Page 90 of Sinful Obsession

“Please,” I begged, tears stinging my eyes. “You’ll ruin me all over again. You’ve got the courts in your pocket, but don’t take my babies.”

“There’s no way I’m living my last days without my twins,” he said, his voice resolute. “I want to know fatherhood. If you won’t let me, the courts will.”

My heart sank. “Is there anything I can do to keep you away from them? Name your price.”

“Price?” His laugh was bitter, pained. “There’s one thing, Charlotte.”

My chest tightened. “What?”

“Marry me.”

The world stopped, my breath catching. “I’ve told you we can’t work. Over and over.”

“For one year,” he added. “If we don’t work out, I’ll leave for New York. For good.”

I paused, the weight of his offer crushing me. “Is that the only way?”

“Yes.”

“Then I have conditions,” I said, my voice trembling but firm.

“Name them. My lawyers will draft the agreement.”

“No official wedding,” I said. “You can’t tell the twins you’re their father—only that you’re my husband.”

“Charlotte—”

“You’re not permanent in our lives,” I cut in. “Calling yourself their father makes you a fixture, and I won’t have that. It’s already too much that I’m marrying you for a year and moving them under your roof.”

“Anything else?” His voice was controlled.

“After the year, you disappear. No stalking, no tracking, no contact.”

“And if we work out before then?” he asked, a faint hope in his tone.

I laughed bitterly. “If we were meant to work, we would’ve the first time you forced me into marriage.”

“Fine,” he said. “My lawyer will contact you.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t hang up, his silence heavy. “Bye,” I said, ending the call.

I sank onto the bed, the room spinning.

Marry Cassian?

Move the twins into his world?

The thought was a vise around my heart, but it was the only way to keep him from taking them through the courts.

Chapter 15

CHARLOTTE

Four days had passed since Asher, Aria, and I moved into the sprawling Moscow estate Cassian had purchased, a modern fortress of glass and stone nestled in a quiet suburb.

The house was a paradox—sleek and cold on the outside, yet inside, it hummed with unexpected warmth.