It was not a bad thing for Sophie to give up on Austin.She cried all night. Even though the wall separated us, I could still faintly hear her sobs. It was heartbreaking.I had no choice but to knock on her door, and she opened it with swollen eyes.I sighed. “Let’s sleep together.”“Are you a masochist?” She let me in.“I can’t sleep anyway. We might as well be close while you cry.”She wiped her eyes. “I don’t want to cry, but the tears just keep coming. Cassia, am I pathetic?”“Of course not. Even gods have been troubled by love.” I comforted her. “Why don’t we go out this weekend? I’ll take you around.”“What if you go into labor on the road?”“It won’t happen that soon. There’s still some time before my due date. Can you wish me well?”Sophie rested her head on my shoulder. “Cassia, let’s run away and travel the world. People in novels do that and live cool lives.”“You can’t be serious? Austin messed with your head so much that you’ve lost all faith in love?”“You wou
Well, as long as Sophie was happy, she could do whatever she wanted.On the way to Freeman Corporation, she said, “I’m not coming home for dinner tonight. Kingston and I are going to the tech expo.”“Okay,” I replied. “Have fun.”“Cassia, if things work out between me and him and you get on Mr. Hanson’s good side, will you call me your hero?”“When people succeed, the first thing they do is get rid of the heroes so that they don’t steal their spotlight. Don’t you know that?”“Whatever.” She pressed her face against the cold car window and stared outside. Her eyes were still puffy, so I dug through my bag and handed her some eye patches.She asked, “What’s this?”“Use them during your lunch break. Don’t scare Kingston.”When we got to the office, Benjamin brought me tea. I took a sip as I logged into the system.Benjamin had already figured out my routine. I did the same thing at the same time every day. He was sharp, and I liked that. Once my dad returned to Freeman Corporat
No wonder Zach looked like he wanted to throw up every time he saw me back then.He thought that to impress him, I had asked someone to steal his trade secrets and made Tyler lose faith in him. It looked like I wrecked his career and showed up to “save the day.”I would never do something that would hurt me as much as it hurts others.It was way too cruel.I kept quiet for a while, so Zach continued, “I ran into Steven yesterday. He told me that you bought the research from him. You were going to give it to me, but someone else got to it first, so you didn’t bring it up.”“Would it change anything if I told you?”“I misunderstood. I thought…” He hesitated.“Heh.” I laughed. “Zach, we’ve known each other since we were kids, but you’ve never bothered to understand me.”“I’m sorry,” he said softly.His apology did not mean much. It was too late for that.“Alright, we’ll sign the contract once you’re back. I’m hanging up.”“Cassia,” he called my name again. “I’m sorry, Cassia. I
“Watch the movie. Why are you staring at me?”“Cassia, is Zach outside?”“Yeah. Don’t worry about him. He’ll leave on his own.”“Cassia.” Oliver kept looking at me. “You seem to be over him.”“You finally believe me?” I messed up his hair. “You goofball. I always mean what I say.”After the movie, Mrs. Gibson was running around the house and garden. I asked her what was going on, and she said, “There’s a thunderstorm. I need Mr. Dennis and the others to cover the flowers with plastic, or else, they’ll be ruined.”It had been thundering all day, and the rain was finally beginning to fall.I checked the weather app, and there would indeed be a thunderstorm today.Mrs. Gibson added, “Mr. Gordon’s car is still outside. Should we let him in?”“It’s okay. He’ll leave if it pours.”I needed to ask Sophie to hurry home. She happened to arrive right after I sent her a text.“You won’t believe it! There was this huge lightning strike, and guess what I saw?”“What?”“I saw pink light
Sophie and I exchanged looks. We both thought the same thing.If Zach had been sleeping in the car with the windows closed and the air condition on, he could have experienced carbon monoxide poisoning.We quickly jumped out of the car to check on him. Although I was not getting back together with him, I did not want him to be harmed.I ran to the car and saw him lying in the driver’s seat with his eyes shut. Through the window, he looked pale.Sophie gasped. “Oh, no. Is he dead?”I got scared, so I opened the door. Zach immediately opened his eyes.Thank goodness he was alive. I felt a huge relief.“Dude.” I nearly freaked out. “What are you doing here? You didn’t go home all night? Don’t you have a place to stay?”“The rain was too heavy. I couldn’t see well enough to drive, so I just stayed here.” He looked tired. It must have been uncomfortable to sleep in the car.“Go home and get some rest before you come over to sign the contract.” After I made sure that he was not dead,
“What?”“You didn’t get so caught up in your decision that you convinced yourself it would work, did you?” I finished signing the contract and handed him a copy. “Do you think I’ve been waiting for you to pursue me all this time?”“I never thought that. I just feel like I owe you—”“You don’t owe me anything. Everything I did before, I did willingly. So, whatever you choose to do for me now is up to you. If I don’t accept it, that doesn’t mean I owe you.”Zach gazed at me for a long time. His eyes were so beautiful. I had always enjoyed looking into his eyes. I used to find it strange that a boy’s eyes could look so dreamy.Later, I realized that I would never understand him.It was not professional to discuss personal matters in my office. So, I tried to stay businesslike and extended my hand. “Zach, I look forward to working with you.”He took my hand but refused to let go. His hand was warm, and his fingers wrapped around mine like a spider’s legs.I tried to pull away a few
Toward the end of the day, I received a call from who I thought was Rachel.So, I happily answered, “Hey, are you done with school?”However, it was Cameron sounding worried. “Cassia…”He rarely sounded like that. People like him, who managed a big company, always stayed calm. The only person who could make him that worried was Rachel.I immediately thought that something had happened to her, so I asked, “What happened to Rachel?”“I think she’s on her way to see you.”“Huh?” I was confused. “Rachel’s on her way to see me? From Spain?”“Yes, she’s been asking me since New Year’s to bring her to West City. I promised her that I would, but then, a few clients came to Madrid. I had to entertain them.”“So, Rachel’s missing?” I started to break out in a cold sweat. “How do you know she’s on her way to see me? How would she get here? I’m so far away.”“She left a note with messy handwriting. It said that she was going to Sommerset to find you.”“But how could she fly alone?”“She
“Who told you that you could buy a ticket and fly on your own?! Do you realize how lucky you are?! If anything went wrong, you could have died!” I yelled. It was my first time being so tough on Rachel.I had to be strict with her. Otherwise, she would not know right from wrong.“We’re staying at the airport until your dad gets here to bring you back!”She got scared, and her face turned pale. “Cassia, why are you being so mean? Don’t you like me anymore? Don’t you want me here?”“You should have talked to your dad about coming here.”“He always says ‘soon,’ but if I wait any longer, you’ll have the babies. Then, you won’t like me anymore!” she shouted and cried.I never expected her to think of all this. As she sobbed, Sophie tried to comfort her. However, I gave Sophie a sharp look, and she stepped back.Before she could say anything, I warned, “You might as well leave if you’re planning to speak up for her!”“Okay, okay, I won’t say anything.” Sophie covered her mouth and ste
Sophie knocked on my door the next day around 7 a.m.I only managed to fall asleep at about 2 a.m., so I had a bad headache. I sat on the bed as she ran over excitedly and asked, “Are you busy this morning?” “Go away.” I lay down again. “Come to the city hall with me. I’m getting married!”“Why do you need me there? Am I going to breastfeed you?”“You don’t have milk right now.” I was disgusted by our conversation. Rachel sat up from the bed and asked, “Why are you going to the city hall?”“To get married.”“Shouldn’t you be going to a church for that? There’s supposed to be a priest with a bible that asks if you’re willing to marry this person next to you regardless of… something?”“That’s a religious wedding. Besides, it has to be lawful. What we’re doing today is the legal side of things.” Sophie carried Rachel up from the bed. “Do you want to be a witness to our marriage?” “Yay, sure!” Rachel immediately beamed and agreed. “I want to be the priest who holds the bibl
Cecilia had no shame at all. I would be speechless if this worked on Zach. After a while, she walked out dejectedly with her flowers. It seemed like she did not even manage to enter his office. She stood there in annoyance for a while before she suddenly looked over in my direction. I could see her, but she might not be able to see me. I was on a high floor, and the sun was blinding. Right then, Hailey gave me a call. I knew that she wanted to rant about Cecilia. Sure enough, Hailey started to complain, “Ms. Freeman, Cecilia is really shameless. I’ve never seen such a shameless woman. When Mr. Gordon was cut off from Gordon Corporation, she abandoned him immediately. Now that she knows he’s going to be Gordon Corporation’s acting CEO, she instantly starts visiting him again. I really can’t stand her.” “Hasn’t she always been like this?” I was unfazed. “Fortunately, Mr. Gordon is not willing to see her.” Hailey sounded relieved. “Do you really think he won’t see her fo
I looked at Austin’s pale face, and I was at a loss for words. His argument was reasonable, and I had no way to refute it. I was upset, but I could not cry. I felt a heavy feeling in my chest, and I found it hard to breathe. He looked at me and suddenly smiled. “Look at your face. Have I ever said that I liked Sophie? I don’t like girls like her. I prefer girls like you who are smart, beautiful, and decisive. Why don’t you marry me after you give birth to your babies?”I did not want to joke around with him. It was not funny.After that, Lucy exited the bridal shop and got into the backseat of the car. I stood in front of the bridal shop and watched as his car disappeared into the corner. “Cassia,” Sophie called out to me. I turned around. “What?”“Whose side are you on? I realize you’ve been extra nice to Austin recently. Have you forgotten that he’s a jerk?”“Watch your mouth.”I got into my car unhappily. “I’ll make a move first.”“Aren’t we having dinner together to
I knew that he was looking at the photos of him and Sophie in her wedding gown. Perhaps this would be the only time in his entire life that he could stand next to Sophie while she was dressed in a wedding gown. I felt the waterworks coming. When I tried to look for tissue papers in my bag, Zach called me. He sounded a bit excited. “Cassia, there’s this person overseas who has the same blood type as Austin. He has ALS, which is a fatal motor neuron disease. His family has already signed an organ donation form for him, and his condition recently worsened. He may pass in a month’s time, so I got in contact with them. His family has agreed to donate his heart to Austin.” “Really?” It was good news, and I almost leaped in joy. I glanced at Austin excitedly. He was staring intently at his phone, so he did not notice me. “Does Austin have to leave immediately?”“It’s still early. We can leave when the donor’s condition worsens.” I estimated the time. Zach said that it would ta
Sophie could easily start a fight wherever she went. I immediately went over and saw that Austin’s forehead had turned red. It seemed to be getting swollen. I kicked Sophie in anger. “Is there something wrong with you? What are you doing?” “Why did you kick me? Didn’t you hear what he just said?”Austin bent down and picked up Sophie’s phone for her. “Luckily, your phone screen isn’t cracked. It’s fine if my skull is cracked; it can heal.” Sophie took her phone, and it immediately unlocked due to face ID. Her wallpaper was a photo of Kingston and her. She had just changed the wallpaper yesterday. It used to be a photo of me and her. Austin was the one who had taken that photo. Even though Austin was not directly in the photo, it felt like it was a photo of the three of us. He must have noticed it. He smiled and said, “I’ll make a move. Tell Lucy I’ll be waiting for her in the car.” Austin walked out of the bridal shop, and Sophie looked dispirited. “I was quite happy, bu
“You’re getting married too?”“I’ll be your best man or maid of honor. What? You’re too cheap to pay for the outfits?”“You, my best man?”“Look around you. Are there any single people left?”Sophie rolled her eyes. “Hah, I wasn’t planning on inviting you.”Kingston tried to shake Austin’s hand, but Austin ignored him. Sophie got mad and pulled Kingston away. “Don’t pay attention to him. He thinks he’s too good for anyone. He’s crazy.”“Sophie,” I warned.“What? He’s always acting crazy!” she yelled.I was not sure if Austin really wanted to be Sophie’s best man, or if it was just an excuse to come here.Anyway, Austin went to change too. I could not tell the difference between the best man’s and groom’s outfits. However, the difference between the bridesmaid and bride was clear.While Sophie was posing in front of the mirror in her wedding dress, Austin came out of the fitting room.Austin was very thin, and the suit hung loosely on him, but it still looked good.He had a
Sophie’s wedding preparations were progressing quickly. She limped to work in the mornings and dragged me along in the afternoons to buy wedding stuff.I felt like the wedding was just an excuse for her to go shopping.“This afternoon, Kingston and I are trying on our wedding outfits. You should come too.”“It’s your wedding. Why should I come?”“To help me choose! I look good in everything, so it’s hard to pick.”“If it’s that hard, just buy them all. Aren’t you rich?”“Why are you so grouchy?” She leaned closer and observed me. “Cassia, are your hormones off balance?”“I’m pregnant, so everything’s a mess right now.”After some thought, I called Austin and told him, “Sophie’s trying on wedding dresses this afternoon.”“Okay,” he replied in his usual lifeless tone.“Aren’t you going to say anything to her?”“Don’t eat too much. The wedding dress will be a pain to alter.”I was so angry that I hung up. He was so stubborn. I was sure that he would regret it and cry later.M
Austin was the weakest among us when we were kids. He could not climb trees, run, or do anything physically demanding. Instead, he would play board games and puzzles with us.Sophie always thought that he was smart, and she admired him.I never imagined that someone I grew up with might die so soon.“You should leave,” he said weakly. “She should be done by now.”“Austin.” I wanted to say something more, but he turned his back to me.He did not want to listen, so I had no choice but to leave.As I reached the door, I heard him say, “Actually, this is a good thing.”Was he saying that Sophie marrying Kingston was a good thing?What was good about it?I felt like grabbing Sophie over. I wanted to point at the dying man in bed and say, “This guy loves you more than you know. He helped you test Kingston’s character. He thinks about you all the time. He comes to see you every night using his half-sister as an excuse, but he’s dying. He doesn’t want you to be sad, so he plans to die
“I just went for a checkup.” Austin walked over to me. “Why are you sweating so much?”He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and gave it to me. Honestly, only Austin would still carry a handkerchief in his condition.I wiped my sweat. “I came with Sophie to get her cast off, and I thought I’d stop by to see you.”“Get her cast off? I thought that wasn’t until next month?”“She insisted on getting it off today. The doctor checked, and her bone is healing well, so it’s fine for her to take it off.”“When did she start caring so much about her looks?” Austin walked back to his room, and I followed him.He sat down and seemed a little out of breath. I had already asked the doctor about him. Austin could not engage in any physical activity; he could not even walk fast.I was about to pour him some water, but he waved me off. “Don’t bother. I’m not thirsty. How could I let you take care of me? I might be a patient, but you’re pregnant.”At least, he could still joke. If I were him