OUR BOND

The Peace Before Chaos

Third Person POV

It had been four weeks since the gunfire went quiet. Four weeks of recovery, quiet mornings, and the faint hum of life returning to the Cassano mansion.

Everything was still quiet for Noel, the kind of quiet she hated months back but now was grateful for.

Cyrus was still in a coma, but Noel stayed with him almost every day- reading, talking or just sitting in silence while the machines kept rhythm with his heart. Sometimes she would fall asleep in her chair beside him, sometimes she'd talk about anything and everything - the weather, the family, even the ridiculous movie Luca made her watch the other night.

Once, finally having decided it was time her family knew all of her, she told them everything about who she was, what she used to do- Oscerra, working under Santiago Pérez. But it turned out they already knew. Damien had told them long before the incident even happened. When she asked why?

Alexander leaned back, smiling. "Because dear cousin, Damien here couldn't last two days without knowing or revealing a secret. It's like oxygen to him"

The tabel had burst into laughter, and even Damien's annoyed expression couldn't hide the faint tug of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Now, weeks later, Noel was doing better. She still had her moments where her leg ached or tensed up if she stood too long, but the wheelchair was gone. She could walk - slowly, carefully but on her own and that was enough.

Tonight, the house smelled like dinner. Noel sat in Cyrus's room, a book open on her lap as she read aloud softly. She paused mid sentence, looking up at him.

"It's been a month, you know" she said quietly. "A month and you still haven't opened those stubborn eyes. I'm literally two books away from becoming a real teacher with the amount of books I read to you every day"

A knock at the door interrupted her rant. Damien stood there, one hand tucked into his pocket. "Dinner" he said simply.

Noel closed her book and set it aside on the table beside Cyrus's bed. She reached out to fix the  blanket over his chest before standing.

"Don't burn the house down while I'm gone" she muttered to him with a faint smile before turning to Damien.

As they walked toward the elevator. Noel broke the silence first.

"Rough day?" Damien didn't answer right away, just pressed the elevator button and sighed- that signature, restrained Damien kind of sigh.

"You have no idea" he muttered.

"Then why don't you take a break" she teased. "You already have the billions. What's one free week gonna hurt?"

"It's not about money anymore, and I can't just take a week off" he said and that made Noel realize it wasn't company related problems.

She sighed. "Family related problems always demand a lot more than we have, don't they? " she turned to him as he did the same. "Sometimes I'm glad I got away, got away from all those problems and their consequences" Damien didn't say anything.

"You'll be fine" Noel patted his shoulder as she went out of the elevator. The familiar noise of laughter filled the air - and Noel's smile widened the moment she saw who was seated among them.

Adrian.

He sat next to Raffaele, talking quietly about something she didn't catch. But when his eyes met hers, Noel's face softened into a bright, genuine smile - the kind that stopped conversations for a moment.

She walked and took a seat next to Luca, having a view of Adrian at an obtuse angle.

"Hey" she said to Adrian softly.
"Hi, Noel" Adrian replied, his voice polite but gentle.