Page 52 of Vows of Deceit

“Hey,” he murmured. “You happy?”

Cassie turned her face to him, her voice quiet. “I’m home.”

He kissed her.

Soft.

Then Amelia wedged herself between them and shouted, “Ewww!”

Cassie laughed until she cried.

Epilogue

Damien hadn’t planned on walking through the old market street that afternoon. He had a meeting nearby, one of many in a string of attempts to rebuild the reputation he had so carelessly burned. But something about the smell of roasted chestnuts and the distant echo of street music had pulled him in.

It was a vibrant day. The kind of warm, crisp afternoon that made people fall in love with the city all over again.

And then he saw her.

Cassie.

Standing just outside a florist, holding a paper cone of lavender and white peonies. Her hair was longer now, brushed back in soft waves, her skin glowing with that effortless confidence she used to wear like armor. She looked… happy.

He froze.

From across the street, he watched her laugh at something.

And then he saw the little girl.

Dark curls bouncing as she tugged at Cassie’s hand, her tiny voice shrill with delight. She looked so much like Cassie it hurt but the eyes, those were Grayson Collin’s.

Before the ache in Damien’s chest could settle, a sleek car pulled up to the curb.

Grayson stepped out, all rolled-up sleeves and casual charisma. He crouched in front of the girl, Amelia, Damien remembered from the news and they exchanged a few words that made her beam.

Cassie bent down beside them, her hand automatically going to the curve of her belly.

Pregnant.

She was pregnant again. Grayson helped her up carefully, kissed her temple, and opened the car door for her. Amelia climbed in next, giggling as she buckled herself in.

Damien couldn’t move. He watched the car pull away. He watched what he’d never have. He had built an empire once.

But in that moment, standing alone on the corner of a street they used to walk together, he realized something sharp and final. He could have had that. That kind of love. That kind of peace.

He could have been the man standing beside her. If he hadn’t betrayed her. If he had chosen differently.

Regret settled deep into his bones. The kind that doesn’t fade with time. The kind that lives in the silence of empty penthouses and cold morning coffee.

Damien turned away.

And this time, he didn’t look back.