Chapter 310

Valeria stood by the door, gripping the handle so tightly her knuckles went white. That bitch Anastasia was starting to get suspicious about her identity. She needed to find a way to eliminate Anastasia! Valeria took a deep breath, composed herself, opened the door, and slowly returned to her seat.

“Uncle, I’m stuffed. I should get back to the hospital,” Valeria said to Dan.

Dan immediately stood up and nodded. It was obvious that Dan really cared about Valeria.

Anastasia and Cassian left H–Garden hand in hand, only to bump into Griffin and Yinsen at the entrance.

“No wonder Cassian’s been ghosting my calls. Too busy being whipped to hang with us single guys,” Yinsen said with a grin.

Cassian gave him a withering look. “Let’s hear you bark then.”

Yinsen turned to Griffin dramatically. “Griffin, he’s being mean to me.”

“Just bark already. You basically are a dog anyway,” Griffin said dismissively.

“Are you guys seriously ganging up on me right now?” Yinsen protested.

Griffin turned to Cassian. “Ignore the drama queen. I need to talk to you about something.” Griffin glanced meaningfully at Anastasia.

Cassian caught on immediately. “It’s cool, talk. Anastasia’s my wife.”

“I don’t mind, just wasn’t sure if you’d want her to know,” Griffin said.

Anastasia started to step back. “No worries, I can give you guys some space–”

Cassian frowned and pulled her closer. “Just spill it.”

Griffin sighed. “Alright, here we go.”

“You’re so damn dramatic,” Cassian said flatly.

Griffin was used to Cassian’s bluntness by now. “So I heard your land development project got killed by Director Burton. Still stuck in approval hell?” Griffin’s expression basically screamed: See? I didn’t want to bring this up, but you made me.

Anastasia whipped around to stare at Cassian in shock. How was he so chill about this? Why hadn’t he mentioned any of this to her?

“It’s not a big deal. I can handle it,” Cassian said casually.

Griffin continued, “I did some digging. Your uncle Gilbert’s been pulling strings behind the scenes.”

Uncle? Anastasia’s chest tightened, and she instinctively gripped Cassian’s hand harder. Was Gilbert doing this to get back at Cassian for punishing Yuria?

“Just his usual petty bullshit. Amateur hour stuff that won’t go anywhere,” Cassian told Griffin.

“From how confident you sound, seems like you’ve got it covered. I’ll stay out of it then,” Griffin said.

“Yep.”

“Wanna hit up some bars with us?” Yinsen wiggled his eyebrows mischievously. He was dying to see who Cassian would prioritize–Anastasia or the bros who’d been there for years.

“I’m going home with my wife,” Cassian said without hesitation.

“Damn, you really are whipped now,” Yinsen teased.

“I don’t hang out with sad single guys,” Cassian shot back.

“You seriously single–shaming me right now?”

“Absolutely.”

“Mmph mmph…” Yinsen’s protests were cut off as Griffin slapped a hand over his mouth. His flailing did make him look like an excited puppy.

“Dude, stop embarrassing yourself,” Griffin said, dragging Yinsen away.

“Thank God, finally some peace,” Cassian said to Anastasia.

Anastasia laughed. “It’s actually pretty sweet though. You guys remind me of Tamia and me–always roasting each other but totally ride–or–die.”

“Mm.”

Cassian didn’t argue because deep down, he felt the same way.

“You know, if you wanted to go hang with them sometime, I wouldn’t be mad. Just because we’re married doesn’t mean we have to be surgically attached,” Anastasia said.

When Anastasia looked up, she saw his furrowed brow. He stared at her with an unreadable expression. “Getting sick of me already?”

Sick of him? How could that even be possible?!

“No way? I just meant marriage shouldn’t kill your friendships. You should have your own space and independence.”

Cassian shook his head. “I don’t want space. I like being glued to you.”

Anastasia blinked in surprise. “Won’t you get tired of it eventually?”

“Never. I’ll never get tired of it,” Cassian said with absolute certainty.

Something in Anastasia’s chest fluttered wildly. She squeezed his hand back.

“Ready to go home?” Cassian asked.

“Yeah.”

The moment they stepped into the elevator, Cassian wrapped his arm around Anastasia’s waist and pulled her against him. He tilted her chin up, and Anastasia found herself staring into his intense gaze. Her eyes were wide and luminous, like pools of starlight that seemed to pull him in completely.

Cassian leaned down quickly, his handsome face filling her vision before everything went blurry. His kiss was demanding and possessive, leaving Anastasia completely defenseless and surrendering to him.

When the elevator doors opened again, they were at their front door. Anastasia barely managed to catch her breath, pushing him back slightly. “Bedroom…” she whispered breathlessly.

Cassian’s eyes darkened as he took a shaky breath, fighting to control himself.

Inside, the living room was dark–Elisabeth had obviously already gone to bed.

Cassian immediately took Anastasia’s hand and they tiptoed to their room. The second he closed the door, Cassian eagerly pinned Anastasia’s hands above her head against the wall, trapping her between the cool surface and his heated body. His other hand gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him until there wasn’t an inch of space between them. Through their thin clothes, Anastasia could feel the scorching heat radiating from his skin.

His kiss crashed down on her again, and she let out a soft “mmm-” That little sound was like a match to gasoline, and Cassian completely lost control, wanting to devour every inch of her.

“Morning, beautiful.”

Anastasia made a soft sound of acknowledgment. She really wanted to ask where the hell he got all this stamina from–after last night’s marathon session, he still looked like he could run a triathlon. “I didn’t get a chance to ask last night, but I need you to be straight with me. Is Uncle Gilbert screwing with you because of what happened with me?” she asked.

Cassian hadn’t expected her to be thinking about this all night. He gently brushed her messy hair behind her ear. “This has zero to do with you. He’s always been a snake. Him and my other uncle have been trying to push me out of Rhodes Global for years.”

“You’re sure it’s not my fault?”

“Trust me, he’s been scheming against me since before you were even in the picture. What happened with you is nothing.”

Cassian suddenly rolled over, bracing himself above her as he looked down into her eyes.