CHAPTER 29- Before Sunrise

As soon as the yacht halted near the shore, I leaped out, my feet hitting the cold sand before my mind even caught up. The air was sharp with salt and urgency. I glanced at my watch—only an hour before sunrise.

Fuck!

"Did you call the helicopter?" I asked, my voice clipped as I turned to Cassian, who was busy steadying Zavier as he stepped off the ship.

"Yeah," Cassian replied, his tone unwavering. "Take the car. It's a ten-minute drive. You'll see it."

My gaze flickered toward Kaizen. He had his head bowed, his hands clenched into fists. Guilt scraped at the edges of my mind for threatening the kid, but I shoved it down. Priorities were priorities.

"Follow me, Little Ranger," I muttered, jerking my chin toward the car. Kaizen hesitated for only a second before slipping into the passenger seat. I slammed the door shut.

I CAN'T GET FUCKING LATE!

Erika watched as Aeron moved with frenzied determination, his every action precise but messy, like a man on the edge of unraveling. He hadn't spared her or Kaizen a glance. Not even a word.

She swallowed hard.

"I can never understand Big Brother's obsession with keeping promises," Zavier muttered, shaking his head, drawing Erika's attention.

"You know exactly why," Cassian snapped, his tone sharper than usual. His glare bore into Zavier, but the latter only grinned, lips twisting with mischief.

"Of course, I do. I'm closest to Big Brother, unlike someone," Zavier taunted.

Cassian's expression darkened, his fingers twitching as if resisting the urge to shut him up forcefully. "You're forgetting who's holding you right now."

Zavier merely smirked, the playful glint in his eyes unwavering. "Cassian."

Cassian exhaled through his nose, telling himself not to punch the boy Aeron held so dear.

Erika, however, was drowning in curiosity. "What do you mean, obsession with keeping promises?"

Cassian tensed. Zavier tilted his head, assessing her, before deciding to speak.

"He promised Bubu that no matter where he is, he'll always be home before sunrise. And never, not once, has he broken that promise."

Bubu?

Erika blinked. The weight of Zavier's words pressed against her chest, but they didn't answer her real question. "That still doesn't explain why he's so obsessed with keeping promises."

A shared glance passed between Cassian and Zavier, something heavy and unreadable. The air shifted, thick with something Erika couldn't place.

"Aeron's mother," Cassian finally spoke, his voice void of emotion, "had an affair with one of Hollywood's biggest directors. His father never suspected a thing. Their marriage wasn't traditional, but he trusted her. Loved her."

Erika felt the temperature drop.

"Before Big Brother's seventh birthday," Zavier continued, his voice softer now, "the truth came out. His mother brought her lover home at night, assuming Uncle and Aeron were away at some Russian gala."

Erika's stomach twisted. She already knew the answer before she asked, but she whispered anyway. "But they were home, weren't they?"

Zavier's nod was slow. "They came back early to surprise her. Instead, they found her in bed with another man."

A muscle in Cassian's jaw twitched. "You'd expect the great Adrian Lev Valentino to scream, rage, to kill them both. But…"

He trailed off, and Zavier finished for him, his tone hollow.

"He got on his knees and begged her to stay."

Erika's breath caught. Her mind screamed that it was illogical, that a man like Adrian wouldn't—

But the tightening in her chest told her otherwise.

"Did she?" she whispered.

Cassian laughed, bitter and sharp. "She promised to be a better wife, a better mother. That night was the first time she ever held Aeron. Imagine that. Seven years of indifference, and suddenly, she's a mother."

Erika's heart ached at the image of a seven-year-old Aeron, standing in the doorway, clutching a bouquet of flowers for a woman who had never once held him.

"For fourteen days, they were a perfect family. Fourteen days of love, of normalcy. Uncle convinced himself that her past infidelity was nothing compared to the happiness they had now. Aeron finally had a mother who saw him. It was as if those seven years of neglect and betrayal had never happened."

Cassian's laughter turned cold. "And then, on his birthday, she left."

The words sliced through Erika like a knife.

"She threw the divorce papers on the table—on a table filled with food prepared for Aeron's birthday—and walked away without a backward glance. No matter how much Uncle begged, no matter how much Aeron cried, she didn't stop."

Erika felt something shatter inside her. She had never pried into Aeron's past, and he had never offered. Now, she understood why.

"After that day, Aeron vowed never to break a promise. No matter the cost. Even if it killed him."

Cassian's final words settled heavily between them, and for the first time, Erika realized—

Some wounds never heal. They only fester beneath the weight of a promise.