4 years later.....

Looking at herself in the mirror, Cassandra was reminded of a similar night four years ago. For a similar event. Only this time, she was the one organising the fundraiser. And she was mad at Daniel for a different reason. Laughing softly, she shook her head and caught sight of Daniel at the doorway, carrying their newest addition.

"Daniel, he was asleep,"she cried angrily even as she cooed at Liam, their ten-month-old son. Liam gifted her with a toothy, drooly smile and spread his arms to reach her. Her smile turned bittersweet as she was reminded of the one she'd lost. Throughout her pregnancy, she had been awfully moody and teary about her little boy. The one she had forgotten until then. It had made her so guilty. But, with counselling and frequent conversations with Daniel, she had accepted that it had been out of her control. There had not been anything she could have done that could have saved him. So, what she had taken to do was light a candle whenever she thought of him. She'd burned down quite a few candles on their mantle but it had helped her accept and hope he was in a better place.

"He was crying,"Daniel said as he tried to keep Liam to himself. Their son was not having it. He wanted his mother and he was going to have her. Cass just sent a dry look her husband's way when Liam let out an angry wail. She huffed in irritation when Daniel still would not give him up. "What about your dress? Won't he wrinkle it?"

"MY dress? Have you seen your dress shirt?"she exclaimed-slash-grunted when Daniel finally relinquished his hold. She bounced him in her arms slightly while Daniel grabbed his tuxedo jacket. Looking dashing and handsome.

Some days, she could not believe what a wonderful, thoughtful, helpful husband and father he had become. It had taken her two years before she had accepted his proposal. Aside from being busy with the takeover- restructuring the company and getting rid of all bad apples with the help of Derek- she had been occupied with her growing group of girls. But he had always been there. Even when all Cass needed had been to vent her frustration

She had taken accepted more girls in the house. And although there were girls who had been leaving for college or another role out of the city, the number of girls being taken in far outnumbered those who left. The house had become too small. Also, with girls having to share rooms and toilets, some had rubbed others raw. Resentment had brewed and it had taken a huge fight that had involved the family for Cass to be aware of it. That had been when she realised she could not handle both her girls and the company.

So it had been with great reluctance, and much cajoling by Daniel, that she had set up a foundation for the girls with people who were more qualified to understand them and see what was brewing under the surface taking care of them in the house. Houses. She'd bought two more property that would best handle the amount of youths she was accepting. Much to Daniel's chagrin.

And she had found that having these people were very helpful. They had done so much for the girls. They trusted them more because they were around and related to them more. As much as Cass wanted to help, she just could not connect with them, their experiences. So she was grateful that she was able to help them in any way she could.

Which brought her to the event that night. She was having a fundraiser for her foundation but was leaving most of the work to her staff as well as some of the girls who'd expressed interest in this industry. With the help of a company well-versed in such events, she could see that it was going to be fine. Especially since she'd chosen a company who was willing to coach her staff and girls. She had had to fire a company that was better-established and had more experience but had belittled her staff and excluded her girls. Now, all she had to do was settle her son down and leave before Daniel did anything else.

"You better leave him alone,"Cass hissed, setting Liam back in his crib while Daniel cooed behind her. They tensed when Liam whimpered but he shifted slightly and dropped back to sleep. Heaving a sigh of relief, Cass grabbed Daniel's arm and dragged him out. "Dan! We have to go." Stifling a laugh at his hangdog expression, she went to check on Kendall.

He was in the kitchen, finishing up on his homework with a plethora of snacks about him. With her rule about no food on the second floor, that was where he was most likely to be found these days. He ate so much that she often wondered where it all went to. Much to her amusement, he often grumbled about her ridiculous rule and comments even as he stuffed his face with whatever he managed to make or find in the kitchen.

That night was no different. Only this time, their babysitter was accompanying him, helping him out with his homework. Kendall jumped up when he saw her and engulfed her in a bear hug. WIth him being taller, even with her heels, it was an all-consuming hug. She returned the embrace even as she had to sniff back her tears. He was twelve going on thirteen this year and was growing up too fast for her.

It felt like only yesterday that he had been jumping with joy when Cass and Daniel had revealed their engagement. That he had been running around their newer, bigger, more secured house and making a general nuisance of himself to the movers and her. That he had sulked that entire evening when he realised he could not see his friend's house from out his window. She'd had a feeling it had had to do with a girl than only about his friends.

And now, he was talking about shaving. How the time had passed.

"Hey, Mom. Where's Dad?"Kendall asked once he'd released her. It gratified her that he had not grown to disdain physical contact from her and often initiated it himself. Grabbing his hand and squeezing it, she smiled up at him. That was when he gestured to her shoulder. "You know you have some drool here."

Reaching for a tissue, she rolled her eyes and passed it to him to wipe it away. That was when her errant husband decided to join them. Greeting their babysitter, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and spoke to Kendall. And as much as she wanted to hold on to her irritation, she just could not when his other hand subconsciously moved to push her curls over her ears. When he moved closer and rested his chin on her shoulder. When the arm around her shoulder slowly started to massage her arm.

Little things that helped her reaffirm the love they had for each other.

Covering his hand on the shoulder with hers, she had to cut their conversation short.

"Baby, it's time to leave."

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

Taking a sip of his wine, Daniel looked over the ballroom and was reminded of the first time he's seen Cassandra. Then, he had been filled with so much anger, vengeance and triumph that his genuine attraction had drowned under them. Now all he felt was happiness and satisfaction that her first fundraiser was a success.

With her own success in the business world, most everyone wanted to make her acquaintance. So her idea to have a dinner and auction was a hit. With each table priced into the thousands per seat and every item starting at five thousand, her foundation was set for the next few years. And with her savviness, he was sure she could make it last longer.

His ears perking up at the sound of her laughter, a soft smile graced his lips as his eyes alighted on her being surrounded by both men and women, all of them laughing at something she'd said. It always surprised her when she found out that she was the draw in such events but he was not surprised.

She had proven to be a tough taskmaster. Within a year of acquiring Willis Shipping, she had turned the company around. Derek had proven to be superfluous. Although he had stayed for a few months to assist Cass during the tough few months, he had returned to his own ventures after. There had not been any hard feelings though. Knowing how inexperienced Cass had been and with Daniel's lack of knowledge in the industry, he was always available for consultations after.

A close friendship had bloomed between the three of them. Derek saw himself as Cass's mentor so was reluctant to let her go. And Daniel and him had much in common. Both having had to build their companies from the group up, achieving success at such a young age. Both attributing their success to their drive and fierce competitiveness. Which could be detrimental when the need to win took over a seemingly innocuous game. Often, Cass had to intervene.

Smile growing as he recalled the last time Derek had stayed for dinner, Daniel caught movement and turned his head, suddenly locking eyes with his father-in-law. The smile left his face.

Garrett had aged significantly in the four years. His favourite child, Victoria. was in prison for embezzlement and insider trading. His youngest and precious princess, Jocelyn, was currently sucking him dry with her reckless spending and lavish getaways. His wife was having an affair with a man, boy actually, right under his nose. It had to infuriate him to find his eldest, and least favourite, succeeding. And having her support him must have added another layer of shame to that. So he had grown to become a bitter old man who spewed his anger and disappointment to anyone who happened to be nearby.

Which was why they didn't expose the children to the maternal family often. They only met two or three times a year and it was usually for a birthday or anniversary. Instead, they often met up with his family for the holidays. And if Hailey was available, she'd join them as well.

This reminded him that he needed to speak with his wife.

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

After managing to extricate Cassandra from her admirers, he led her to the otherwise empty balcony. Pressing a heated kiss to her lips, he let her go with a wide smile. She laughed, happiness and contentedness emanated from her.

"So what was so important that you had to cut short my discussion?"she asked as she leaned against the railing. With the balcony being dark, she was illuminated by the soft glows of the light of the moon and looking ethereal and so beautiful. He still could not believe she was his. Despite the way he had treated her, she had forgiven him and he counted his blessings everyday. Her eyes becoming concerned even as her smile remained, she said softly," Daniel?"

"It's nothing,"he said, shaking his head and joining her, arms caging her to the railing and him. She looked up at him, not convinced. Knowing she would not drop the matter, he leaned down and rested his forehead on hers. "I just remembered what an ass I was. I still can't believe you trust me."

"Maybe it's not a good idea to remind me?"she asked laughingly.

"I think I will always need the reminder." Her features softened.

"Sometimes, I forget how romantic you can be and then you hit me with this,"she said, pecking his lips before moving back. "But seriously, why did you bring me out here?"

"I just wanted to say I love you and you did a wonderful job,"he said, his words sincere and heartfelt. He braced himself. As often as he had said it in their four years, Cass had always surprised him with her reaction.

She almost took him off his feet when she threw her arms around him.

"Oh, now you've made me cry. And you know how much I hate crying."

AN: Hey guys. This is the last chapter. Hope you have enjoyed this story. Please let me know what you think about it. Be honest. It'll really help me improve and grow as a writer.

Next, I would like to thank ALL of you for your continuous support in reading, voting and commenting. Whether you knew me from my other works or this is the first time you found me. It really helped me push through my mental block to finally get this done. I hope you are not disappointed. And I hope you will continue supporting me.

As I mentioned in the previous chapter, at the moment, this is a standalone book. I don't have any intention of serialising it. But will let you know if I am hit with any bolts of inspiration.

So anyways, please do VOTE & COMMENT if you enjoy this chapter. Or book in general. And do let me know whether you discovered HBR from following my other books or if this is the first work of mine you came across.

THANKS

P.S: Shoutout to @Omavicious for setting the deadline for me. Thanks and hope you enjoy the chapter.

P.S.S: Please follow me on twitter @wpsaiidah. I usually post when I write and what my plans are. But if you want to know more about me, hit me up and maybe I'll share more of me. :)