Aisha's chest fluttered with a joy she couldn't quite name, the kind that seized her whole being and sent her heart careening like it hadn't in ages. She wasn't just smiling—she was floating, her senses brimming with a buoyant energy that made her ears twitch and her toes curl in delight. It felt like walking on air, a giddy, electric thrill that made her want to laugh and bury her face all at once.
Cassius's words—those unfiltered, sincere compliments, had struck her like lightning. No one else could've lit her up like this. If anyone else had said the same, she would've dismissed it, brushing off their praise as intrusive flattery or misguided affection.
But Cassius?...His voice had a way of weaving straight into her, every word carving a warm glow in her chest.
Maybe it was because she saw him as a rival, someone whose respect meant more than idle approval.
