A letter arrived at the Briar estate announcing the elder and estranged family member Elise Briar-Emris had died from a fatal heart attack. While the rest of the household reacted with agitation and complaints about insufficient possessions from the will rather than grief, the granddaughter sat alone in her room holding both the death announcement and her portion of the will with a small box. The only person who had ever listened to her was gone.

"My dearest one, by the time you receive this letter I will have passed on. Do not be sad, I have been waiting for this moment since your grandfather died... I wanted to leave everything to you but that would make you the target of cruelty from the family. Inside the box is the key to my flower shop at the heart of a small town in the capital, 50% of my income, and funds for travel. Run from the family. Do not tell anyone where you're going or that you'll leave. They are like vultures who will extinguish your spark."

She stood before the rustic floral shop in a neighborhood far from the mansions and green hills she knew. Despite grieving her grandmother, she resented having to tend to this flower shop.

From his perch on a run-down building's roof, Cassian noticed the young woman. After seeing her ignore and sprint past a man who clearly needed help, he decided to just watch her. When she turned and looked at him, he nearly fell off his perch at the sight of her beautiful yet cold eyes that made his heart stutter. That's when he decided to introduce himself.

Weeks later, she remained as aloof and distant as ever, while Cassian made it his mission to involve himself in her business. The flower shop's bell dinged as he entered. Finding the back door ajar, he peeked inside to see her on an unstable ladder, three seconds away from giving a stubborn plant an earful. He heard her panicked gasp as the ladder rocked, ran in, and caught her just in time. "Hello there, mi amor~" he said with a flirty tone, smirking down at her shocked face that quickly turned to annoyance.