I was satisfied after I finished the fried chicken. I was not actually hungry, though. I just had a craving for it.After that, I sat on the terrace with my hand on my belly and enjoyed the fresh air. Mr. Ganes covered my legs with a thin blanket. Then, to keep me warm, he brought over a comforter and wrapped me up completely.“Do I look like a cocoon now?” I smiled at him.He was quiet, so quiet that I could not even hear him breathe.It was nice that he could not speak. Having someone by my side made me feel less lonely.“You’re so thoughtful. Your wife must be happy,” I said genuinely. “I like sweet guys. It feels good to know someone cares about you. By the way, my boyfriend is also a sweet guy,” I added with a bit of pride.I lay back in the lounge chair and curled up in the blanket. Only my face was showing.Suddenly, I felt like talking and sharing my thoughts.I looked up at the dark sky. “Are there stars tonight? There should be, right? Ms. Xavier said that the sky
He typed on his phone. “Didn’t you ask me to see if your eyebrows moved?”I was at a loss for words.It was late, and the cold wind felt like it was creeping into my blankets. So, I sat up in the lounge chair and said, “I’m going to sleep. I’m tired.”While I was looking for my shoes, he suddenly bent down and picked me up.This was not his first time carrying me. Sometimes, he would carry me when it was inconvenient for me to walk.My face was pressed against his chest, and that strange feeling of familiarity returned.I could hear his heart pounding.Weirdly, my heart started to race a little too.I knew that I should not think this way, but he really reminded me of Zach.“You kind of look like someone I know,” I said.He set me down on the bed and typed on his phone. “Who?”I contemplated for a moment and did not answer.In the end, I just lay down. Mr. Ganes was in the room next to mine, and I had a call button. So, if I needed anything or shouted, he would hear me.Th
I remembered that Zach had a sweater just like this one. In fact, I was the one who had given it to him.He did not wear it often because he usually dressed formally.Was this the sweater from me?I reached out and touched the soft fabric. It felt fuzzy, and there was no painful static electricity.At the same time, my phone rang.I extended one hand toward Mr. Ganes while I answered the call with the other.Sophie said, “Cassia, Zach’s with Cecilia.”“Are you sure?”“Absolutely. They were hugging in a car. My friend, who’s a private investigator, sent me a picture. It shows the inside of Zach’s car, and he’s hugging Cecilia. I would send it to you, but you can’t see.”“Oh, okay.”I was still reaching for Mr. Ganes, but my arm was getting tired.I hung up on Sophie and lowered my left hand.Mr. Ganes typed on his phone. “What’s wrong?”“Nothing,” I replied softly.“Are you sure? Do you feel okay?”“I’m fine. You should go to sleep. I won’t bother you anymore.”I turned
“I can see its color. My eyesight’s gotten a bit better these past few days. I can kind of see your face now.”“Am I pretty?”“You’re gorgeous.”Ms. Xavier laughed. “Your eyesight’s still not fully healed if you think that.”As I prepared to wash up, I asked, “My friend’s visiting today. If she stays late, can she spend the night?”“No one can stay, but for you? Sure.”My dad had shares in the rehabilitation center, so I could do whatever I wanted.Honestly, I was thinking about Mr. Ganes starting his shift at 6 p.m. If Sophie stayed, she might get to see him. For some reason, I just could not let it go.I trusted my intuition. After being with Zach and loving him for so long, I knew every little thing about him.While I walked by the lake after breakfast, Ms. Xavier came over. “Ms. Sophie Freeman is here.”From afar, I could hear Sophie yelling, “Cassia! Cassia!”She ran up to me with a bunch of bags and dropped them casually on the ground.“What did you bring?” I asked.
“Lucy Grant is a fake name. What about her ID? Doesn’t she have one?”“Her ID is fake too.”“That’s impressive.”“What kind of comment is that?”“How else should I respond?” In winter, it got dark early. By about 5 p.m., the sun was already gone.We went inside, and Sophie said, “By the way, where’s your male nurse? You keep suspecting that he’s Zach. I want to see if he looks like him.”“The next shift starts at 6 p.m.”“Oh. I’ll stay here tonight, then.”Even though I did not really want her there, she had an important mission tonight.At 6 p.m., Ms. Xavier came in to change my sheets. “Why are you still here? Isn’t Mr. Ganes supposed to start his shift at 6 p.m.?” I asked.“I’ll leave soon.”“Mr. Ganes isn’t here yet?”“He’s changing.”I felt relieved. I thought that Mr. Ganes might avoid coming to stay away from Sophie.I had not given up yet. I knew that I was acting strange.After Ms. Xavier finished changing the sheets, she smiled and said, “Well, I’m leaving now.
Sophie sighed and patted my shoulder. “You’ve loved Zach for so many years. It’s not easy to move on. I understand.”There was no way she could understand.We lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling. “So, what’s going on with you and Austin?” I asked.“What do you mean?”“I thought I told you to ask him if he likes you. If he doesn’t, just find someone else. Don’t drag it out. It’s not good for either of you.”“Whatever.” She snorted.I wanted to talk more, but Sophie had already fallen asleep.She could fall asleep anywhere, even better than me, a pregnant woman.At 7 p.m., Mr. Ganes came to take me to vision therapy.I rested my hand on his wrist as usual. Realizing that my suspicions were all in my head, walking beside him felt different.The hallway was long, and I smiled at him. “You know what? I almost mistook you for someone else.”He typed on his phone. “Who?”I did not answer, so he asked again, “Zach?”I laughed and said, “Yeah. He keeps coming back into my life.
After vision therapy, Mr. Ganes walked me back to my room. The hallway was quiet, and his footsteps sounded so familiar.All of a sudden, I broke down.I stopped walking, and Mr. Ganes stopped too.I looked up at his blurry face behind the mask and asked, “Are you Zach?”He did not answer. The air felt heavy and uncomfortable.I felt like I was going crazy. One second, I thought he was Zach. The next, I did not.When I was with Sophie earlier, I was sure that he was not Zach. But at this moment, I felt that he could be.I did not know if I should trust my feelings or force myself to ignore them.I thought that I had moved on. I had already accepted Hayden, so why did every man I encountered seem like Zach?I wanted to touch his face. I could not see well, but touching him would tell me if he was Zach.Just before I made contact, I retracted my hand.What was wrong with me?Everyone kept telling me that he was not Zach, but I just could not let it go.Even if he was Zach, w
“Cassia...” Sophie ran over and hugged me tightly. My appearance clearly scared her. “Mr. Ganes told me that got very emotional. What’s wrong?” she said with a quiver.“Where is he?”“He’s over there.”“Is he Zach?”“Cassia, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me like this.” Sophie held me tightly. “How could he be Zach? He’s just your nurse.”“Don’t lie to me.”“Why would I lie? What’s going on, Cassia? Do you love him so much that you can’t move on?”I thought that I had moved on. I really thought that I had.However, that feeling would not leave me. It felt so real that I started to doubt myself.I sobbed and leaned on Sophie. She held me and rested my head on her shoulder. “Oh, my poor Cassia. You don’t have to pretend to be strong. You were in love with Zach for such a long time. It’s not easy to just move on. If you really can’t, take your time. It scares me to see you like this.”I took out the Rubik’s Cube that Dr. Savier had given me and handed it to Sophie. She took it and as
It was late at night, and everyone was too tired to do anything. I was heavily pregnant, and Sophie had no energy left. So, she stopped fighting back. She just collapsed onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her head.Lucy had already fallen asleep. She was young, and she could sleep through anything, including all our talking.Austin was as cold as ice while he sat on the couch. Since I could not convince him to budge, I gave him some water and went back to sleep.He could do whatever he wanted.When I closed the door, I saw him staring at the bed. The look in his eyes was soft and almost dreamy. I could sense love from where I stood.Did he really love Lucy? I could not believe it because I never thought he felt that way about her.I was exhausted, and my mind was all over the place. I went to sleep and had no idea when Austin left.The next morning, Sophie appeared at my door with a pillow.“If you didn’t sleep well last night, you can sleep a little longer. You’re
“I’m not scared. With Austin to protect me, what do I have to worry about? But I think you’re pretty pathetic, Sophie. I show up, and you just give me your room. Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Lucy shook her head. “So pathetic.”Sophie simply stared at her. Lucy was nervous, but she was trying to put on a tough front.Right after, Sophie wore an eerie and unsettling smile.“Fine. You want to sleep with me? Let’s do it. After all, I’m scared of you.” With that, she went back into the room. “It’s time for a shower. Who’s going first, you or me?”Since Lucy had won, she gave me a smug look. “Sophie’s so easy to deal with.”“I don’t think you’ll enjoy sleeping in the same room with her as much as you think,” I warned.The room next door became eerily quiet after I returned to my room.I knew that Sophie would not hurt Lucy. She was not one to go overboard.I texted her. [If you don’t want to share a room with her, come to mine.][It’s fine. The bed’s big enough,] Sophie replied.Alright, then.
As I approached Sophie’s room, the yelling got increasingly loud and made my ears hurt.I opened the door to see her dragging Lucy out by the ear. Lucy was screaming, “Sophie, let go! You’re a barbarian! Austin told me to stay here! Who are you to kick me out? This isn’t even your house!”“This is my house.” I stepped aside to avoid the chaos. “And I’m telling you to leave.”“Austin said I could stay!” “Austin isn’t the king of the world.” I sneered. “Why should I listen to him?”Before I could finish, Sophie had already dragged Lucy to the door. I opened it wide so that she could toss her out.Lucy clung to the doorframe like her life depended on it. “I’m not leaving! Sophie, if you kick me out, what will you do when Austin comes looking for me?”Sophie grabbed a feather duster that Mrs. Gibson had left behind and marched toward Lucy.She started screaming, “Sophie, what are you doing?! Don’t hit me! Sophie! Stop!”Sophie raised the feather duster up high. I knew that she wo
Sophie completely ruined a happy moment.I looked at her. “You’re not still hoping for something with Austin, are you?”“Of course not!” she raised her voice. “I’m not a masochist!”Just then, Mrs. Gibson knocked on the door. “Ms. Cassia Freeman, Ms. Sophie Freeman, someone’s here to see you.”Who could it be this late?We went downstairs and saw Lucy at the front door with a suitcase.She simply would not leave us alone.My head hurt when I saw her.Lucy saw us and walked right in without taking off her shoes. “I told you Cassia and Sophie know who I am! Cassia, your housekeeper’s so rude. She wouldn’t let me in.”“Hey, what are you doing?” Sophie blocked her path. “Take another step, and I’ll get security to throw you out.”“Starting today, I’ll be staying here.” Lucy sat on her suitcase and grinned.“What are you talking about? Are you sure you’re not crazy?”I did not want to argue with her. “Did Austin kick you out?”Lucy was like glue. Once she stuck to you, you coul
“Do you want to talk to Sophie?” I asked, even though I knew he would not say anything nice.As expected, he wore the usual mocking smile. “Talk to that idiot? No thanks.”He hung up, and the screen went black.I was so mad that I felt like my heart might stop. Austin never got angry or showed big emotions, but his calm sarcasm was enough to drive anyone crazy.Just then, Sophie ran over and held out her hand. She was sweating and out of breath. “Where’s Rachel’s water bottle? She’s thirsty.”I gave it to her, and she asked, “Who were you talking to?”“An idiot,” I replied.“Oh.” She ran off again without giving it a second thought.We ended up playing there until sundown. Rachel was all sweaty, so I helped her change in the car. Although it was already spring, it was still a little chilly without the sun.We headed home and invited Kingston to join us for dinner.He gave Sophie the mechanical kite. Our garden was big, so she could fly it anytime.We did not usually have gue
“Let Bob go. Tell Zach to hang the thermos on its neck.”“Isn’t that a bit much?”“He told me that if I didn’t drink his soup, Bob could have it. So, what’s the problem with letting Bob fetch it?”Mrs. Gibson walked away with a troubled expression, and I continued building the sandcastle.Rachel suddenly looked up and asked, “Cassia, don’t you like that guy anymore?”“I don’t like him anymore,” I said.“Is he bad?”“He’s not bad. I just don’t like him anymore.”“You can like my dad, then. He’s handsome, and he knows how to make cheese pizza.”Well, my standards were a little higher than someone who could make cheese pizza.I was not sure what happened to Zach’s soup because I never saw it. His cooking was not that great, and we already had good cooks at home. Mrs. Gibson, Mrs. Ziegler, and Mrs. Harrison made amazing soups. They were from different places, so I got to try food from all over.As such, Zach’s soup was not needed.I never thought there would come a day when I
“When did your head get so square?” I looked at the metal block for a while, but I could not see how it resembled Sophie.“This robot doesn’t have to look like me. The important part is its core. It can follow my commands, and Kingston said he’ll add my voice to it later.”“What can it do? A two-hundred-dollar smart box can already do things like turn lights on and off or flush the toilet.”“Tch, this is different. Apart from following my commands, it can also read my emotions. It’ll then play the appropriate music to improve my mood.”That sounded interesting. “It should be a mood helper instead of a robot.”“Kingston also mentioned that it has a special function if I get really upset.”“Will it explode into fireworks?”“Tch.” She rolled her eyes and hugged the robot. “I don’t know. He didn’t say.”Sophie seemed to like the gift.However, Kingston did not really give it to her because she was fond of it. He just happened to study this stuff.I was incredibly tired, so I turn
“I think it’s great that he has his own principles. A lot of people today don’t have any,” Sophie interjected.It was time to change the subject. Everyone had their own views on such things anyway.“Let’s toast to those with principles,” I said to Rachel.She raised her juice cup in response. “Cheers!”“Alright, cheers.” Oscar and Ellie smiled as they clinked glasses with us.We finished eating, and Sophie had two glasses of wine. I did not allow her to have more. Kingston finally returned as well.He was not full, so he ate the leftovers.Sophie asked him how things went, and he looked up in confusion. “The head of the company whose tech was stolen came too. He claimed that it wasn’t their tech, but they’re working on something similar. He kept promoting it.”“What happened after that?”“Nothing. The police just let those two individuals go.” Kingston shook his head and went back to eating.The whole thing seemed strange. I thought about it, but I could not put my finger on
After a while, Kingston came downstairs. He looked upset, so Sophie asked, “What’s wrong?”“Two people visited the company today to discuss a deal. They offered a high price,” Kingston said.“Isn’t that good?”“At first, I thought so too. But as we talked, something felt off. They brought some tech for the collaboration, but I realized that another company had just created it. They might have stolen it.”“How can they steal someone else’s stuff?”“There are lots of ways.” Kingston peeled an orange and gave half to Sophie before eating the rest himself. “I turned them down, but they kept trying to rope me in.”“Would that tech be useful to you?” I asked.“Of course. It would save us at least a month of work.”Sophie’s eyes lit up as she looked at him. Just then, Ellie brought over a plate of fruit and teased, “Kingston’s too stubborn. If he were a bit more flexible, he’d be super successful by now.”“A gentleman earns money the right way.” Kingston’s stubbornness was somehow