Love Me Without Owning Me

Rowan has lived under Cassian's roof for eighteen years—curfews, schedules, permission for parties, all dictated by the man who raised him. But Rowan has always pushed back: coming home late on purpose, vanishing without warning, daring Cassian under the influence of drugs to ask: are you going to punish me, or kiss me? When assassins, old scars, and the truth about his parents' car crash surface, Rowan's real purpose is finally laid bare—he stayed at Hawthorne Estate to investigate his family's destruction. He waited ten years to bring down the Hawthorne name. But when he does, Cassian doesn't fight him. He hands over his shares, his position, and his future—and simply says: you're free to stay, or you're free to leave. Rowan holds the signed agreement between them: no tracking, no decisions made for me, no disappearing without a word. And he finally realizes—Cassian never knew how to love, only how to hold. But Rowan is the one who stayed to teach him.