immediate arrest.
And—because Nicole's accusations had started a chain of legal chaos—the judge also granted permission for Cassian's lawyers to push for an invasive prenatal DNA test to be scheduled within the month.
Consent or not.
Nicole was now legally obligated to comply.
Cassian sat in his lawyer's office, the final ruling trembling slightly in his hands.
It should have felt like victory.
Instead, all he felt was the crushing weight of everything he'd lost.
He drove home that night in silence.
City lights blurred past, his mind drowning in memories.
Sienna's smile. Sienna's laughter. Sienna's furious, tear-filled eyes the last time she looked at him at the office.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter until his knuckles turned white.
He had won the battle.
But he wasn't sure if he had already lost the war.
The next morning, Cassian stood outside the courthouse, the cold autumn air sharp against his skin. He watched as Nicole, pale and furious, was escorted out by her own legal team. She refused to even glance his way.
Good.
He didn't owe her anything anymore.
Cassian slipped his hands into his pockets and turned away, walking toward a future that felt terrifyingly empty without Sienna in it.
He went straight to his parents' house afterward.
Jonathan and Margo were waiting in the living room, both looking exhausted but relieved.
"It's over," Cassian said simply, dropping the court documents onto the coffee table.
Jonathan reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Proud of you, son."
Margo pulled him into a hug. "Now," she whispered fiercely, "go get your girl back."
Cassian squeezed his eyes shut, the words hitting harder than any punch.
He had spent so much time fighting battles that he had forgotten the most important one.
Sienna.
That night, he sat in the dark of his apartment, staring at his phone.
Her contact sat at the top of his favorites list, untouched for days.
He typed out a message.
Deleted it.
Typed another.
Deleted that too.
Finally, he put the phone down, burying his face in his hands.
How do you fix something when you're the one who broke it?
He didn't know.
But tomorrow, he would start.
Even if she slammed the door in his face.
Even if she never forgave him.
He would show up.
For her.
For the love he still carried like a scar stitched into his bones.
Tomorrow.
He would fight for her the way he should have from the beginning.