Cassie’s POVAs we pulled up in front of my parents' house, a wave of nostalgia hit me. It was right in the center of the city, yet it felt like a peaceful world of its own, far removed from the noise and chaos outside. It was my little escape. The mansion wasn’t just home to my family—it was also where the staff lived, the people I’d spent most of my childhood with. It was one of the biggest estates in the city, owned by one of the wealthiest men in the country: my dad, Arnold Harper.To the outside world, I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Sure, I was adopted, but my earliest memories were all from this house. People always looked at me with envy, assuming I had the perfect childhood, but I couldn’t help but laugh. My childhood was anything but perfect. Even though I wasn’t born into this family, I always felt the love of a child who was chosen.The truth was, my family was always distant, and that mainly came from my mom and sister, who, to this day, still couldn’t accept
“B-but Mom..” I stammered, “Where else will I go? I have nowhere-” “Well, that’s not my problem.” She said, throwing her hands up. “I’m surprised you think you still have a place in this house. The day you married your husband, you were left on your own. And after the disgrace you brought to this family by trying to kill your own best friend.. We’d be foolish to accept you back into the family.” “Mom! At least you have to believe that they are merely rumors!” “I don’t care!” She yelled, “Your name has been all over the media, Cassie! Do you know how much damage you’ve done to the company? We’ve had enough of your bullshit troubling us. Please leave, Cassie! I don’t want anyone to believe that we are supporting this behavior of yours!” Tears were streaming down my face at this point. I couldn’t believe that my own mother was such things to me. How could she leave me on the streets like this?“Mom, please don’t do this.” I said, “I need your help. And where is dad? I need to speak t
Enzo’s house was nothing like what I’d expected it to be. Being such a successful lawyer, I’d expected nothing short of a luxurious penthouse apartment in New York. And rightly so, that was where he lived. His penthouse was on the 46th floor, revealing a magnificent view of the city from the skies. However, the house was rather… empty. It had a huge living room with a gray sofa set without any TV. There were absolutely no paintings hung on the walls, which was strange because after seeing how much he was willing to spend for a painting in that auction, I’d expected him to be a collector. As I ventured further into the house, I saw a lifeless kitchen with the same gray furniture. I couldn’t help but sigh at the state of the house. Despite having such an advantage of natural light and the overlooking city view, the house looked dead to me. There were two rooms in the apartment and another small room for storage, I assumed. Enzo said that his room also had a computer, so he mostly us
The memory was all a blur in my memory, owing to the fact that it all happened long long ago. I wasn’t sure how or why, but as he mentioned the date to me, it all came flooding back. Suddenly everything fell into place in my head, the puzzle solving by itself. Every event of that day was slowly coming back to me, making me remember everything vividly. “You..” I stammered, “You are Enzo.. the one that I..” He smiled, “Yes.” He nodded, “The one that you pulled out of that house of fire.” It was perhaps twenty years ago that it happened. It was when I was still living in an orphanage, before my parents decided to adopt me. Thankfully, I don’t remember much from that phase of my life, one because I was very young and also because it wasn’t necessarily fond memories I held from that place. Like any other foster care, we were all severely neglected, and sometimes even treated ill. To make things worse, I don’t remember having any notable companionship except for one friend, Enzo. He wa
Calvin's POV. My day barely began and I was already having a headache. I sipped onto my coffee mug resting by the table, and realized that it was empty. I had already emptied a cup of black coffee, and yet my head was throbbing. Caffeine cannot fix sleeplessness, of course, I slowly realized. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a full night’s sleep without the worry of my missing wife, my sinking business and an angry father. The only ray of sunshine in my life right now was Becky and her arrival back into my world, but the rest of my world was in such an awry state that I’m barely able to appreciate her presence amidst all of this. Pulling myself away from my thoughts, I tried to focus on the screen in front of me. I was having a meeting soon with the board of directors where I was supposed to present our business plan for the next few months, and I couldn’t think of anything. The truth was that I had no plan. I had no idea how to revive this business after it had already incu
Calvin’s POVA knock came on my door, interrupting my thoughts. “Come in,” I said gruffly. I was not in a mood to entertain any visitors today, so it better be important. It was Austin, my secretary, that revealed himself as the door opened. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at him. The man is always interrupting me in the worst possible moments. “Whatever it is, I’m not in the mood, Austin.” I said, burying my face in my palms. Gently rubbing my temples, I added, “Leave me alone.” “You’re going to want to hear this, Boss.” He persisted. I looked up at him in annoyance, “I told you I don’t want to hear it, whatever it may be!” “But..” He hesitated, “it’s about-”I glared at him, “I said I don’t want to-”“It’s about Cassie.” He blurted in a hurry. I was cut off mid-sentence as I heard his words. Widening my eyes, I said, “What did you say?” “I found out where she is.” He replied, “You asked me to, remember?” A weird sense of relief flooded over me. After she was given bail, I
Cassie’s POV The next morning, I awoke early, despite tossing and turning in my bed for hours together, chasing sleep. By the time I had stepped out of my room, it was past 8 am and Enzo was nowhere to be found. He has already gone to work, I presumed. I had decided to meet Kelly for lunch later today, so until then, I essentially had the entire house for myself. Fixing myself a quick cup of coffee, I settled down by the kitchen counter and lazily ran my eyes over the empty space of the house. The one thing that stood about the house was how bland it was, how lifeless and empty it seemed. It almost felt criminal that Enzo was wasting the enormous potential this house had. This beautiful space needed some upgrading for sure, but it wasn’t my call to make. I mean, I would be living here for a little while, until I got my own space, so it would be terribly rude of me to suggest Enzo try to get some furniture in here. He looks like he can afford it. If it was his busy lifestyle that
The ring of a bell chimed in the air. Before I could get up from the pool of clothes I submerged myself in, Kelly got up from her seat and walked out of the room to get to the door. I could faintly hear her conversation and made out that our lunch was delivered. Pushing all the stuff away from my lap, I got up and headed out the door. After the unfortunate phone call with Calvin, I realized that I was in no mood to head out for lunch. Moreover, I needed her company immediately, so I rang up Kelly and asked her to come home instead. Since she wanted to help me unpack my things, we got to it while I ranted to her till my heart was content. We settled down by the kitchen counter to eat our lunch which was some alfredo chicken pasta. As I took the first bite, Kelly grimaced, “Everyday is a new surprise to me.” “What?” I asked, not sure what she was referring to. Did she not like the food?“About Calvin.” She clarified to my relief. “I mean, why is he being such a hypocrite? Has he alw
Enzo’s POV I glanced at my watch once again, heaving a frustrated sigh. The girls were supposed to be home half an hour ago, yet there was still no sight of them. Glancing out into the night, I hoped that their car would pull up any moment now, but no matter how many times I gazed that way, the street was still empty. “Get over here, Enzo.” Leo called, “Have a beer. You haven't had a drink since we came here.” “You guys get started,” I said, pacing about, “I’ll join you later.” “Oh, for god’s sake. Take a chill pill, man.” Hank said, “The girls must be headed home already. There’ll be here any moment now.” “Yeah, you’ve said that at least ten times now.” I said, “yet I don’t see them anywhere near us.” “You know how they are.” Leo said, bringing over a beer to me. “They can get lost in time when they’re shopping. I’m sure that’s why they're late. Don’t worry too much.” “Yeah, let them have fun, Enzo.” Hank said, “They need that break anyway.” I shook my head, “Cassie’s not lik
“Oh, look at these earrings.” Phoebe exclaimed, her eyes going wide with wonder. “They look beautiful. Can I try them?” “Of course, miss.” The shopkeeper said, assisting her in wearing them. I exchanged an amused look with Tara. It was funny how Phoebe already had two huge bags full of stuff that she spontaneously bought at every shop that we stopped at. So far, there were gifts in their for her parents, her four siblings, their spouses and kids, her colleagues at the office, Leo’s family, and their househelp.“These would look really cute on my cousin.” She said, “I’ll take these.” “We’ll get this packed for you, ma’am. Anything else?” The shopkeeper asked. “And these bracelets please,” I said, handing over a couple of them to the shopkeeper. “It’s for my friend Melissa.” “They look cute.” Tara nodded, appreciatively. “How much is it, total?” Phoebe said, pulling out her card. The shopkeeper scrunched up his nose, “I’m sorry. We only accept cash.” “Cash? But I just ran out of
The villa that Leo booked for us was beautiful. It was situated alongside a private beach property and luckily for us, our bedroom had a direct view of the ocean. As soon as I opened the window, a cool breeze blew across my face. “Wow,” I breathed out in delight, “This is so beautiful.” I turned around to find Enzo already staring at me. I gave him a small smile, “I wouldn’t mind living here forever.” “We can come here whenever you want,” he mused. I laughed, looking back at the ocean. “It must be expensive.” I said, “Moreover, I doubt it will be available that easily.” “It’s our property.” I whipped my head around in surprise, “What?” “I own it.” He said casually. “This is your property?” I asked in surprise. I could only imagine how much it was worth. “I thought we were going to an airbnb?” “I got that booking cancelled. This is much better anyway.” he said, “Don’t you agree?” “Of course.” I said, thrilled at the idea. “I guess I know where we’ll be spending our retirement
Cassie’s POVBefore I realized, it was time to go to Miami. Friday was thankfully not a working day this week, so we had all the three days for ourselves. Enzo and I were the last ones to reach the airport, so we didn’t have much time to greet everyone. I was just introduced to Hank’s new girlfriend Tara, and as luck would have it, my seat was right beside hers. She was a shy woman, barely feeling comfortable enough to speak to any of us. I could sense the disappointment in her face when she realized that she would not be sitting beside Hank, but she was too polite to say anything. I quickly picked up on it and asked Hank, “Hey, do you want to switch seats with me? Perhaps Tara would feel better.” He smiled, gratefully. “Thanks, Cassie.” Once Hank took my seat, Tara asked me, “Why did you ask her to move? That’s rude.” “Relax, babe. Cassie suggested it.” He said. Smiling at their conversation, I went in search of my seat, and quickly spotted it. To my surprise, I ended up besid
Enzo’s POV Today was awful. It was packed with meetings with difficult clients who refused to budge. I hated dealing with people like them, who have unrealistic expectations about what a firm can do for you. But sadly, they are powerful people, so you need to get them on your side. And thankfully, I had enough experience in this field to deal with such situations. I headed back to my office at the end of the day, ready to go back home when I found my associates seated inside. “Ugh,” I groaned at the sight of them. “Whatever it is, it has to wait until tomorrow morning.” “You’re going to want to hear this.” Mark said. “It’s about Raymond.” I frowned, looking at him, “What? What about him?” “Take a seat.” He said, pushing a file toward me. As I opened it, I quickly read through the contents of it. I scoffed in disbelief, looking up at the both of them for confirmation, “He wants to work with us again?” “That’s right.” I shrugged, “But why? What changed?” “He says a certain som
The next morning, Enzo had already left for work when I woke up.And for the first time in a while, I was grateful for it. I didn't want him to know where I was headed this morning. Apart from being a great friend, Melissa was also an excellent stalker with connections all around the city. Within a span of twelve hours, she got me the information I needed to carry out my plan. So there I was, walking across the road toward the restaurant where the man I wanted to meet was peacefully having lunch. I had no choice but to disturb him. “Excuse me.” I said as he sipped on some water, “Mr Raymond?” He nodded, frowning at my intrusion. “Yes. Do I know?” I put my hand forward, “Cassandra Harper. Nice to meet you.” He took my hand as the gears in his head turned, and no sooner, his eyes widened with realization. “Wow. You’ve got to be kidding me.”“I hope you don’t mind my presence,” I said, taking a seat in front of him, “But I need to talk to you.” “There’s nothing to talk about, Miss
My day at the office went a lot better than I’d expected when I first stepped out of the house this morning. After a relaxing bath at home, I prepared to go out for dinner. I waited for Enzo, although I doubted he would join me. He preferred to ignore me at all times now.After waiting for him for an hour, I decided it would be best to go alone. I was about to switch off the lights when I noticed something. I walked to the dustbin and opened it. Much to my relief, the velvet box that Enzo threw in it was still there. With a heavy heart, I dug it out and opened it. Tears blurred my vision as I stared at the brilliant princess cut diamond that was resting on the band. Taking it, I held it close to my chest, letting the tears run down. This cannot be it. I will prove to Enzo that I was ready for a marriage. I made several mistakes in the past, but now I had the chance to correct them. I walked back to my bed and slipped the ring into my bag. I was not going to give up on us so soon
I had just filled my plate with food at the office cafeteria when I heard Melissa’s voice from behind. “Cassie!” She called, making me turn around. She approached with a concerned look on her face. “I heard what happened yesterday. Are you okay?” I gave her a small nod, “I’m fine, Melissa. Thanks for asking.” “I never thought he would do something like that.” She said, “He must have gone crazy.” “Mel, I don’t really feel like talking about it. Do you mind if…” “Sure, of course.” She said, “I'll get some food and join you alright? Go ahead.” After five minutes, Melissa came back with her plate and took a seat in front of me. We quietly enjoyed her meal, while she gave me occasional glances of pity. And it wasn’t just her. Most of the people who entered the cafeteria stared at me, giving me curious glances. I wondered how the news spread so fast. “Did you speak to Mr Clark?” She broke the ice finally. I shook my head, “No, but I will after lunch.” I said, “I couldn’t get his app
I looked at him in helplessness. I was guilty. I knew I made a mistake, but how can I make him see it? I can’t go back in time and change anything. It was too late for that. All I can do is apologize and tell him that I wouldn’t do something like this again. “Enzo, I told you I’m sorry. It was my mistake. I should have listened to you.” “No, Cassie.” He said, “It’s too late. I had to get a fuckign restraining order to protect you from him. Your sorry doesn’t change anything. You should never have gotten involved with him in the first place. You should never have gotten into his car. Heck, you should never have worked for him.”“You cannot expect me to stop working and sit at home, Enzo.” I said, “I wanted this job-” “I did not say that. I merely asked you to… forget it.” He huffed out, “And you know what? What if I did? Why do you think I put restrictions for you, Cassie? Was it for my selfish benefit?” I shrugged, “I don’t know, Enzo. I thought you were worrying for no reason, l