Chapter 2 MORNING,MR STRANGER

Cassian Thorne had negotiated billion-dollar deals without blinking.

He had faced hostile investors, ruthless competitors, and boardroom opponents who would gladly destroy him for a fraction of his fortune.

Yet, somehow, the woman who had walked out of his penthouse that morning had managed to leave him completely unsettled.

And he didn't even know her full name until she shouted it at him.

Seraphina Vale.

He repeated it silently as he stood by the window, the tiny pearl earring resting in his palm.

"Who are you?" he murmured.

For the first time in years, Cassian had a question he couldn't answer.

His phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

Vivienne Cross.

Of course.

He considered ignoring it, but he knew she would keep calling until he answered.

"Good morning, Vivienne."

"Good morning?" Her voice was sharp. "That's all you have to say?"

Cassian closed his eyes briefly.

"What happened now?"

"What happened now?" she repeated incredulously. "Cassian, your father has been trying to reach you since six this morning. The engagement announcement is scheduled for noon, and you haven't responded to a single message."

"Then tell him to cancel it."

Silence.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Cassian, don't be ridiculous. We've discussed this."

"You've discussed it. My father has arranged it. Nobody has asked me what I want."

"Because what you want has never been the point of this engagement!"

He almost laughed.

At least she was honest.

"Then perhaps we should stop pretending this marriage has anything to do with love."

Vivienne's voice dropped.

"Is this about last night?"

Cassian straightened.

"What do you know about last night?"

"Your father said you were supposed to meet me at the hotel."

His fingers tightened around the phone.

"Meet you?"

"Yes. We were supposed to discuss the engagement privately. You never showed up, and when I called the suite, nobody answered."

Cassian stared at the rain-streaked window.

He had assumed the woman entering his room was Vivienne. The champagne dress, the hotel floor, the evening his father had arranged-it had all seemed to fit.

But Vivienne had never entered his suite.

Which meant someone had sent Seraphina to the wrong room.

Or someone had deliberately sent him the wrong woman.

"Who gave you the room number?" he asked.

"My assistant. Why?"

"Send me her details."

"Cassian, what is going on?"

"I'll call you back."

He ended the call before she could argue.

Something was wrong.

He could feel it.

And he had a terrible feeling that Seraphina had been caught in the middle of something she didn't understand.

He looked at the pearl earring again.

She had left it behind.

Perhaps that was his only chance of finding her.

He pressed the intercom.

"Daniel, I need you in my office. Now."

Seraphina Vale was having the worst morning of her life.

Actually, that wasn't entirely accurate.

Her worst morning had been the day she learned her mother's hospital bills had swallowed the last of their savings.

This morning was simply a close second.

She stood behind the counter of Vale Restoration Studio, staring at the overdue electricity bill in one hand and the auction coordinator's angry message on her phone.

"You missed the delivery deadline," the coordinator had told her. "The client is furious."

"I had an emergency."

"An emergency that could cost you the contract."

Sera had apologized until her throat hurt, promised to deliver the remaining paperwork, and somehow convinced him to give her another day.

Now she was left with a threatened contract, a landlord who wanted his money, and memories of a man she had absolutely no business thinking about.

Cassian Thorne.

She hated the way his name lingered in her mind.

She hated the way he had looked at her when she left.

Most of all, she hated that part of her wished she had stayed long enough to hear his explanation.

Her phone buzzed.

A message from her best friend, Maya.

MAYA: Where were you last night? I called you like ten times!

Sera typed a reply.

SERA: Long story. I'll explain later.

MAYA: You sound suspicious. Did you meet someone?

Sera stared at the screen.

Then she typed:

SERA: No.

She immediately felt guilty.

She wasn't usually a liar.

But how could she explain that she'd spent the night with a billionaire who thought she was his fiancée?

Maya would never let her hear the end of it.

Sera dropped her phone onto the counter and rubbed her temples.

She needed to forget him.

She needed money, not romance.

And she certainly didn't need a wealthy man's complicated love life.

A knock sounded at the studio door.

She looked up.

A deliveryman stood outside holding a small black box.

"Seraphina Vale?"

"Yes?"

"This is for you. Signature, please."

Sera signed the electronic pad and accepted the box.

There was no return address.

Her stomach tightened.

Inside lay a single pearl earring.

Her mother's earring.

Beneath it was a folded note.

I don't believe in coincidences. We need to talk.

No name.

No number.

She didn't need either.

"Unbelievable," she whispered.

The man couldn't even leave her alone for twenty-four hours.

She picked up the note, intending to tear it into pieces.

Then she noticed something written in small letters at the bottom.

Cassian Thorne.

She stared at the name.

For several seconds, she did nothing.

Then she sat down heavily on the stool behind the counter.

"What do you want from me?" she whispered.

She had no answer.

But she knew one thing.

She wasn't going to call him.

Not today.

Not tomorrow.

Not ever.

At least, that was the plan.

By noon, Cassian had discovered three things.

First, the room assignment for his suite had been changed late the previous afternoon.

Second, the change had been authorized through an account connected to his father's office.

Third, nobody could explain why.

His assistant, Daniel, stood across from his desk holding a tablet.

"Sir, the hotel says the original booking was under your name. The change was made at 6:42 p.m."

"By whom?"

"They're reviewing the security records."

"Tell them to hurry."

Daniel hesitated.

"There's something else."

Cassian looked up.

"The woman you met last night. Do you know who she is?"

"Seraphina Vale."

"Full details?"

"That's all I have."

Daniel frowned.

"You let a complete stranger into your private suite?"

Cassian's expression turned icy.

"Careful."

"Sorry, sir."

Daniel lowered his eyes, but Cassian could see the question on his face.

He was asking himself the same thing.

Why had he let her stay?

He could have called security. He could have demanded identification. He could have ended the conversation the moment he realized she wasn't Vivienne.

Instead, he had spent hours talking to her.

He had laughed.

He had forgotten his father's demands, the engagement, and the endless expectations attached to his surname.

For one night, he had felt like a man rather than an inheritance waiting to happen.

And now she was gone.

"Find her," he said.

Daniel blinked.

"Sir?"

"Seraphina Vale. Find her address, her occupation, and anything else we can verify. Discreetly."

"Is she connected to the company?"

"I don't know."

"Should I contact legal?"

"No."

Cassian stood and buttoned his jacket.

"I'll handle this myself."

At 2:30 p.m., Sera made a decision.

She would return the earring to Cassian.

Not because she wanted to see him.

Not because she was curious about his explanation.

And certainly not because she had spent the entire morning remembering the warmth of his hands.

She was returning it because it belonged to her mother, and she wasn't about to let a stranger keep one of the few things she had left.

She called the number printed on the hotel's business card.

After three transfers, she was connected to someone from Cassian's office.

"Thorne Enterprises. How may I help you?"

"Hello. My name is Seraphina Vale. I need to speak with Mr. Cassian Thorne."

"May I ask what this concerns?"

"An earring."

A pause.

"An earring, ma'am?"

"Yes. Tell him the woman from the hotel is calling."

Another pause.

"Please hold."

Sera rolled her eyes.

Of course even talking to him required a process.

A few seconds later, a familiar voice came through the line.

"Seraphina."

Her heart did something deeply inconvenient.

"Mr. Thorne."

"You're calling me Mr. Thorne now?"

"What would you prefer? Your Majesty?"

She could almost hear his smile.

"I was beginning to think you had disappeared."

"I was beginning to hope you had forgotten me."

"Neither seems likely."

Sera gripped the phone.

"I want my mother's earring back."

"You have it."

"Yes, because you sent it to me. Thank you. Now we can both move on."

"I'd rather we talked."

"We talked last night."

"Not about what happened."

"Nothing happened."

The silence that followed was so complete that she regretted the words immediately.

Then Cassian spoke.

"Is that what you want to believe?"

Sera swallowed.

"Yes."

"Then why are you calling me?"

She hated him.

She absolutely hated him.

"Because I wanted my earring back."

"Of course."

His tone was far too calm.

"Have dinner with me."

"No."

"Lunch, then."

"No."

"Coffee?"

"Mr. Thorne, do you have difficulty understanding the word no?"

"Usually, people don't call me to tell me they want nothing to do with me."

"Perhaps you should meet more interesting people."

"I already have."

Her breath caught.

For one dangerous moment, she couldn't think of a response.

Then she remembered the magazine.

The engagement.

The fact that she was a woman who couldn't afford to make reckless decisions.

"You're engaged, Cassian."

"I know."

"Then whatever you think happened between us was a mistake."

His voice softened.

"Perhaps. But I would like to know why someone changed my room assignment and sent you there."

Sera went still.

"What?"

"The room was changed. You weren't supposed to be there, and neither was anyone else."

A chill crept down her spine.

She remembered the way he had looked at her when she entered.

The certainty with which he had called her Vivienne.

The strange feeling that he had been expecting someone.

"You think someone arranged it?" she asked.

"I think someone wanted me to meet a woman who wasn't my fiancée."

"And you think that woman was me?"

"I think you deserve to know the truth."

Sera stared at the studio window.

Outside, the city continued as if nothing had changed.

But something had.

Because if Cassian was telling the truth, their night hadn't been an innocent accident.

Someone had placed her in that room.

Someone had expected him to be there.

And someone might have known exactly what would happen.

"I'll meet you," she said quietly.

"Tonight?"

"One hour. Somewhere public. And don't mistake this for a date."

"I wouldn't dare."

"Good."

She ended the call before he could say anything else.

Then she sat perfectly still, the phone resting in her palm.

She had wanted to forget Cassian Thorne.

Instead, she had just agreed to see him again.

And deep down, she suspected that whatever waited for her at that meeting would be far more dangerous than one unforgettable night.