2026-03-25 18:16:47In no time, evening arrived and the banquet hall was already glowing with lights. Luxury cars lined the entrance while elegantly dressed guests walked in confidently, their laughter and chatter filling the air.
Cassian had changed into a simple but well-fitted dark suit. Nothing flashy or expensive-looking, yet he still carried himself with a strange calm that made people glance at him twice without understanding why.
He walked toward the grand entrance like he had every right to be there and just as he was about to step inside, two guards blocked his path.
“Invitation,” one of them said bluntly.
Cassian paused.
He slid his hands into his pockets and began checking calmly. Left pocket. Right pocket. Inner coat. Nothing. His brows slowly drew together.
“Well..,” he muttered.
The guards exchanged looks and one of them immediately frowned.
“If you don’t have an invitation, leave,” he said coldly. “This isn’t a place for random people to wander into.”
Cassian was still checking his pockets like he didn’t hear him.
“Hey!” the second guard snapped impatiently. “Did you not understand? Get lost.”
He reached out and tried to shove Cassian aside and Cassian finally lifted his head.
The look he gave the man was quiet… but terrifying.
It wasn’t anger or hostility, it was the look of someone who simply didn’t consider you worth his time and that somehow made the guard’s entire body freeze.
His instincts screamed danger so loudly that his hand stopped mid-air. For a brief second, he felt like he had almost touched something that could kill him without effort.
The first guard grew annoyed.
“I said leave,” he barked.
Cassian stopped searching and gave up.
He straightened slowly and looked at both of them.
“If I leave,” he said calmly, “this banquet won’t happen.”
The guards stared at him and then they burst out laughing.
“Listen to this guy,” one of them mocked. “You think the entire event depends on you? Who do you think you are?”
Cassian sighed lightly.
“I’m still trying to remember where I dropped the invitation,” he said. “Be patient. You might thank me later.”
At that moment, headlights flashed behind them.
A luxury car pulled up and Zora stepped out gracefully, dressed in an expensive evening gown that made her look like the star of the night. She paused when she saw Cassian being blocked at the entrance, surprise flashing briefly across her face.
Her eyes narrowed slightly and she walked forward.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
The guard quickly spoke. “Welcome Ma'am, this man is trying to enter without an invitation and when we tried to warn him that he can't enter, he said this banquet won’t happen without him, just wondering who he...”
“He’s my husband,” Fiona said flatly.
Silence fell instantly, both guards froze and they immediately bowed slightly in apology.
“We’re so sorry, sir,” they said respectfully, stepping aside at once.
Cassian glanced at Zora, a slow grin forming on his lips as they walked past the entrance together.
“Well,” he murmured, “what is my wonderful new wife doing at such a banquet?”
Zora ignored his question completely.
She walked ahead with calm, confident steps while Cassian followed beside her, casually observing the grand interior.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, reflecting golden light across polished marble floors. Waiters moved like shadows between groups of elites dressed in expensive suits and gowns. Conversations about investments, land bids, and overseas partnerships floated through the air. It was the kind of place where power smiled politely and stabbed quietly.
Once they stopped near a quieter corner, Zora finally turned to him.
“What exactly are you doing here?” she asked with a faint scoff.
Cassian slipped his hands into his pockets.
“I told the guards already,” he said lazily. “This banquet wouldn’t hold if I wasn’t here. So I decided to grace everyone with my presence.”
Zora stared at him.
For a moment she honestly couldn’t tell if he was joking or simply insane.
Then she sighed.
“Watch your mouth,” she said in a lower voice. “There are many powerful people here. One wrong sentence and you won’t even know how you died.”
Cassian shrugged like she had just warned him about rain.
“I’m touched by your concern,” he replied calmly.
He scanned the hall again before glancing back at her with faint amusement.
“But tell me something,” he added. “This is just a banquet for someone far below your class. Why did you come?”
Zora scoffed.
“You really don’t know anything,” she said.
Cassian tilted his head slightly.
“The banquet may be far below my status,” she continued, her tone turning serious, “but the real reason everyone is here is the company behind the project.”
She paused briefly.
“Skyline Dominion Group.”
Cassian’s eyes flickered for the smallest second.
That name was not just big. It was monstrous. Skyline Dominion Group controlled massive urban development chains, logistics ports, financial consortiums, and many resource distributions.
The Skyline International Strategic Development Contract that will be announced tonight was only one piece of a far larger empire, an empire Cassian himself had built quietly through layers of proxies and shadow agreements.
Zora continued, unaware of the irony.
“They are the richest corporate entity connected to this project. Whoever gets their backing rises instantly. That’s why most elites are here tonight.”
She crossed her arms lightly.
“I’m here for them. Everyone else is too.”
Cassian nodded slowly.
“Ah,” he murmured. “Well, that's quite an introduction.”
Zora gave him a look.
“You really should speak less.”
“I’m working on it,” he replied.
Just as their conversation paused, a familiar mocking voice suddenly rang out from behind.
“Well, well… if it isn’t the legendary househusband.”
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Chapter 91
Chapter 91: Five Million for JunkThe first thing on stage was a painting.It was brought out by two attendants wearing white gloves, carried with the kind of solemn care that immediately made several guests sit a little straighter. The frame was old, carved in dark wood with faint gold lining along its edges, while the painting itself showed a misty mountain landscape with a lone pavilion half-hidden beneath pale clouds. St first glance, it had the quiet charm of an antique piece, the brushwork delicate, the colors aged enough to look valuable, and the entire thing carried that vague old-world feeling collectors often liked to romanticize. The auctioneer began introducing it with a polished voice, speaking of its supposed origin, the artist’s rumored connection to a forgotten scholar, and the careful preservation done over the years, yet Cassian only glanced at it once before his interest faded.Jackson, however, sat forward.His eyes brightened as he looked at the painting, and f
Chapter 90
Chapter 90: Between Two WomenSensing the subtle tension building between the two women, and unwilling to let it stretch any further, Cassian smoothly cut in.He had been quiet long enough to let both of them test the air around each other, but not long enough for the silence to become a blade. Zora’s smile was still polite, yet Cassian could feel the suspicion tucked beneath it, sharp and controlled, while Miranda’s composure was too deliberate to be natural. Both women were intelligent and used to reading people, and neither of them liked being placed in a situation where the truth sat close enough to touch but not openly enough to confront. If he allowed them to keep staring at each other like that, the auction might start before either of them stepped into the hall, and somehow, he would still be the one blamed for it.Cassian lifted his hand slightly and gestured toward the main hall. “The auction should be starting soon. We might as well find our seats.”His voice was calm and
Chapter 89
Chapter 89: RecognitionAs the commotion settled and the small crowd began drifting back toward the main hall, a new figure approached, drawing more than a few curious glances.The attention around Jackson and Damian had not disappeared completely, but it had loosened enough for the entrance of the auction house to regain its polished calm. Guests resumed their slow movement toward the hall, attendants guided people with professional smiles, and conversations returned in low voices, though a few eyes still lingered on the Harthwone brothers, Zora, and Cassian. In places like this, people rarely stared openly. They only looked through reflections, through half-turned faces, through the pauses between polite greetings. Everyone pretended not to notice trouble, but everyone remembered it.Then Miranda Ravencroft walked into that thin layer of attention.She wore a fitted outfit that balanced elegance with authority, the sort of style that did not beg to be admired but still made people
Chapter 88
Chapter 88: A Warning in PublicBefore Jackson could answer, another voice called out from behind him, tense and urgent.“Jackson.”The voice was not loud, but it carried enough weight to cut through the small noise gathering around them. Jackson’s smirk paused before it could fully settle on his face, and the few people flanking him also turned slightly, their expressions shifting with the kind of cautious respect people showed when someone more important had arrived. Damian stepped forward quickly from behind him, his pace controlled but a little too fast to be called casual, and though his face was carefully blank, the sharpness in his eyes made it clear he had not come over to join the provocation.“Stop causing trouble,” Damian said.Jackson’s expression changed immediately. “Brother?”Damian did not look at Cassian for too long. He allowed his gaze to pass over him once, briefly and calmly, as if Cassian was nothing more than another guest standing beside Zora at the auction h
Chapter 87
Chapter 87: His Brother Is BackThe following day, they arrived at the auction house together.The building stood tall at the center of a quieter business district, its glass front reflecting the pale morning light while polished black cars rolled up one after another before the entrance. It was not the kind of place that needed loud banners or exaggerated decorations to prove its value. Everything about it spoke in a lower voice, from the clean stone steps to the discreet security at the doors, from the attendants in matching uniforms to the guests who stepped out of their cars with the calm certainty of people used to entering places ordinary men only heard about afterward. The wealth here was restrained, but it was everywhere. In the watches hidden beneath sleeves, in the soft shine of tailored suits, in the brief nods exchanged between men whose businesses crossed in public and clashed in private, in the way even laughter was kept at a polite volume.Zora walked a step ahead, el
Chapter 86
Chapter 86: The Auction TomorrowBack at the estate, Zora was waiting by the door when Cassian strolled in.She stood beneath the soft light of the entrance hall with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, and the kind of stillness that made it clear she had been standing there for more than a minute. Ahe was not panicking, not exactly, but her expression carried that familiar edge between curiosity and suspicion, the one she always wore whenever Cassian disappeared for longer than expected and returned looking as if nothing in the world had happened. The estate behind her was quiet, servants already moving carefully through the deeper parts of the house, but the front hall felt strangely focused around her, as if the entire place had been waiting for Cassian to step through the door.Cassian paused for half a breath when he saw her, then continued walking in like this was completely normal.Zora’s eyes followed him. “Where have you been?”Her voice was calm, but not soft. It had tha
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