Naomi’s Pov

The fallout didn’t come all at once.

That was the strange part.

After Cassian said it out loud, after the word partner stopped being implied and started being fact, there was a pause in the world. Like everyone needed a moment to decide how to react now that the rules had shifted.

The morning after was quiet. Too quiet.

I woke up before him this time. Early light pressed against the curtains, soft and pale. Cassian was on his side, facing me, one arm thrown over my waist as it had always belonged there. His face was relaxed in sleep, the hard lines eased. He looked younger like...