Chapter 14 The Party #2
"Are you really going to keep her locked up in your house?" he asked, turning his head toward Cassian.
Cassian didn't respond.
He didn't even glance at him.
His eyes remained fixed on Juliet as though the conversation wasn't important enough to deserve his attention.
Xavier shook his head and chuckled.
"I heard you've practically trapped her there." He took a slow sip of whiskey before settling more comfortably against the railing. "What's the plan exactly? Do you seriously think keeping her inside your house is going to make her give you another chance?"
Still nothing.
The silence only encouraged him.
"Honestly, I can't imagine that working." Xavier lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "A woman isn't going to fall in love with you simply because you keep her close. If anything, she'll probably resent you even more."
For several moments, the only sound between them was the distant music drifting up from the ballroom below.
Then Cassian finally spoke.
"She's mine."
His voice was low and calm.
Dangerously calm.
The kind of calm that made experienced businessmen nervous and sent subordinates scrambling to fix mistakes before they became disasters.
Xavier's eyebrows rose.
Cassian never looked away from Juliet.
"It doesn't matter what she wants anymore."
His fingers slowly curled around the railing.
The polished metal let out a faint creak beneath the pressure.
"I gave her a chance." His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "I gave both of them a chance."
A dark emotion flashed through his eyes before disappearing beneath his usual composure.
"But they wasted it."
The words were spoken quietly, yet they carried enough weight to make Xavier's smile fade slightly.
Cassian's expression remained controlled, but the tension radiating from him was impossible to miss.
"Now she's mine," he said softly. His gaze followed Juliet as she moved through the crowd. "And now that she's mine, she's not going anywhere."
Xavier stared at him for several seconds.
To anyone else, Cassian appeared perfectly composed.
His posture was relaxed.
His breathing remained steady.
His expression revealed nothing.
But Xavier knew him too well.
He could see the storm lurking beneath that frightening control.
Every dangerous emotion was carefully buried beneath a mask of discipline.
Cassian didn't blink as he watched Juliet.
His eyes followed her relentlessly, never straying for even a second. There was something unsettling about the way he observed her, like a predator silently tracking its prey from a distance.
Xavier couldn't help letting out a laugh. Shaking his head, he lifted his whiskey glass to his lips.
"I can see you're completely gone."
Cassian ignored him.
The response only made Xavier more amused.
"It's honestly hard to imagine you putting up with any of this," he continued. "Most men would've lost their minds by now."
His gaze drifted toward the ballroom.
"But I suppose as long as you trust her, everything should be fine."
The words were deliberate. A calculated provocation.
For the first time, a subtle flicker appeared in Cassian's eyes.
It lasted less than a second.
Xavier immediately knew he had struck a nerve.
A slow grin spread across his face.
"Although if I were you, I wouldn't be worried about keeping an eye on her."
He lifted his glass and gestured toward the ballroom below.
"I'd be more concerned about what's happening around her."
Cassian's gaze shifted.
Following the direction of the glass, his eyes landed directly on Vincent.
Vincent was standing across the room, staring at Juliet.
Watching her.
The muscles along Cassian's jaw immediately tightened.
Xavier noticed it at once.
"Do you really think she's going to let go of him that easily?" he asked thoughtfully. "They grew up together. He was her childhood sweetheart."
His gaze remained on the pair below.
"Her first love."
He shrugged.
"Those kinds of feelings don't disappear overnight."
Then he looked at Cassian.
"Do you really believe she won't go back to him?"
The moment the question left his mouth, both men saw Juliet suddenly turn away from Amara.
Without hesitation, she began walking directly toward Vincent.
The atmosphere around Cassian changed instantly.
The relaxed posture he had maintained all evening vanished.
His shoulders stiffened.
His fingers tightened around the railing with enough force for the veins on the back of his hand to become visible beneath his skin.
The metal groaned softly under his grip.
A dangerous darkness settled into his eyes as he watched her weave through the crowd, every graceful step carrying her closer to another man.
His jaw clenched.
A muscle ticked sharply in his cheek.
For the first time that evening, the calm mask he had worn so flawlessly began to crack.
He straightened abruptly, every muscle in his tall frame locking tight as though an invisible wire had been pulled through his spine.
His shoulders went rigid beneath his suit jacket, and his jaw clenched so hard that the muscles visibly flexed along the side of his face.
One hand gripped the balcony railing with enough force to whiten his knuckles while his dark eyes remained fixed on Juliet below, refusing to look anywhere else.
Beside him, Xavier immediately noticed the change.
He straightened as well, his attention following Cassian's gaze toward the ballroom floor where Juliet was making her way through the crowd.
Neither man looked pleased.
In fact, the longer they watched her approach Vincent, the darker Cassian's expression became.
A dangerous tension radiated from him, filling the space around him like a brewing storm.
Although he stood perfectly still, there was something unsettling about that stillness.
It looked less like calmness and more like restraint, as though every ounce of his self-control was being used to stop himself from marching downstairs and dragging Juliet away from Vincent himself.
"Is she going back to him?" Xavier suddenly asked, breaking the silence as he glanced sideways at Cassian.
Cassian didn't answer.
His eyes remained glued to Juliet.
Xavier sighed before continuing.
"Are you really not going to stop her? You're just going to stand here and watch this happen? Watch Juliet fall for Vincent's words all over again?"
The second those words left Xavier's mouth, Cassian's entire body stiffened.
A vein pulsed sharply near his temple.
The hand gripping the railing tightened even further, the metal creaking faintly beneath his hold as his dark gaze remained locked on the pair below.
"Absolutely fucking not," he growled through clenched teeth.
The jealousy in his voice was impossible to miss.
It was raw, possessive, and ugly enough that even Xavier raised an eyebrow.
Still, Cassian never looked away from Juliet.
Downstairs, Juliet finally stopped in front of Vincent.
The two began talking.
Cassian and Xavier were watching them with intense focus.
Cassian's eyes narrowed every time Vincent shifted closer to her.
His jaw flexed.
His shoulders remained tense.
Several times, his fingers tightened around the railing before loosening again as though he was physically fighting the urge to interfere.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, Juliet simply turned around.
And walked away.
She didn't even look back.
The tension instantly drained from Xavier's shoulders.
A grin spread across his face as he let out a quiet laugh.
"Well, look at that."
Cassian remained silent, but his eyes carefully followed Juliet's retreating figure as she disappeared into the crowd.
"It seems she really doesn't like him anymore," Xavier said, unable to hide the satisfaction in his voice. "She practically shut him down and walked away after reminding him about the broken engagement."
His grin widened.
"Do you think it's true? Do you think she really doesn't want to be with Vincent anymore?"
Neither man took their eyes off Juliet as she returned to Amara.
For the first time that evening, the hard lines of Cassian's face softened.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth before he could stop it.
The sight of Juliet walking away from Vincent sent an unexpected wave of relief through his chest, loosening a knot he hadn't even realized had been there.