Cassie’s POV
I did not expect that I would be seeing Enzo so soon.
In fact, I was barely making peace with the fact that he was out of my life forever. So seeing him in a hospital right now ought to feel better, but it wasn’t. He looked pale, as though life was sucked out of him.
I was sleeping on the bed when he walked into the room. He was the same man who loved me, but so much changed in the past few weeks that I felt like I no longer knew him.
I wondered if he even wanted to be here.
“Hi, Enzo.” I said, my voice broken. “Come on, in.”
He closed the door
Cassie’s POVI watched as Enzo spoke to Kelly outside, looking quite furious. He was pacing about, occasionally stealing a glance at me. Kelly was made up to date with what happened when she arrived, but she was yet to talk to me. I knew that she wouldn’t have anything nice to say to me either. A knock came on the door. As it opened, a nurse came in with a form. “Hello Mrs Anderson.” She said, surprising me. “Here’s your form.” I frowned her, “I’m not Mrs. Anderson anymore.” “I’m sorry, that’s what it said on the insurance papers.” She said, looking at the form in her hand. “My bad, I’ll correct it right away.” “Where do I have to sign?” “Right here.” “Cassie!” Kelly walked in right then. “You won’t believe who I just saw.” “Excuse me.” The nurse said and walked out. “Who?” I asked, looking at Kelly. “Becky!” She said, “She came for her antenatal check up. I could see a little bulge there, Cassie!”“Wow, so she wasn’t lying about her pregnancy.” I said, snickering. “Good t
Cassie’s POV “The studio is fine,” Kelly said over the phone. “I just finished all the work and I’ll be heading home now. You sure you don’t want me to come over?” “I’m sure, Kelly. I can manage. I’m alright now.” I said, glancing at Enzo behind the wheel. “Listen, I’m almost home. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” “This is where you live?” He asked as he pulled up in front of my building. “Yeah, second floor.” I said, grabbing my back, “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you-” “I’m coming up.” He said, eyeing my neighbours who just went inside. There lived three grad students in my building. They might seem problematic at first glance, but they were pretty harmless. Sure, they brought girls home and sometimes had parties till late in the night, but it was tolerable.“Enzo, those kids are nice.” “They look like they’re drunk.” He said. “Where do they live?” “On the first floor. They never bothered me.” “I’m still coming up.” Rolling my eyes, I said, “Fine.” As we went up, I could s
“You’re sleeping?!” My mother-in-law, Fiona's, voice boomed. I did not realize when I had managed to fall asleep on the couch. Piles of files and books lay scattered on the floor, most of which belonged to my husband Calvin. "Shit." I said and hurriedly got up on my feet, straightening my hair in the process. It’s been three years since I married Calvin, but I still couldn’t earn my mother-in-law's affections. “Who is going to clean all this mess if you’re going to sleep?” She glared. “Quick, get it all done before Calvin arrives. You know he hates it if things are out of order.” I sighed, "But Fiona, I just cleaned this room room yesterday..." She narrowed her eyes at me, "You didn't. You made the house help clean it and they did a very shitty job. Hence, I want you to clean it now."As I couldn’t dare to oppose her, I meekly complied. Fiona always found pleasure in knowing that I was miserable. She wanted to remind me everyday that I was fit for just doing household chores in
"Yes, mother." Jen said, "Cassie is the worst thing that could happen to our family. I mean, she is utterly useless. She doesn't keep Calvin happy. Even after three years of marriage, Calvin doesn't care about her. He wishes every day that he could marry Becky instead. How I wished it was Cassie that suffered in the accident instead of poor Becky." “I agree.” Fiona sighed, “For the past three years, I've been sick of waiting for an heir. Cassie is useless as it is, but I’d expected that she could at least give me a grandchild. She is honestly good for nothing.” Anger arose within me upon hearing her words. I didn’t know what came over me, perhaps it was the threat I felt in Becky waking up, or the false allegations of my incapability of childbearing, or that I was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally to tolerate them anymore, that I sought to give it back to them for once. Without giving it a second thought, I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, ready to
Ignoring me, he started to pull up my shirt. What was going on? Why was he trying to take my clothes off?"Calvin!" I said, grabbing his hands to stop him. "What are you doing?""Didn't you tell my mother that we haven’t been intimate lately?" he said, glaring at me. "I’m fixing that."I stepped back, disgusted. "No! That’s not what I meant! Fiona said—""I don’t care what she said, Cassie," he interrupted, moving closer. "I don’t want to look like an incompetent husband."He pulled me toward him again, but I slapped my hand over his mouth. "No, Calvin! This is ridiculous. I’m not doing this.""Why not?" he demanded. "You wanted a child to secure your place in the family, didn’t you?""Please. I don’t want this!" I cried, feeling the tears well up. He loosened his grip, giving me space to breathe. "I don’t want it like this. Not when you’re so angry at me.""You know I hate it when my mother gets involved in our private life. You promised to respect my privacy, but you told her everyt
I gasped when I saw him. He looked stunning in his new tuxedo. I had always thought he was the most handsome man I’d met, but tonight, he looked even better."What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded as he came to stand beside me. "I asked you to go in as soon as you arrived." "I was talking to-" I turned my face to look at Mr De Luca, but to my surprise, he was nowhere to be found. He had left. "Talking to who?" Calvin asked in impatience. "We're already late, let's go." It hurt to see that his eyes didn’t show admiration like I hoped. He seemed indifferent. I had spent hours getting ready for him, but it felt like I didn’t matter at all."How do I look?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow and gave me a dismissive glance. "Appropriate. Shall we go?"I blushed, embarrassed, but I couldn’t let my tears ruin my makeup. I swallowed hard. "Yes."Grabbing my arm roughly, he dragged me inside with him. Right then, Calvin’s phone buzzed. He read the message, frowning. "What’s wrong?" I
That night, I reached home very late. Yet, Calvin was nowhere to be seen. No matter how many times I called him, he diverted my calls to voicemail. Dejected, I went to bed alone, praying that he returned home safe the next morning.When I awoke the next morning, the house was surprisingly silent. Fiona and Jen have apparently gone out very early in the morning and didn’t come back. This might be the only good thing that happened today.After getting ready, I settled down by the breakfast table as the maid served me some food. It was my favorite; pancakes with maple syrup with a glass of orange juice on the side.“It tastes delicious. Thank you so much.” I smiled at my maid, “Did Calvin come home last night?”“No, ma’am.”“Did he inform any of you where he has been off to?”“Er.. yes, ma’am.” She muttered, “He rang us this morning to ask for some papers to be sent to Westwood hospital.”The spoon I was holding fell from my hand in surprise, clinking against the plate. Widening my eyes,
“What?” My mind went blank.After a moment of silence, he said abruptly, “I need you to leave!”I clenched my fist, was that it? Since she was here, was he going to toss me out like a used tissue paper? I clenched my fists at my sides, staring at him in disbelief. I wasn’t some object he could toss aside when it no longer suited him. I had feelings, and I deserved far more respect than that.“What if I don’t agree to leave?” I said, taking one step closer to him. Calvin’s eyes widened in surprise as it was the first time in years that I dared to go against him. All these years, I’ve been silent because I was begging for his love and attention. I was hellbent on impressing him, and yet, despite so many efforts from my end, he chose to turn a blind eye toward me and only sought for Becky. If that was the case, then I no longer had to swallow my pride.“What’s wrong with you?” Calvin glowered, “Do you really think I’ll ever be happy married to you? Why would you want to be in a marriag
Cassie’s POV “The studio is fine,” Kelly said over the phone. “I just finished all the work and I’ll be heading home now. You sure you don’t want me to come over?” “I’m sure, Kelly. I can manage. I’m alright now.” I said, glancing at Enzo behind the wheel. “Listen, I’m almost home. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” “This is where you live?” He asked as he pulled up in front of my building. “Yeah, second floor.” I said, grabbing my back, “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you-” “I’m coming up.” He said, eyeing my neighbours who just went inside. There lived three grad students in my building. They might seem problematic at first glance, but they were pretty harmless. Sure, they brought girls home and sometimes had parties till late in the night, but it was tolerable.“Enzo, those kids are nice.” “They look like they’re drunk.” He said. “Where do they live?” “On the first floor. They never bothered me.” “I’m still coming up.” Rolling my eyes, I said, “Fine.” As we went up, I could s
Cassie’s POVI watched as Enzo spoke to Kelly outside, looking quite furious. He was pacing about, occasionally stealing a glance at me. Kelly was made up to date with what happened when she arrived, but she was yet to talk to me. I knew that she wouldn’t have anything nice to say to me either. A knock came on the door. As it opened, a nurse came in with a form. “Hello Mrs Anderson.” She said, surprising me. “Here’s your form.” I frowned her, “I’m not Mrs. Anderson anymore.” “I’m sorry, that’s what it said on the insurance papers.” She said, looking at the form in her hand. “My bad, I’ll correct it right away.” “Where do I have to sign?” “Right here.” “Cassie!” Kelly walked in right then. “You won’t believe who I just saw.” “Excuse me.” The nurse said and walked out. “Who?” I asked, looking at Kelly. “Becky!” She said, “She came for her antenatal check up. I could see a little bulge there, Cassie!”“Wow, so she wasn’t lying about her pregnancy.” I said, snickering. “Good t
Cassie’s POVI did not expect that I would be seeing Enzo so soon.In fact, I was barely making peace with the fact that he was out of my life forever. So seeing him in a hospital right now ought to feel better, but it wasn’t. He looked pale, as though life was sucked out of him.I was sleeping on the bed when he walked into the room. He was the same man who loved me, but so much changed in the past few weeks that I felt like I no longer knew him.I wondered if he even wanted to be here.“Hi, Enzo.” I said, my voice broken. “Come on, in.”He closed the door
Enzo’s POVHospitals.I hated them.I hated the smell of it. The people in it. Most of all, I hated the waiting room.I got here twenty minutes ago, but there was still no update about Cassie. The suspense was killing me. I knew she was not in danger, but why was she rushed here? What could have gone wrong?Just as I was about to lose my patience, a female doctor walked into the room. She ran her eyes over the crowd, and as I got up, she realized that she was looking for me.“Mr De Luca?” She said as she approached me. The doctor seemed to be in her forties
Enzo’s POV“Mr De Luca, Miss Liza is asking for an appointment with you. Shall I schedule it for tomorrow evening?”I groaned as I heard my assistant’s words on the intercom. Fucking Liza. Ever since Cassie moved out my house, Liza would not let me take a breather. She was around me the entire time, begging me to take her back. She was so persistent that even the paps have noticed it and are writing long columns in the news that we might be together.“No, tell her I’m not free.”“Mr Deluca, she will not listen to me. She is already very angry with me.”I frowned, “Why
Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at me. She was trapped now. “Hello, mom.” I said with bitterness, “I hope you’ve been well.” “What are you doing here?” She asked, her tone stern. “Why, I’m just here to talk to you regarding our arrangement. You’ve been ignoring me for the past few weeks, conveniently forgetting to fulfill your end of the bargain.”She rolled her eyes at me, “That was for a reason.” “Oh, yes? What reason could you have for keeping me from meeting dad?” I said, “I did everything you told me. I broke Enzo’s heart and left him. I even left my job and started a new life. I have done everything you asked me to do.” “You’re finally doing something good,” She said, “Now don’t expect any rewards for that.” My mouth fell open in surprise. “Wow, you have some nerve saying that.” I said, “I only did what I had to do because I wanted to see dad, not because it was the right thing. So you better be grateful for that and let me know when you will let me see dad. You
Two months laterI ran my eyes over my studio, a relieved smile playing over my lips. After weeks of hard work, my art studio was launched and slowly picking up. For now, there were just two people running it, me and my friend, Kelly. But I was sure that we would slowly expand. “Hey, Kelly.” I said, “Any appointments for me?” She quickly folded the newspapers that she was reading and hid it under the desk. Giving me a smile, she said, “No. You’re free today.” “Wow, first time in ages right?” I said, “Why don’t you see the guests who have just arrived? I’ll sit at the reception.” “Sure. You got it. Shall I get you some coffee to kick start the day?” “No, thanks. I just had it.”As soon as Kelly was out of my sight, I carefully pulled the newspaper. The headlines on the front page caught my attention. ‘The city’s most eligible bachelor spotted with his girlfriend. Are things heating up?’ It wasn't the text but the picture below it that made my heart skip a beat. I closely watched
“I said I love you. I always have.”Was I hearing him right? Did he just say that he… loved me? It was futile to hold back my tears now. They were streaming past my cheek in anger.Why was this happening now? Just when I thought I could be happy again, everything was being taken away from me!“No, you don’t.” I said, turning away from him. “Don’t say that.”“I can’t lie about my feelings, Cassie.”“Don’t make this any harder than it is.” A sob coming out of my mouth.I could feel my he
“What the hell, Mom.” I said, “You cannot give me an ultimatum like that.”“Well, call it what you want, dear. I don’t care.” She said, “All I know is that you need to make a choice. Are you going to choose Enzo or are you going to choose your father?”Suddenly, angry tears brimmed in my eyes. I could not help but hate my mother for saying those words. For forcing me to choose between two people I cared immensely about.“You’re a cruel woman.” I said, “No mother would do this to her child.”“That’s true.” She said, “That’s why I’m doing this to you. After all, you are not my child