The instant those words left her mouth, Cassian's body went rigid.
Instead of releasing her, he only held her tighter.
He couldn't let go.
The mere thought of loosening his grip terrified him. Somewhere deep inside, he was convinced that if he let her walk away now, he would lose her forever.
Closing his eyes briefly, he pressed another lingering kiss against her temple before speaking again, his voice unusually gentle.
"What else do you want?" he asked softly. "A new car? Jewelry? You like Bvlgari, don't you? I'll buy you everything from their latest collection. If you want an entire city, I'll buy that for you too."
He gently turned her in his arms until she was facing him. His dark eyes remained fixed on her face, searching desperately for even the slightest sign that she was softening.
"Just tell me what you want, Juliet," he said, his voice rough with desperation. "I promise I'll make it up to you."
Juliet simply stared at him.
The more he spoke, the colder her expression became.
Without saying a word, she tightened her grip around his wrists and firmly pulled his hands away from her waist.
Cassian instinctively resisted, unwilling to release her, but Juliet remained stubborn, continuing to push his hands away until, finally, his arms fell limply to his sides.
Only then did she lift her eyes to meet his.
"Enough."
Her indifferent voice made Cassian freeze where he stood.
"I want to leave this house," she continued steadily, though the faint pain lingering in her eyes betrayed her composure. "I don't want to live with you anymore."
For a moment, it felt as though time itself had stopped.
Cassian's entire body turned rigid.
"No."
The answer came almost instantly.
As though refusing to even process what she had just said, he took a step forward and reached for her again.
"Let's go to bed," he said softly, his hand gently catching hers as though nothing had happened. "We'll talk about this later. You must be tired. Come on. Let's sleep first."
Before she could pull away, his arms circled her waist once more, drawing her back against him.
"Let me hold you."
Lowering his head, he moved to kiss her, but the moment he came close, Juliet immediately turned her face away.
Cassian stilled.
The rejection was so swift and instinctive that it left him momentarily unable to react.
"Stop," Juliet said coldly.
That single word struck him harder than a slap.
Slowly, she turned to look at him, disappointment filling her eyes.
