Page 63 of A Sinful Gravity

"What?"

He didn't answer right away, studied the photo for a few seconds, then broke into an admiring smile.

"I saw her in London. Last year, a partner dragged me to a performance. I remember it clearly. She was incredible. After it ended, everyone at our table stood and applauded." He paused. "What was her name again?"

"Luna Crawford." My heart skipped a beat. I'd been so close to finding her.

Marco froze, then looked at me. "Wait, this is the woman you've been searching for six years?"

I nodded silently.

"Jesus..." Marco looked at the photo again. "If only I'd paid more attention to the cast list."

"It's my fault." I pressed my temples.

Marco leaned forward, voice turning serious. "But honestly, Cassian. Seeing her on stage versus in a photo—totally different."

I looked up at him.

"In the photo, she's just smiling." Marco pointed at the screen. "But on stage, she was luminous. You know that feeling? When she danced Giselle—the naive girl in Act One, thedesperate spirit in Act Two—completely different people. She pulled the entire theater into her world."

"She's someone born for the stage. On stage, she's truly alive. That kind of vitality—you can't fake it."

Vitality.

The word pierced me like a needle.

What did she look like on stage? When she danced Giselle—that naive girl, that desperate spirit—what was she like?

I didn't know.

I only knew what she looked like at home. Sitting quietly. Smiling politely.

That wasn't her at all.

That was the role her mother had taught her to play.

And I'd demanded she keep playing it.

"Cassian?" Marco was watching me. "You okay?"

I snapped back, realized my hands were shaking.

I'd wanted her to fit the CEO's wife image. Never asked what she wanted to be.

And after leaving me, she'd finally started living as herself.

"Marco," I spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"If a woman never dares to be herself around you." My breathing grew heavy. "Does that mean you don't deserve her at all?"

Marco was quiet for a few seconds.

Then he stood and clapped my shoulder.

"That's a question for her," he said. "But if you're thinking about it at all, you're ahead of most men who never do. And at least right now, you still have a chance."