"So why are you here?"Cassandra asked once she'd set the cup of coffee in front of Daniel. She refused to look at him, instead keeping her eyes trained at the window showing the backyard, turning her back to him. Carmen had taken Kendall with her to give them some time alone after Kendall had barrelled in when he had spotted Daniel's car.

And earned Daniel's eternal gratitude.

It had been more than three months since he'd had Cassandra to himself. The months leading to her move had been spent with the interior designer and contractors. So he basked in the simple pleasure of being in her presence.

He missed her. So much. Her empty room became his refuge on those sleepless nights. It scared him, the intensity of his need for her. But, like an addict, he couldn't stay away.

And realising he hadn't answered her question, his mind scrambled to find a plausible explanation.

"Carmen mentioned you had been keeping to yourself too much. You hadn't talked to her since you moved out. So I wanted to check up on you,"he said, eyes focusing on her slightly frown.

"You couldn't have asked when you're picking up and dropping Kendall?"she asked crossly, eyes finally falling on him.

"I didn't think you were open to any conversation apart from what Kendall did and feel. So I wanted to drop on a non-Kendall day and talk to you,"he returned, fighting to hide a grin when her shoulders slumped. He liked that she knew him well enough to know he wouldn't let the issue go. Those nights had woven an indelible bond between them, made them closer. But there was a barrier still. Fighting the urge to try and break down that wall again, he forced himself to ask, "So how are you?"

"I'm fine."

Fine? The usual, non-committal, female response that could mean the direct opposite? That was it?

Incredulous, Daniel frowned. Studying her closer, he could see she wasn't fine. Her skin paler than usual, looking much more fragile than the usual redhead. Her dark circles, which she'd tried to hide with concealer, were almost covering her cheekbones. And her eyes were red. Clearly, she was not fine.

"Tell me what's wrong,"he demanded softly, his need to help her overriding his usual caution. When she tried to deny again, his frustration, pent up need for her and hurt burst free. "When are you going to trust me?"

"What are you talking about?"she growled, whirling around to face him, her eyes shooting fire.

"We've been tiptoeing around this for weeks. Haven't I redeemed myself? I was there when you needed me. I let you live in this stupid house. I even left you alone. Why is that not enough?"

He abruptly stopped once he heard the words coming out of his mouth. Surprise, shock and dread whirled within him. Had he really said that? Most importantly, was he arrogant enough to believe the words he'd spewed? With a sinking stomach, Daniel had a feeling he meant exactly what he'd said. And he expected her to trust him? His guts started to churn at the churlish, obnoxious realisation.

But he didn't have time for much introspection.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? Yeah you did all that. But you also forced me into that situation. As much as I love Kendall, everyone knew who's the father and it made everything a thousand times more difficult for us. It tied my hands in ways you don't even know or understand. I had to be very cautious and foresee every possible consequence to every move I could make. I also had to teach Kendall things he shouldn't have had to know at such a young age.

"Sleeping was a fucking struggle, so much so I had to sleep with guns in strategic places around my bedroom. In fact, my everyday routine included checking for Bryan's presence and preparing myself for Bryan's presence. My entire fucking life revolved around that bastard. In a way that you, with all your talk about vengeance, would never devote that much time on him.

"And Massachusetts is entirely on you. Why did you not listen to me when I had those files I'd painstakingly compiled? Was I not a person to you? Was I just a mosquito buzzing in your ear? Annoying but insignificant? Even when you knew how I'd outsmarted the bastard before, why didn't you fucking listen?

"And the way you callously used Kendall, is he not your son? How can you trust those feds when you don't even know who Bryan planted? Don't tell me you were surprised when Fred was caught trying to flee to South America with classified information."

Daniel had to look away from her. He'd been shocked when news had come of dirty FBI agents. Fred had been one of them. When he'd ordered a deeper investigation, he had been floored when the reports revealed that he'd been bought by Bryan. Breaking the news to his family, it had devastated him when Cassandra hadn't looked as shocked as he'd felt.

He never wanted to disappoint her again. But he was doing just that now. His usually glib tongue had escaped him now and he was scrambling to show his remorse.

But her next words made him feel like his stomach was being kicked into his spine.

"I don't think I can ever fully trust you with Kendall. Not even if a situation like Bryan's came up again." She refused to look at him but Daniel couldn't see a thing. Eyes on the wall opposite him, all he could feel was his hope draining away. Emptiness engulfed him.

Trusting Kendall to another individual was the ultimate belief she had in them. His parents, Jared, Carmen- they all had her faith. It was a bombshell to be told he'd never receive that level of confidence.

Unable to absorb this final nail to the coffin, he left.

And Cassandra didn't say a word.

AN: Hey guys. Here's another chapter. As you've read, this is solely Daniel's part. I've written a bit of the next chapter and although I wanted to post this together with Chap 16, I thought it needed it's own part. Also because it didn't mesh well with the next part.

So hope you like it.

Please VOTE & COMMENT.

THANKS :)

P.S: Expect the Chap 16 within the next week.