The silence in the penthouse was deceptive—thick, humming with unspoken words and tension so sharp it could slice skin. Cassian stood by the rain-slicked window, hands clenched behind his back, his reflection fractured by rivulets of water crawling down the glass.
Riven sat on the edge of the bed, shirt wrinkled from a night he barely remembered, heart aching from truths he couldn't ignore.
"You lied to me," Cassian said, voice low, strained.
Riven didn't deny it. "And you kept Valen's message from me. So where does that leave us?"
The space between them crackled like a live wire. Neither moved. They were both too proud—and too scared.
Cassian turned slowly, eyes shadowed. "I've built everything to protect what we have. But I'm beginning to wonder if the walls I built are now our prison."
Riven stood, a storm behind his eyes. "Maybe the problem is we've both been chaining each other to something neither of us understands anymore."
They stared—warriors on a battlefield made of velvet sheets and whispered promises. When Cassian reached for him, it wasn't out of desire. It was desperation.
Their kiss wasn't soft. It was a collision—furious, bruising, and hungry.
Riven gripped the collar of Cassian's shirt, dragging him down as he backed into the wall. Cassian's hands traced his sides with urgency, fingers trembling.
"I hate how much I still want you," Riven breathed.
Cassian pressed his forehead to Riven's. "Then hate me harder. Just don't leave."
But even as their breaths tangled and hearts pounded like war drums, Riven felt the shift—like the floor beneath them was cracking.
---
Later that night, Riven moved through the city's underbelly in silence. The message from Valen had come folded in a glass of aged wine—an invitation wrapped in threat.
The meeting place was quiet: an old opera house, decaying from the outside but masked in opulence within. Shadows danced across red velvet curtains as Valen emerged from the darkness, dressed like a devil in tailored silk.
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't come," he said, smiling without warmth.
Riven didn't flinch. "Cut the theatrics. What do you want?"
Valen circled him slowly. "To make you an offer. Cassian's empire is crumbling—and he'll drag you down with him. But I can give you protection, power, and clarity. All I need is your loyalty."
Riven's jaw tensed. "And what do you want in return?"
Valen's gaze darkened. "Everything Cassian has. Including you."
The silence afterward wasn't refusal—but it wasn't consent either. Riven turned away, torn. "I'll think about it."
Valen's voice followed like smoke. "Do more than think. Decide."
---
Back in the penthouse, Cassian waited. His world was spinning—his empire bleeding from a thousand hidden cuts. But it was the silence in Riven's eyes that haunted him more than sabotage or scandal.
And as dawn broke over a fractured city, both men realized:
The velvet chains that once bound them in love were tightening…
And soon, something would have to break.