Daniel’s felt his heart stop and a weight starting to pull him down. She wouldn’t have a reason to see him anymore apart from Kendall. And although he had visitation every weekend, it wasn’t the same. There wouldn’t be any late night calls about sudden developments in the business world. No dropping into his office because she’d like to get his take on Hailey’s performance or her own projects or lunch.

Not that it had to stop. But in doing so, they would have to confront their own attraction to each other. One that had not ceased to exist even during her recovery but had, instead, simmered under all the animosity and distrust.

He didn’t know whether he wanted to give into the pull. They’d build so much and overcome numerous hurdles to get to where they were today. He feared that all that they had gotten over would come crashing back once they pursued a non-platonic relationship. Watching the same emotions come and go in her eyes eased his concerns slightly; he wasn’t the only one unsure on how to go forward.

“I-I guess this is all for now,”she finally said and Daniel was almost broken from the enormous wave of pain that engulfed him. She was not even going to entertain the idea of them getting together. He saw the resolve in her eyes. Anger replaced the pain.

“That’s it? You’re not even going to try?”he demanded, willing her to say otherwise. He couldn’t believe that the woman he knew, the strong, resilient, stubborn woman, would give in without even trying. He didn’t even want to think about his place in her life if she was able to let go of him so easily. Tightening his hold on her shoulders, he forced her to look at him. She refused. “Cassandra, has all these months mean nothing to you?”

“You make it sound like it meant something to you when clearly it doesn’t since you’re dating that skank- I mean woman,”she hissed, fumbling to change her choice of word at the end. He saw the flush slowly covering her face at her accidental show of jealousy and, for the umpteenth time, greatly appreciated her redhead skin which easily showed her emotions. Letting her go when she glared at his hands, he watched her pace about the room, keeping his silence. She always did this when she was ruminating over an issue or subject and he realized that just because she’d forgiven him, it didn’t mean she’d forgotten.

“I mean, I’m not jealous or anything but seeing as I don’t need your help anymore, I feel like I should go out and live life like a normal adult. You know, date. Get to know a few man,”she said, her eyes not on him when she paused behind an armchair. Although it smarted when she spoke of other men, he had to suppress a smidge of amusement. It sounded as though she was trying to convince herself of the merits of her plan. Since it ran counter to his own plan, he had no qualms of pointing out the flaws and holes.

“What about Kendall? Are you going to tell them about him?”

“Of course I am, Daniel,”she snapped irritably before recommencing her pacing. “Why wouldn’t I? It’ll be like I was hiding him, like I was embarrassed of him.”

“Some men don’t like knowing the woman they’re dating have a child.”

“Well, they won’t be for me then, will they?”she responded archly.

“What about Hailey, then?”

“What about Hailey?”she asked, narrowing her eyes on him. He had to push away the smile that was threatening to break through. This was familiar. They always played devil’s advocate for every idea, plan, solution. It always dissolved in laughter but in this case, Daniel was playing a deeper game. He had to convince her he was the man she wanted, needed.

“Most men are selfish. They don’t like having additional responsibilities even though you’re the one bearing most of the expense and Hailey’s going to leave the nest soon. Also, you’ll be busy with the takeover.”

“Ah, we’re going to address my company now,”she commented drily while she folded her arms and arched an eyebrow, her eyes expressing utter disbelief. He knew she’d seen through his plan

“Most men don’t like to compete for their woman’s time and attention. We both know you’ll be very busy during the next few months, especially since you’ll be facing opposition from your shareholders and family.”

“What about my group of girls? What will other men think about them?”

The girls being young, juvenile girls on the street that she had “rescued”. Those she’d convinced to return to school and society, helping them with accommodations, foster homes and medical care. The younger ones trusted her, amazingly, while the older ones had been Hailey’s previous contacts. Not all had been good but, for the most part, they had stuck around. Cassandra was flexible enough that if school was not a conducive environment, she’d enrol them into homeschool, engaging many tutors to help them. She had even set up a house for them to stay and study.

He was proud of her initiative and had even helped her with some of the legalities. But he knew what other men would say.

“They will demand that you stop,”he simply said and was surprised when she paled.

“You want me to stop?”she asked softly. So soft that he almost missed the hurt underlying her words. Striding to her, he cupped her face and made sure she could truly understand him.

“I know how important your work is to you. How much the girls mean to you. You’re even getting through to some of the boys. You’re making such a difference. I would never take these away from you,”he said, hoping his words were enough. Her bruised eyes cleared and the fire was back. And with that, her spark.

“So what you’re saying is that you’re the perfect guy for me?”she challenged, not shaking away his hands. Wishing he wasn’t harboring false hope since she was still allowing his touch, Daniel nodded.

“As I said, I’ve been with you from the moment you conceived the hare-brained idea. And, as much as I’ve tried to convince you otherwise, you’ve forged on your own path and succeeded. I’m so proud of you.”

The delight in her eyes made him feel like Superman. In the next instance, he felt like he'd hit the ground after freefalling 40 yards when she tore out of his arms. When she turned torn, distrustful eyes on him, it felt like a plane had landed on him.

“I can’t just forget what you’ve done,”she whispered.

“Please don’t forget.”

“What?” The tears in her voice made him want to do anything to cheer her up. But they had to go through this if they ever wanted to be together.

“You are my anchor. The only thing that’s preventing me becoming the man that I was. One so blinded by revenge that he lost sight of what was important. A lesson you’ve been drilling into me since you started helping those girls. Human lives are to be treasured. Some may have fallen by the wayside and need help but they are all treasures. I’ve grown so much as a man, a father and a human being just by helping you. And I-” He paused. He’d never been this vulnerable before. Always, he’d had multiple layers separating his heart and the situation at hand. But, in this case, his heart was needed for him to get what he wanted. “And I’ve grown to love you.”

“You’re joking,”she blurted out, her entire being emanating disbelief. “If you love me, why’d you go out with that woman?”

“Yeah, that’s a bit tricky-”

“I knew you’re lying,”she cried, spinning away but not before he saw the glimmer of hope being slowly replaced with pain. Grabbing her arm, he spun her around, frantically hoping he could explain the situation properly.

“The simple answer is I owed her a favor and she needed a date tonight,”he said quickly.

“And the not so simple answer?”she demanded suspiciously, looking up at him.

“Just keep in mind this happened when I was still blinded by revenge. She was close to one of Bryan’s mistresses and helped me get to her.”

“You’re making it sound like there’s more to this story,”she said with slitted eyes. Sweating bullets, he moved to reassure her otherwise. When she nodded, he knew she believed him. Shoulders slumping, he turned expectant eyes on her. And she sighed.

“It’s not that I don’t want to believe you. I just don’t know how our relationship will be once we’re a couple. We never went through this part. We jumped from meeting each other to sleeping together to being enemies and then having to make friendly because of Kendall. I just don’t know,”she said sadly.

Not knowing what to do, Daniel let her go. It felt like giving up but the ball was in her court. And he'd be seeing her again. All was not lost. Clenching his arms so that he wouldn’t draw her into his arms again, Daniel was about to bring them back to their success when he was abruptly drawn back.

“You DICK,”Lewis Michaelson shouted before punching the daylight out of him.

----------@@@@@@@-----------

Cassandra slowly lowered Daniel onto the sofa and had to stifle her giggle at his black eye. Kicking off her heels, she made sure the drugged up Daniel was comfortable before she went to the kitchen to grab a drink. A sound by the stairs startled her.

When she returned to the living room, it was to find Kendall closely examining his father. She knew her night was going to get longer.

“Mom, why does Dad have a broken nose- Mom! Why are there scratches on your arm?”Kendall exclaimed, rushing to her side and slowly tracing said scratches. Cass ran a hand over his messy hair and smiled.

“Why are you awake?”

“Stop changing the subject, Mom,”he admonished with stern eyes and her giggle escaped her. “Mom!”

“I’ll explain in the morning, Kendall. I have to take care of your dad first and it’s been a long night.”

It was only after he’d extracted a promise from her that he went back to his room. Making sure all was well with his friends, Cass returned to Daniel. She had to smile when she recounted how they’d received their injuries.

The broken nose and black eye was courtesy of Lewis. In a jealous rage, after finding them alone, Lewis had went to town on Daniel. Insulting both her and Daniel. Daniel had not been having any of that and he’d retaliated, ignoring her cries to cease.

With all her attention on the men, Cass had been caught unaware when Victoria jumped on her, having stuck to the shadows and making her way around the men. Victoria, in typical catfight fashion, had gone for Cass’ hair but Cass had been taking self-defense and her first instinct had been to punch. Her first hit had connected with her sister’s arm but it had been enough to loosen her hold and the next one was on her nose.

All the while, Victoria was screeching about the company and how Cass had stolen it from right under her feet. Which, if she had been a competent caretaker, she’d have noticed her moves. Especially since she had been less than furtive in the beginning.

Cass had just wanted to be away from Victoria but she had a crazed look on her face and it took the combined efforts of Lewis and his brother to pull her away. Daniel had been by her side then, taking stock of her injuries. Cass had returned the favor. She'd have been worried if she hadn’t seen how much worse off Lewis was. Satisfied, she rolled her eyes at the still-screaming Victoria as she held on to Lewis. Lewis’ brother stood stiffly by the side, discomfort screaming from every fibre of his body.

More concerned with Daniel’s injuries, Cass had been ready to leave but Victoria was not having that. She grabbed onto her arm and denying her exit. Frustrated, she’d decided to turn her attention away from her.

Pointing to Derek, Lewis’ brother, she’d said, “Meet the new CEO.”

------------@@@@@@@--------------

Having managed to leave without coming across anyone else, Cass had forced Daniel to stop by a 24-hour clinic to get checked up. It had not been serious and they’d been told to rest as much as possible and eat some painkillers once it got too painful.

Much to his chagrin, she made him take the powerful painkillers, which explained his near comatose body on her sofa. Dropping beside him, Cass smiled grew wider when she looked at him. She turned away when she heard footsteps. It was Hailey, looking very much like a stressed out college student. Her hair a bird's nest on her head and her under-eye bags becoming more prominent.

“What happened?”she asked on a gasp. A laugh escaped Cass again. “God. Are you guys alright?”

“We’re fine. I’ll explain in the morning. But can you help me get him to his room?”Cass asked. Hailey rolled her eyes but nodded.

“You’re lucky you made me go to all those self-defense classes or you’re on your own, sister,”Hailey grunted as they hauled Daniel up the stairs and to the room he slept in, which was beside Kendall.

“You and me both,”Cass moaned and sighed in relief once they dropped him on the bed. Lifting his legs onto the bed and making sure he looked comfortable, Cass followed Hailey out. “Are you done studying?”

“Yeah. Was going to get a final glass of water but I think I’m going to bed now,”she responded, her eyes studying Cass, making her feel self-conscious.

“What?”

“Something’s different. You look…. Happy.”

Pleasantly surprised, Cass made sure that Daniel was out before saying excitedly, “He told me he love me. I know.” Gripping Hailey’s hand tightly between them, she had to hold in a scream. Hailey’s eyes had widened when she heard the news, happy and smug, but now, it narrowed.

“So what are you going to do? I know you like him but do you trust him?”  Cass felt her excitement deflate slightly. She could always be trusted to get to the heart of the matter.

“I don’t know. My trust in him is not that strong yet. Maybe we should take it slow. Go through the entire dating road with all the bells and whistles. Because as much as I distrust him, my trust in other men are much lower.”

“Well, whatever the two of you decide, just make sure it doesn’t affect Kendall. Now, I really have to sleep. Good night.”

Cass let her go and decided to do a last check with Daniel. Only to find his eyes open. How long had he been conscious?

“How much did you hear?”she immediately asked. She felt like back in middle school when her crush accidentally heard her conversation with her friend about him. The familiar discomfort and anticipation of his response. However the uncertainty was gone; she was aware of his feelings. It was just hers that were still in the air.

“The whole thing,”he said, his voice surprisingly clear and sharp. “Cass, I know that my declaration is sudden but I don’t expect us to immediately become a couple. I don’t really expect anything. But the fact that you didn’t say you don’t love me gives me hope.”

Cass nodded even as tears flooded her eyes. It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. She was grateful that he was defining their relationship right from the start. It made it easier to adjust her expectations and his as well.

And it also touched her that Daniel was reassuring her. Made her feel that he truly understood her and her concerns. Which differed greatly from the man she’d first met.

Thus it was with great delight that she said, “So what about dinner?”

AN: Hey guys. Here's another chapter. Hope you like it.

This is the second last chapter. The penultimate chapter. There's only the epilogue next. It's almost over!!!

At this point of time, I don't think I'll be starting a series. Maybe if you want, you can drop some suggestions and I'll get to it after Harry's book. Most likely late 2017. Otherwise, this is just a standalone book.

Anyways, please VOTE & COMMENT if you like this chapter.

Thanks!!!