Nastasia forced down hot disgust. Her tone was icy cold. "Sorry, I don't discuss personal...craft, or... me, that with people. If you're a materiales kreur wife, what kind of scents does your stor like?"

Ary had, "Really sorry about that. Got a little too happy and had too much to drink tonight. Really didn’t mean anything by it," he said, offering a Podnezand fake, sheepish apology.

"I hope there won’t be a next time. I’m kind of a germaphobe, so please understand."

With that, Anastasia didn’t give Mr. Potter another chance to speak and quickly walked away.

Mr. Potter watched her retreating figure with a calculating look, something dark flashing in his eyes.

Anastasia felt absolutely sick to her stomach. Her hand felt so dirty.

When Mr. Potter had grabbed her hand, she’d gotten goosebumps all over. So she immediately pulled out some hand sanitizer and scrubbed her hands obsessively.

When she got back to the restaurant, Cassian was frowning slightly and glancing toward the entrance, obviously waiting for her.

Seeing her return, his expression relaxed a bit. “What took you so long?”

Anastasia didn’t want to cause drama at dinner, so she smiled. “I just went to check out that little garden area to get some air.”

Cassian could tell her smile was forced, but given the setting, he didn’t push. He just squeezed her hand gently. “You tired? Want to head back and rest?”

Anastasia shook her head. “I’m fine. Mrs. Potter’s still here—I could hang out a bit longer.”

Shortly after, Mr. Potter came back too, his face flushed and eyes unfocused—clearly even more drunk now. After sitting down, he kept stealing glances at Anastasia with this gross, appraising look.

Mr. Potter was actually feeling pretty anxious, worried that Anastasia might tell Cassian what had just happened.

He’d been looking forward to this deal for months. He couldn’t afford to screw it up.

But thinking about this woman being Cassian’s gave him this sick sense of superiority—like if he could somehow get her, it would be the ultimate power move.

Cassian’s expression darkened, his knuckles tapping twice on the table as he said coolly, “Mr. Potter, let’s continue our business discussion tomorrow. I think we’re done for tonight.”

Mr. Potter looked confused for a second, then put on this awkward smile. “Right, right. Good call, Mr. Rhodes. Time to call it a night.”

Mrs. Potter seemed to sense the weird tension and quickly stood up to smooth things over. “Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes, thank you so much for everything today. We’ll catch up more tomorrow.”

Looking at Mrs. Potter, Anastasia couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She probably knows exactly what kind of man her husband is.

After dinner ended, Mr. and Mrs. Potter headed back to their room first.

Cassian took Anastasia’s hand as they walked along the lakeside path at the resort.

The night was peaceful, with a gentle breeze rippling across the water.

“You doing okay today? Not too exhausting?” Cassian asked quietly.

Anastasia was surprised by how perceptive he was. She shook her head. “Not at all. Mrs. Potter’s really sweet—we had a great time chatting.”

It was just her creepy husband who was the problem, and running a little tyke to keep lestrin on la.

At least after these two days of business talks, they’d be gone.

In the end, Anastasia decided not to mention what had happened, not wanting to mess up the business deal.

Cassian stopped walking and turned to face her, his eyes especially tender in the moonlight. “Thanks for doing this—having to entertain...”

Anastasia looked up at him seriously. “It’s nothing. We’re married—we should support each other.”

Cassian felt his heart swell and couldn’t help pulling her into his arms for a tight hug.

Anastasia leaned against his solid chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, feeling completely safe and secure.

“Having you in my life is everything,” he whispered in her ear.

Anastasia wrapped her arms around his waist and replied softly, “Same here.”