Page 67 of A Sinful Gravity

He glanced at Cassian once before walking out.

Just the two of us left in the dressing room.

I took a deep breath, set down the ice pack, and stood up.

"There's a café nearby," I said. "Let's go. Don't want to disturb people here."

Cassian nodded, stepped aside to let me pass.

The café was across from the Royal Ballet—small, quiet. Not many people at this hour. We found a corner table.

A server came to take our order.

"Want to try our Americano, sir?"

"No Americano." Cassian looked at the menu. "Latte, light sugar, extra milk. Switch hers to oat milk. She's lactose intolerant. And add a red velvet cake."

I froze.

The server looked at me. I nodded.

Cassian ordered black coffee for himself.

After the server left, I looked at him.

"How did you know?"

"Back then, you made me breakfast every morning. Your coffee was always a latte, always oat milk." He paused. "I just never mentioned that I'd noticed."

I looked down and said nothing.

The coffee came quickly. I cradled the latte—perfect temperature, smooth foam. One sip—oat milk's sweetness mixed with coffee's gentle bitterness.

Exactly how I liked it.

"Luna." He spoke.

I looked up.

"I've been thinking about what you said that day." He said. "You said I never asked about you, never tried to know you. You were right."

He paused, real guilt pooling in his eyes. "I thought possessing you was the same as loving you. I was wrong. I hurt you, made you compromise yourself over and over."

He stopped, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Maybe these past years abroad were hard for you, but the moment we met, I demanded forgiveness." He said. "Last time I couldn't even control myself and..."

I turned away and looked out the window.

"Luna." His voice dropped lower. "I'm sorry. Not just for that night. For everything. For not believing you, for not seeing you. For all the self-righteous, stupid things I did."

I felt emotions churning inside.

"You asked me here just to say this?"

"No." Cassian took a deep breath and continued. "I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness. But I want to... make amends. Not by forcing you, not by making you come back. I just want Laila to have a better life."

He pulled a folder from his bag, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward me.