A/N: Hello, everyone! This is the second to the last chapter of this book and if you've been reading Virtue and Vice since it first went up, you'd know that this story has twists and turns everywhere so this one isn't going to be too different. I thought I'd warn you because a lot have already been pleading with me to give them their happily-ever-after. Not yet.

I want to thank you all again for supporting this book (and most of my work, really). It's come a long way and I only started posting this maybe a month ago or so. Please share it with others if you love it. I'll do my best to get going with the other books in the series but they will take time.

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***

Had this been a regular work function, I wouldn’t have fretted too much about how I looked.

But this was a Christmas party I’d be arriving at on the CEO’s arm and that would feel like a few dozen spotlights were angled at us.

Over the past few weeks, I’d gotten used to some paps showing up at random places, snapping away or throwing a question here and there. Since I barely comment or acknowledge them more than an occasional smile, they kept a friendly distance, but it had given me some practice to be comfortable with the attention. After all, being with Sebastian, it was bound to follow me around.

But tonight’s event was going to be different—most of these people attending are ones I’ve worked with and I wish I could say for sure that they didn’t all hate me. It made me nervous.

That morning, I twisted my hair into big pin curls before spending the rest of the day doing the rest of my prep.

Sebastian spent the morning in his office before stretching out on the bed to watch me run around in a small terry cloth robe, slapping on one cream after another.

I was finally sitting down on the small writing desk I’d recently converted into a vanity table, doing my make up, when Sebastian looked up from the bed where he was hunched over the laptop I’d left there.

“Why are you reviewing your resume?” he asked in a voice that gave nothing away.

Drat! 

I’d been making some revisions earlier while I was waiting for my nails to dry. 

I tensed slightly but forced myself to casually glance over my shoulder at him. “I just wanted to update it with my recent position at TVG.”

He arched a dark brow at me, his face inscrutable. “And you updated the address to Rockford and the landline to the number here? Why would anyone in the company need to figure out how to get a hold of you? They all know.”

I couldn’t help but wince. “I know. Sometimes, that’s the problem.”

“Are you job-hunting?” he demanded, finally snapping. “Why in the world would you do that? You have a contract—”

“It’s something I’m thinking about after my contract expires,” I shot back, getting up on my feet and snatching my laptop away. “I can’t keep working there, Sebastian. Not when you’re the boss and I’m sleeping with you.”

His expression darkened. “I am not just sleeping with you. I live with you. I’m in a committed relationship with you. Hell, the only thing that’s missing is a ring on your finger and my last name on your dotted line.”

“If that’s how romantic you’ll be at winning my hand, Sebastian, then I can’t see how I can resist,” I replied sarcastically, glowering at him. 

“If you don’t like staying as a senior business analyst, I’ll promote you,” he said mulishly. “Maybe like a director of market research or something?”

My jaw dropped open. “Are you insane? You don’t promote your fresh, college grad girlfriend to a director of anything! No one would respect me.”

“They will if they want to keep their jobs. I’ll do anything to make you stay, including tossing those who have a problem with it out the door.”

I groaned. “It’s just a job, Sebastian. My working somewhere else won’t mean I’m leaving you. Look at the address! I put in Rockford, didn’t I?”

“But you want to get away from me,” he insisted like a recalcitrant child. “You promised me you wouldn’t, remember?”

My eyes narrowed at the memory of him sneaking that promise out of me when I was half out of my mind with an orgasm.  I didn’t resent the promise itself, just the way he cheapened that moment by having a hidden agenda. “I remember it all too well.”

“This is you leaving me.”

“I just want to work where my relationship doesn’t conflict with my job!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air. “Or where everyone else won’t be walking in egg shells around me, fearing your wrath at my displeasure.”

His lips thinned into a grim line as he studied me for a second. 

“You can still open your bookstore,” he said quietly. “It can be your own company where you’re the boss. I’ll be completely out of the picture. It was my wedding present to you.”

I stilled, my heart fluttering. “It was, when you asked me four years ago and I said no.”

A muscled ticked in Sebastian’s jaw but after a second, he just shrugged. “Well, it’s still yours. It’s all in your name. If you want to do it, I’ll back you up with the capital—as a silent partner. When it’s up on its own two feet, you can buy me out. That way, it’s completely yours.”

“I’ve said this before—it’s too much,” I said with a sigh, turning back to the table. 

I knew that in Sebastian’s mind, this wasn’t too much. 

But for a twenty-two-year old, only-recently-prospering mother-to-be, starting my own bookstore business was too much.

But of course, he didn’t need know all of that yet.

After tonight, once I’ve told him, we can revisit this discussion.

For now, I just wanted us to enjoy the Christmas party—my first one with the company—without him going in all sorts of directions about the baby.

Sebastian must’ve sensed that the topic was now temporarily closed because he sighed as well and headed towards the bathroom, stripping off his shirt and pants. 

“When you’ve made up your mind, let me know,” he said as he pressed a kiss on my neck before walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

An hour and a half later, we arrived at Chateau Beaumont, a popular venue for large, swanky events such as weddings and various parties. 

The vast main hall with the large, high-ceilinged ballroom primarily took up the entire chateau itself and extending from it was a massive conservatory that housed an immaculately designed garden surrounding a set of three small ponds with dainty wood bridges over each one. In daylight, sunshine would stream through the glass roof and walls and into the colorful landscape while in the evening the starlit sky fell over it like a sparkling curtain. The romantic French design and lush gardens gave it a sophisticated allure which appealed to a lot of high-profile events. 

“You look beautiful, my love,” Sebastian murmured into my ear as he helped me out of the car by the chateau’s front steps, his lips brushing the small but heavy pearl and tear-drop emerald earrings he gave me tonight—a perfect match for my necklace and were once his mother’s. I didn’t want to accept another gift but I couldn’t refuse them.

I smiled at him and took a deep breath to steady my nerves.

I knew I looked good. I had put in a lot of effort into my look tonight and I was very happy with it.

Lexie had talked me into visiting Vienne, a favorite shop of hers owned by a friend of hers who was a local but sought-after gown designer. The designer herself wasn’t there but her small staff catered to us like we were VIPs. While browsing through some of the pre-made creations, I fell in love with a silky, one-shouldered column gown in eggshell pink, the empire cut under my bust belted with a thin velvet band in deep crimson which matched the cluster of small rosettes on the shoulder where the wispy upper bodice gathered. I worried that in my height, the dress would drown me but the narrow silhouette and the skirt flowing down to my ankles from the pleats under the waistband made gave the illusion of height. 

My deep auburn hair glinted against the light in a soft mass of waves gathered in a loose side braid slung over my bare shoulder. I lost my tan from the summer and my creamy complexion showed off a light sprinkle of freckles along my shoulder blades.

With a light sweep of dewy blush, berry red lipstick and some mascara, I looked almost otherworldly, which probably stunned me more than it did Sebastian when he first saw me step out of the room.

Starkly handsome even in an old shirt and jeans, Sebastian looked superb in his dark gray suit and a  tie that matched the red on my dress. I felt like a princess and he looked every inch my dark prince.

“Thank you.” I smiled up at him before slipping my arm through his and starting up the steps to the ballroom.

It was mostly employees and their guests who attended the party along with the rest of the Vice family and other friends of the company. Lexie, Marcus, Charlie, Jared and Michelle were in attendance. Brenda apparently was down in Florida for the weekend. 

There was a cocktail hour where everyone mingled before the doors to the dining room opened—and I spent most of it flitting from one important guest to another on Sebastian’s arm.

He introduced me to some of the most important people in the company—members of the board, other investors and stakeholders. Despite my friendly smile and easy conversation with most of them, there were a few who had shot me a scrutinizing look when Sebastian wasn’t paying attention and I could tell that  they were more than sizing me up—they were judging me and dismissing me after forming an opinion.

It stung, considering I was holding up well on my own, but I kept a polite smile on my face all throughout. 

I didn’t want to ruin Sebastian’s night and knowing how far apart our worlds were, I’d expected it, sooner rather than later actually. 

My analyst friends were huddling together by the photo booth which already sported a long line and I discreetly extricated myself from Sebastian’s side to make my way to them.

I’ve never seen any of them dressed so grandly but tonight, they all looked impressive in glittering gowns and sharp suits. 

Chad was just teasing me about my ninny drink—I was having sparkling apple juice I was specifically provided after Sebastian firmly rapped out the order for it to a wide-eyed waiter—when someone said my name behind me.

The group fell into a hush and I turned around to find Stellan standing there, looking like a leading man plucked straight out of a romantic comedy in his black suit and charming smile.

“Stellan! It’s so good to see you!” I greeted him with a grin and a quick hug as he chuckled and bent down to kiss me on the cheek. “I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”

“Sebastian asked,” he answered smoothly, stepping back to look at me and smiling in approval. “Seeing how lovely you look, it’s obvious he wanted to show off.”

I laughed and playfully slapped him on the shoulder, forgetting myself and the small crowd of my friends watching us in silent fascination. 

“Oh, sorry, Stellan, these are all my friends from work and their guests,” I said as I slipped my arm through his and gestured to the group. “This is Bradley and Liam, Savannah and Carter, Chad and Sasha , Annette and Colin and Miriam and Kyle. Everyone, this is Stellan Cartwright.”

I actually felt the instinct to add my brother to the end of that statement but I quickly caught myself and realized that no one really knew that—not even Sebastian’s family yet.

“Pleased to meet some of Cassie’s friends,” he said with a warm smile and nod at everyone, some of them who’d quickly recovered from their fascination, returning it awkwardly. “It’s looking to be a great party and if none of you would mind, I’d like to steal Cassie for a little bit for a quick walk around the room before dinner starts.”

They all answered a flustered variety of responses similar to yes that I couldn’t resist a grin as Stellan steered me away, just as we both heard Savannah exclaim, “Why does she get all the hot, famous rich guys?”

“I think they have the wrong idea about us,” Stellan murmured to me with a boyish smile as I slipped my arm through his for our stroll around the ballroom. 

I giggled. “If they only knew how wrong.”

“You know you can tell them, right?” he said with a little more seriousness this time. “Well, that is if you want to. We certainly want people to know that you’re part of our family but whether you want the same thing or not is totally up to you.”

I sighed. “I know. I appreciate how easily you’ve come to count me in but I’ve had twenty-two years of being mere Cassandra Collins and it takes a little longer for me to get used to the idea.”

“Oh, we completely understand, Cassie,” Stellan assured me, patting my hand on his arm. “Dad knows it will take time. He just hopes you don’t stay angry with him for too long.”

“I don’t even know if I’m really still angry with him any longer,” I admitted. “I was until you both showed up at the hospital. It was very different from what I expected that I guess I’m still a little stunned. In all the years, each time I imagined what it would be like meeting my father and his family, I always thought it would be a nasty confrontation but it wasn’t. You both have been very good to me.”

“You’re family. Of course we take care of our own. He would’ve come tonight, you know, if he wasn’t in Berlin for a week-long business trip. But I’m here to look after you.”

I looked up at Stellan and smiled.

It was really strange, to feel this nearly instantaneous bond with my brother but then he was Stellan Cartwright, and according to Sebastian, no one ever disliked him. He had that down-to-earth nature about him that drew people’s trust and even the most hard-hearted didn’t stand a chance against his innate goodness that showed through every smile, every word, every action.

“Are you here on your own?” I asked curiously. “Where’s your date?”

“No date,” he said with a wink. “I’m here for my baby sister.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I’m your other younger sister, not your baby sister. And what do you mean no date? You’re one of Cobalt Bay’s most eligible bachelors. Where’s the entire legion of dreamy-eyed ladies who are supposed to follow you around?”

“Legion?” he repeated, laughing softly. “I think I’m tainted by reputation. Unlike my other friends, I don’t go around dating one woman after another. I like to take my time getting to know a woman I’m interested in and pursuing a slightly more meaningful relationship with her for as long as we care to make it last.”

“Ah, God, you’re one of those monogamous males,” I said in mock-disbelief, making a gagging sound although secretly I was pleased that Stellan was such a decent guy. “You’re worse than your friends, you know?”

Raising a brow, he asked, “How could I possibly be?”

“You don’t pursue as many women,” I quipped pertly. “Statistically speaking, less women get to realize their fantasies of being in the arms of one such as you, even for just a fleeting moment. You’ll crush so many dreams.”

He blinked at me a couple of times before throwing his head back laughing. “Ah, Cassie. I must say, no matter which side I choose, men will never win this debate. We are either chasing after too many women or far too few.”

“Well, I’ll give it to you to choose the road less travelled,” I said with a cheeky smile as he just shook his head in amusement.

“You and Vivienne are definitely sisters,” he said as he tucked my arm under his. “There’s no question about that.”

He guided me the large spread of appetizers and hors d’oeuvres after I complained I hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch and we were just filling a small plate when someone fell into a step next to me, reaching for a plate of his own.

“Well, if it isn’t the little secretary making the rounds,” said the big, burly man and I looked up from his meaty fingers on his plate to his face.

It was Marshall Brentwell, TVG’s chief financial officer who was introduced to me earlier, and he had a lascivious look on his old, beefy face.

He glanced at Stellan who was chatting to an older woman a short distance from us by the buffet table and sneered at me. “Do you only stick to the billionaires or will any rich executive do? Because I’m high up enough to make you comfortable in TVG once Vice has gotten tired of you. Or is it just the pretty boys?”

I stiffened, steeling myself against the urge to smash my plate against his face. 

“I’ll pretend I didn’t just hear you say that to me,” I warned in an undertone, grasping at the edges of my control. With his bloodshot eyes and sweaty upper lip, he looked like he was already sauced. “For your sake.”

He scoffed. “Oh, right. Still sleeping with the boss. Don’t want to get in the way of that. I bet you can get him to do anything you want when he’s rutting between your legs.”

“You have no idea of the line you just crossed, Brentwell,” a stern voice said behind me and I felt Stellan put his hands on my shoulders to gently move me out of the way. “Apologize to Cassandra.”

The man just arched an insolent brow. “Hey, Cartwright. You too, hey? I know you boys are pals but I didn’t know you shared your toys so well.”

“You are fired, Brentwell, and if you don’t quietly slip out of the party, I’ll toss you on your ass out on the street myself.”

We all looked up to find Sebastian standing there a foot away from us, his expression thunderous. 

“Sebastian,” I started slowly, stepping next to him and putting a placating hand on his arm, but I nearly flinched when I felt the taut strength he was barely repressing in what clearly was an effort at keeping himself from hitting Brentwell in the middle of the party.

A bright red flush crept from under the man’s thick neck all the way up to his face as he put his plate down and glared at us. “See here, I was just having a nice, little chat with Ms. Collins here and—”

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Sebastian interjected in a cold, disdainful voice dripping with warning. “If you don’t want my men to escort you out, leave now.”

The man pressed his lips together, teetering a little as he debated what to do, before shooting me a furious stare and pushing his way out, muttering loudly.

Sebastian loudly dragged a breath in before turning to me, his green eyes still burning. 

“Are you alright?” he asked, tilting  my chin up. 

I nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. Really, you didn’t have to do that, Sebastian. Thank you for standing up for me but you didn’t have to fire him. He was going to apologize. Stellan was just telling him to.”

Sebastian glanced at my brother. “He wasn’t going to, Cassandra, and we all know it. Brentwell has always been a cocky son of a bitch. He’s good but not good enough to keep him when he was insulting you.”

I sighed. “You can’t fire everyone who thinks me a social-climbing gold-digger, you know? He’s not going to be the only one who will think that way.”

“Then tell me who else was disrespecting you?” Sebastian demanded. “Tonight’s not a bad night to announce a restructuring if I have to. I’ve been itching to get rid of some people for years. I’m certain that those who disapprove of you are the same people who weren’t too pleased I took over Alfred on the board after he died. Maybe I’ll just completely eradicate the board.”

“Seb, take it easy,” Stellan gently interceded. “Don’t let this ruin the night for everyone.”

“I will ruin it for anybody who can’t keep their nose out of my fucking business,” Sebastian hissed under his breath and I really flinched this time when he swore. “If nobody realizes it yet, I will fucking throw anyone under a bus for the merest slight to Cassandra. If I have to remind them, by God, I would.”

He was livid, alright. 

“I’m okay, baby. Please, just drop it,” I pleaded with him, grasping his hand and squeezing it tight. 

He looked at me hard before squeezing his eyes shut briefly and pulling me close to him.

“I love you, Cassandra, and it’s time everyone knows it,” he murmured against the crown of my head as his arms tightened around me. 

After that cryptic last statement, the announcement for dinner came through and we made our way to our tables.

I was sitting at the head table right by the stage where the party’s hosts, Victoria from PR and Gabe, were up on, commencing with the short dinner program before dinner was served. 

I shared the table with Sebastian, Stellan and a few of the company’s top executives who had glanced at me once or twice with some trepidation and poorly concealed dislike.

They must’ve already heard about Brentwell’s abrupt dismissal.

Sebastian squeezed my hand before getting up from his seat to come up on stage for a brief message.

A hush fell over the large crowd of about a thousand people or so as Sebastian took up his spot on the podium.

“Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us tonight in this year-end celebration,” he started in his deep baritone, glancing up and addressing the crowd with a smile. 

“We had a busy year full of possibilities, risks and rewards—none of which would’ve been accomplished without your dedication and hard work, and the support of those people who lend you strength—yours spouses, partners, children, family, friends and co-workers.”

I blushed as Sebastian glanced down at me and flashed me a smiler brighter than the one he’d graced the audience.

“My family thanks all of you and continues to hope for your perseverance and inspiration in taking this company to new heights in the upcoming year.”

Sebastian cleared his throat lightly and paused for a moment before dazzling the crowd with a big grin that must’ve been a rare sight for everyone else who didn’t know him intimately.

“I’m certain it’s a happy time in the year for most of us, I for one, counted among that number, but I have more reason than just the holidays.”

His eyes sought me again and I could feel the pull of his glittering green gaze from where I sat in my chair. 

“I’m happy to share the news that I’ve recently gotten engaged to the beautiful and amazing Cassandra Collins.”

My heart jumped to my throat as hushed gasps rolled over the room like a thick carpet.

“We met and fell in love some years ago and she’s had my heart since then. Now that fate has brought us back together again, I’m certainly not letting her go. I greatly appreciate all of your well wishes for us—as she’s marrying me, she’s definitely going to need them.”

A murmur of amused chuckles came from the audience.

 Sebastian winked at them—winked! “I hope you would treat her as kindly as you’d treated me. She’s an exquisite woman and the light of my life. She is everything to me.”

And with that, Sebastian stepped back and dipped a brief bow to the crowd who broke out in applause and conversation, before turning around to walk off the stage.

Damn that brooding, insufferably romantic male!

“Well, that was some declaration,” Stellan mumbled in amusement as he leaned over to me and patted my hand. “Congratulations, Cassandra. If there was any question as to whether you are loved or not, there’s now none after that.”

I managed a shaky smile for my brother before I saw my face up on the large projection screen to the right of the stage. Everyone cheered and I hoped to God my smile was believable enough as the smile of a glowing bride-to-be.

Inside, I was a torn-up mess.

Part of me was thrilled to be marrying Sebastian and having him declare it to the world, and another was furious for his high-handed declaration which was clearly only a mere tactic to get our critics off our back.

My fist clenched around the table napkin as I froze the smile on my face for the people in our table and the other ones close by besieging me with congratulations.

Even those execs who had been a bit cool to me were congratulating me with wary deference. Something about my eventual sharing of the boss’s last name could’ve influenced that.

I was suddenly gripped on the shoulders and hauled to my feet as Sebastian came to our table and kissed me for show, soliciting a louder ring of applause all around the large dining hall who could see the whole spectacle on the projection screen.

I itched to step back and smack him on the head but I resisted, playing along for the sake of everyone who came to the party to have a good time—not be subjected to our own private drama.

All throughout dinner, I kept up the charade—beaming and graciously accepting congratulations and best wishes left and right, and Sebastian, blockhead that he was sometimes, didn’t seem to notice how close I was to snapping.

In fact, he was downright ecstatic.

If anyone noticed my lukewarm reactions, it was Lexie who later pulled me aside for a walk around the conservatory. The glass house was surreally beautiful but I was too distracted to really appreciate it.

“That caught you off guard, didn’t it?” she asked without preliminaries.

I sighed. “And here I thought I was winning an Oscar.”

“Didn’t I mention my brother was a tad bit protective?” she asked with a small smile. “He’s the modern reincarnation of one of those ancient barbarians who swung a club around at anyone who posed a threat to what he considers his. I guess giving you his name is as close as he’s going to get to marking you all over for everyone to see that you belong to no one else but him and to displease you or threaten you is a death wish.”

“Yes, your word exactly–barbarian,” I muttered with a roll of my eyes. “It wasn’t enough for him to make an example of Brentwell tonight. He had to go out of his way and tell everyone he’s marrying me.”

“Maybe because he wants to,” Lexie quipped with an arch of her brow. “Under normal circumstances, I’d be a bit alarmed at the idea of my brother marrying a girl he’s known for a few months but we all know yours and Sebastian’s circumstances aren’t at all normal. If you two want to get married, do it.”

My laugh was a bit hollow. “If only I got asked if I wanted to. That would make a difference.”

Lexie winced. “Typical of Sebastian. Would you like me to whack him in the head for you?”

I shook my head. “No, thanks. I’ll deal with him when this whole blasted affair is over.”

The whole night stretched on endlessly it seemed. 

By the time we arrived at Rockford, I was in a thoroughly bad mood.

“You’re angry,” Sebastian observed as I stomped my way to the bedroom, kicking off my shoes and tossing my clutch on the bed. 

I whipped around to glare at him. “Angry? How could I possibly be angry? I’m about to become Mrs. Sebastian Vice! What’s there to be angry about?”

Sebastian sighed and pulled at his hair. “Look, I’m sorry I took you by surprise but—”

“Took me by surprise?” I cut in. “Taking me by surprise implies I had some say on this to begin with so it couldn’t possibly be that.”

“Will you just listen first, Cassandra?” he snapped impatiently, slipping out of his jacket and tossing it on an armchair. “There’s a perfectly good explanation for what I did if you’d just give me a moment to say it.”

I pursed my lips, crossed my arms and waited with a scowl.

He glanced at me and shook his head in agitation. 

“Look, I will not let anyone think poorly of you, Cassandra,” he said in a stern voice. “And it’s not like I lied. I meant everything I said. I just didn’t get around to asking you before I made that announcement. It’s inevitable anyway.”

My eyes narrowed. “You sound like you knew for certain that I would say yes. What happened to not playing God anymore, Sebastian? How can you assume you always know what I want? What if I don’t want this?”

He scoffed. “Of course, you want this.”

“I’m suddenly not so sure what I want, Sebastian.”

He swung fiery green eyes in my direction. “Well, you certainly gave every indication that you want us to be together. Did I miss something?”

I groaned. “I do want us to be together but if you think about it, we’ve only been back together a few months. Marriage might be a bit premature especially when we can’t even agree on the fact that we have to make decisions together. You said we didn’t have to get married if I didn’t want to.”

Somehow, some things were not coming out right. 

With the baby, marriage has definitely been rolling around my head lately. But marriage wasn’t a band aid fix for dysfunctional relationships. I wasn’t going to subject us to that if it was going to make life hell for us and our child.

“I did say that but that was before....” He trailed off, looking up at me, and this time he had the look of a man starting to realize the extent of his injuries.

“Is it so bad, Cassandra?” he asked, his voice cracking. “Is it so bad, the prospect of marrying me, that you still can’t say yes to me a second time?”

A pang of guilt hit me as his words sank in.

Of course, Sebastian would always blame himself for everything.

I softened. “It’s not that, Sebastian. I’m just suddenly not sure I’m ready for this especially when you won’t quit trying to run my life for me. Look at what happened tonight. I don’t want to constantly find myself stripped of the right to make my own decisions.”

“You’re worrying about this too much. Things aren’t really going to change all that much by getting married,” he protested. “It’s just a piece of paper but one that will assure me that you are mine, completely and irrevocably.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” he asked with a confused knit on his brows.

“Why isn’t my word enough? I promised you I wouldn’t leave you. Why do you have to have a written guarantee that I’m completely and irrevocably yours?”

His expression hardened. “You know why, Cassandra.”

“I do and I think it’s because you just want absolute control of everything. I love you but the things I want to do for you are things I get to decide I want to do—not because you’ve forced me to.”

His green eyes flashed. 

“You think this is about absolute control? I’ve lost most of my famous control since the day you came to my door, Cassandra.”

 He started pacing, his shoulders trembling with the force of his emotions. “You’ve made many of the decisions over the last four years. You’re the one who decided to stay that summer, the one who decided you wanted to be with me despite my warnings, the one who decided to give up your virginity to me, the one who constantly refused my efforts at taking care of you, the one who decided you didn’t want to get married at eighteen, the one who packed up and left and never looked back. Four years later, you’re the one who decided to work for me, the one who decided to lay down rules, the one who decided to give us a second chance despite everything that’s happened, the one who decided that for the second time, no, you still won’t marry me.” 

“I might have meddled with circumstances but I’m merely coping with every decision you make, Cassandra. I’m still waiting around, doing what I can that’s within my power, for you to finally make the one decision that will let me rest easy knowing for sure that I would never lose you again because I don’t know where I’ll be if you decide you want me completely out of your life.”

He came to the window, his back turned to me, as he paused.

When he spoke, his voice was shaky with repressed tears. “I will be an empty man. If you go, Cassandra, you’ll take everything I am with you.”

I swallowed the lump of tears in my own throat and squeezed my hands together, desperate to run to him and draw him into my arms. “You have to love yourself a little, Sebastian. You have to know you’re worth it too. You’re always acting out in haste and desperation because you don’t think it’ll just come to you and that you have to take it if you want it.”

He swung around and walked to me, his expression desperate. “Look at who I am, Cassandra. Look at what my father was capable of doing to the woman he was supposed to love. I need to know that you can’t walk away from me when things are no longer perfect. I would never hurt you, God, I’d kill myself first, but somehow, someday, you’ll realize just how much you don’t really want to be with me. I don’t care if you won’t love me anymore. I just need you to stay because I will still love you.”

“There is nothing wrong with you, Sebastian,” I insisted, taking him by the shoulders and shaking him gently. “You’re just a man—as capable of making mistakes as the next person. Your father’s blood doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s not a disease, Sebastian. Your heart and soul are your own and you’re the man you choose to be. If you keep believing that you’re going to be just like your father, you’re going to do nothing but drive yourself down that road eventually.”

He pulled away from me. “I’ve been my father’s son for thirty-four years, Cassandra! You can’t tell me his sins don’t matter. I’ve lived with myself long enough to know that I can be just as cruel as he was.”

“You’re not cruel. Stop it. Stop thinking that. Stop staying that.”

Walking towards the wall, he braced his hands against it, his head hanging low, his voice rough. “That’s enough, Cassandra. I know what I am. There’s no need to waste time over it.”

I leapt towards him. “Dammit, Sebastian! Stop filling your head with nonsense. I’m telling you—”

“Cassandra, stop it,” he warned gravely.

“Sebastian—”

“Enough!” he snapped angrily and in the blink of an eye, his fist drove through one of the portraits—my portrait—on the wall, punching a hole right through my chest on the image.

We both stared at it in horrified silence.

Slowly, Sebastian pulled his hand out, the thin wooden backing that held the portrait cutting across his hand that blood spurted from the wound, smearing the image.

As we stepped back, the image of me standing with the orchard behind me started to look like it had a huge, bloody wound on the chest.

I glanced at a shaking Sebastian whose face had lost all color, his jaw clenching. 

I reached out to him. “Darling...”

He jerked away from my touch, staring down at my outstretched hand as if it were alien.

Before I could say or do anything, he turned and strode out of the room, the door crashing close behind him.

In the silent aftermath of our catastrophic fight, I felt the palpable sense of doom and my heart dropped to my stomach.

I curled on the bed, clutching at my dress, staring at the damaged portrait, waiting for Sebastian to walk back into the room, scoop me up in his arms, kiss me and tell me that everything will be alright.

But no, a lot of things were not alright.

I knew this without a doubt when morning came and I stepped out of the room only to be told by Percy that Sebastian had flown to Tokyo for business for an indeterminate period of time.

All that he left me on my office desk was a small box that contained the same magnificent, Edwardian-style engagement ring he presented me four years ago—a large, european-cut diamond with two smaller kite diamonds flanking it on each shoulder while smaller diamonds lined up in a row to cover the entire circumference of the ring.

An engagement ring but no fiancé. 

Just what exactly did this mean for us?

***

I stayed busy while Sebastian was gone.

It was the first week of December and I spent my free time off work hanging out with Emma who had a long Christmas shopping list to buy.

Percy had put up the Christmas tree after asking me if I wanted to do it and I said no. 

I avoided the penthouse as much as I could. I spent my evenings having dinner at Silver Leaf with the twins who knew something was going on with Sebastian. Lexie was the only one who commented on it and I simply told her that her brother was in Tokyo and that no one knew when he was expected to be back. Since then, no one brought him up for topic again.

Not that that stopped Sebastian from haunting me. 

He’d announced to the world that we were engaged after all and that got everyone’s attention.

Since the moment I stepped out of Rockford the day after the party, I’d been besieged by relentless reporters, snapping photos and pelting me with questions left and right. 

Phil had gotten the assistance of Reed, another man on Sebastian’s security team, and together they kept me well-guarded from the hounding of the media. For once, I was grateful for not being on my own. Everyone had been especially more curious when Sebastian couldn’t be spotted anywhere, much less with me. 

Even my friends were getting randomly rung by reporters fishing for any kind of information.

I resented Sebastian for leaving me in this mess alone but the trouble with that was nothing compared to the agony of having him gone and the uncertainty of what lay ahead of us.

Distracting myself with work and friends, I pushed the depressing thoughts to the back of my mind and tried my best to act as if nothing was wrong.

It was after the first week that I decided I couldn’t be in this limbo forever.

I had happiness within my reach—I had to seize it, say thank you and protect it with everything I had.

I’ve been wearing my engagement ring since the day I found it on my desk. Four years ago, it felt as heavy and daunting as the commitment it symbolized to a naive eighteen-year-old girl. Now, it felt like a battle suit, reminding me of what I was fighting for and the enemy that lurked inside the man himself—the enemy who undermined all of Sebastian’s good intentions, hopes and dreams—his fear.

I stretched out in our bed one Saturday morning, staring at the four portraits including the damaged, blood-streaked one I told the staff not to touch, and thought about all that Sebastian and I went through together.

Love was not a question—there was an overwhelming supply of that. 

And yes, Sebastian will always love as fiercely as he does now—life taught him to be that way. Many would probably tell me to run—that to have someone love you nearly so obsessively was unhealthy—but didn’t I just love him with the same intensity?

And who was to really define what a perfect love is?

Whose authority has it that love wasn’t supposed to be a wild, mercurial thing?

Sebastian wouldn’t be the man I loved if he had been any different and in my moments of clarity, when I wasn’t busy blowing up at every outrageous thing he did, I understood this.

He will always try to do what he thinks is right—after years of having no one to decide that for him, he mastered that skill and employed it to protect that which he cared for. He didn’t do it for kicks or for the simple desire to exert his will over others. There was always a purpose to it—never a purely selfless one but mostly good-hearted—now that I think about it.

He wanted to lavish me with a comfortable life because he couldn’t bear to think of me in an impoverished state relying on the mercy of others. He bought me the bookstore because he knew it was my dream and he could make it happen. He bought the Pendley’s house and pawnshop because they were important to me. He built a scholarship foundation knowing that was the only way he could financially help me throughout college. He stayed away from me during that time because I had asked. He kept an eye on me for years because he needed to know I was doing alright. He paid Timothy off to keep him away from me. He kept me away from his family’s secret because he thought it would taint me and drive me away. He brought Jack to the hospital because even though I couldn’t admit it, it felt good to have a father who cared when I never had one my entire life. He fired Brentwell because he really was just a rude, supercilious ass who should never speak to any employee, or any person, that way. He declared us engaged because it put me in his protection and maybe because he was simply afraid of asking me again and being told no. The little cracks in his confidence here and there told me he was very sensitive to any semblance of rejection from me—the one person he craved acceptance from the most. He left after that startling violent streak with the portrait because he was most likely afraid of actually hurting me—like his father hurt his mother. It didn’t register at that time but remembering the horror on Sebastian’s face told me that everything he feared about being as capable of cruelty as his father was, had just been realized. He left because he did say he would rather kill himself first than lay a hand on me.

Oh, there were things he’d done that weren’t cool, for sure—retaliating at me by sleeping with Natalie, organizing my life to his satisfaction, scaring off any guy who was interested in me, scheming to get me to work at TVG, assuming I couldn’t handle his family’s secret at first, flaring up with jealousy at the littlest things, forgetting or neglecting to ask me my opinion when making decisions for me, making a show of claiming me in front of everyone—there’s a long list for this too. 

But I realized that if I had been a different woman, I probably won’t see the two sides to a lot of these things when it came to Sebastian. And maybe that’s why I’m capable of loving him this much—because I could see past all of the obnoxious, outrageous things he does sometimes and understand his true motives.

I understood Sebastian’s heart—that deeply scarred, perpetually skeptical but desperately dogged thing he’d awkwardly come to terms with in admitting to having—and it was that which made the decision easy for me no matter how many twists and turns we’ve managed to make of our relationship.

Baby or not, I wanted to spend my life with him, proudly wear his ring and his name if it meant reassuring him that I would always be his as his faithful and devoted wife, the family he never had himself.

With a newfound sense of wisdom and peace of mind, I decided to turn things around then. 

Sebastian would come home because there is nowhere else he’d rather be and once his anger, hurt and fear dissolved, he’d find his way back. If he didn’t, I would go get him.

As for me, it was time I fully turned around to face the music—with a smile and spring in my step.

This life was not one I’d imagined as a young girl who wanted very simple things but it was mine and I choose to live it to the fullest—with no reservations, no looking back to the past and no hesitation about the future.

Later that day, I dressed and invited Emma and Ty to come with me to Sainthill and discuss ideas for the bookstore. They were a little stunned to learn about it at first but quickly got excited about the prospect. Emma was in marketing and Ty was in publishing They were perfect advisers—and potential business partners.

While I was having dinner with the twins, Jared and Michelle at Silver Leaf, Jack had called asking if I’d like to join them for brunch the next day because he’d just flown in with Vivienne whom he’d picked up on his way back and that she really wanted to meet me. I said yes. Stellan offered to pick me up but I told him I would drive over there.

Later that night, I mulled over facing my father, brother and sister all at the same time, and the fact that can no longer be pushed aside—I had family.

I only had to look at Jack and Stellan to know that it must be the truth but as to the details of the past—I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to open that book and look closely—not when Jack seemed like a perfectly good man who didn’t strike me as the type to abandon his pregnant lover and unborn child.

Without thinking of it, I found myself opening the keepsakes box my mother had left me. 

I haven’t looked at it since meeting Jack that night of the Halloween ball—maybe because I was afraid of what I would find.

It contained a pair of silver cufflinks with a ship etched on them, a pair of Oceanic Opera ticket stubs, a man’s ivory comb, a gold money clip engraved with J.C. on it and a stiff, yellowing paper sailboat that I’d pressed flat on the bottom of the box. It had my name fancily scribbled on it, like a ship’s name written on its side.

I examined each item, wondering if I should show the collection to Jack and what he would say about it.

I picked up the sailboat and tried to pop it back up into shape with my fingers.

That’s when I caught a smear of ink on one of the edges.

Holding it up to the light, I couldn’t tell if there was anything written on the inside of the paper that was folded into the boat. Carefully, I set it down and started deconstructing the paper boat until the sheet lay flat on the table.

In the very center of it, a spot that wouldn’t have been exposed once the paper was folded into a boat, was a short note with my mother’s handwriting that said: Cassie, the secrets lie in the bottom of this box.

Stunned at the short clue, I slowly lifted the empty box and looked at the bottom of it, seeing no indication of a secret compartment. I looked inside and tapped the bottom and felt it to be hollow.

Prying the false bottom loose with a letter opener, I popped it out and found another note folded flat inside.

I discovered it was a letter on top of a small card envelope.

The letter said:

Dear Cassandra,

I hope you’ll forgive me for what I’ve kept from you but I could never be certain whether the truth was going to be better or worse for you to know. I kept it in this box in hope that when you are old enough to understand, you will find this and decide for yourself what you want to do with that truth.

James Collins never existed. I had fake certificates made to give you and I new last names because I feared that your real father would find us and take you away from me. I fear this because I know that despite everything, he loves you and would never forgive me for taking you away.

Your father is Jack Cartwright. I loved him and believed his promises to free himself so he could marry me and start our family together. I believed this because he rarely left my side and he held you with joyful tears in his eyes when you were born. I couldn’t have believed anything else.

But soon after you were born, he chose to return to his wife’s side. 

I did not wait around to be told that he’d thrown everything we had away. So I left for Bluefield. I left in anger and hurt, not thinking of what I would be taking you away from—a life of comfort and luxury that you would’ve enjoyed as his daughter. I didn’t care about his money. I didn’t even accept what his mother had offered me to  leave him. Nothing could’ve made me leave him—except his betrayal. And in my suffering, I dragged you along. 

Now that I am dying, I wish I’d made different decisions then. Your aunt and uncle are good people and they will do their best to take care of you but should you ever need anything, take everything that’s in this box to your father, including your real and original birth certificate which is in the envelope. I am confident that despite everything, he will not turn you away. He would be easy to find—he’s a powerful man.

In the nine years since I returned to Cobalt Bay, I had secretly hoped he would come back. I don’t know what for but in my heart, I always wondered what it could’ve been for the three of us had things turned out differently. But all that’s moot now. I regret the past but never you, and I wish that with this revelation, you could decide your fate so that you would not live a life you’d regret.

I’m so sorry once again for the lies, Cassandra. 

I only did so to protect you mostly but in the end, I fear I hurt you more by not giving you the choice.

I love you. 

-Mom

With shaking hands, I opened the envelope and first found an old, wallet-sized photo of a younger Jack, grinning at the camera and holding a tiny, sleeping baby wrapped in some pink blanket pressed against his chest, a dimple on her right cheek showing as her lips pursed in her sleep. My mother was tucked on Jack’s other side, her head leaning against his shoulder, her light brown hair short and grazing her chin, her smile bright and happy, her own dimples showing.

We were a family.

I sucked in a deep breath, the impact of the truth hitting me like a ton of bricks on a slow cascade.

 I set aside the photo and looked again inside the envelope, finding a folded certificate of live birth in it with my name as Cassandra Francesca Cartwright and my father as Jack Edmond James Cartwright. His lavish signature was scrawled right next to his name.

Finding my apparently fake copy, I compared the two and found that they only difference was my father’s name and signature. Just how the hell did she expect me to fix this mess?

Stunned by my mother’s revelations, I felt the impulse to call Sebastian and tell him about it but I clutched the phone tightly and put it away. 

On Sunday morning, tired and anxious, I arrived at the Cartwright residence—a large, Georgian mansion with a brick facade and immaculate gardens in the heart of one Cobalt Bay’s oldest and most exclusive neighborhood within the city, North Pointe. 

Stellan, who’d just arrived a few minutes before I did, met me by the door and led me into the sunny room he called the breakfast nook despite its epic size. It had a large, glass wall that let the sun stream in mainly to provide light for what looked like an elaborate collection of roses of different sizes and colors lined up around that alcove.

Jack was snipping some stems off while a woman next to him collected the blooms in a small towel in her hand.

“Cassie’s here,” Stellan announced as he led me inside.

Jack and the woman turned around, both breaking into almost matching grins, as they put their tools and the flowers down to meet me.

“Honey, it’s good to see you again,” Jack said warmly as he leaned forward to quickly buss me on the cheek. Since the time we’d spent together while I was in the hospital, things have gotten easier for us—easy enough that I didn’t jerk away from Jack’s open affection. “I heard the news. Congratulations. I must say, I never thought Sebastian would ever marry but with how he’s been around you, I changed my mind quickly.”

“Thank you,” I said with a weak smile, feeling a pang of guilt at my father’s genuine pleasure at the news, and turned to the woman who had been staring at me wordlessly in the past few seconds.

She was taller than me but not by much, probably a couple of inches or so. She had shiny, dark coppery red hair that softly tumbled around her shoulders in thick, soft layers, a heart-shaped face and luminous, silver-gray eyes. 

In a fitted, wine-red jersey dress and tall, black high-heeled boots, she looked every inch like a young and stunningly beautiful socialite except that her eyes had an amused glint to it and she wore a quirky smile.

Vivienne Cartwright seemed exactly the kind of woman I thought she was—irresistible and irrepressible.

“Cassie, meet Vivienne,” Jack introduced, putting an arm around her. “Vivienne, this is Cassandra. She’s your baby sister.”

Vivienne rolled her eyes. “Baby sister, Dad? Really? We’re only six years apart—I’m hardly ancient.”

I couldn’t resist the smile that pulled at my lips at her expression.

She grinned at me and yanked me in for a tight hug.

“Oh, Cassie, I’m so glad to finally meet you!” she exclaimed, pulling back to look at me. “I’ve only been waiting twenty-two years. It’s about damned time, don’t you think?”

“Viv, go easy on her, will you?” Stellan said with a light chuckle. “You might scare her away.”

Vivienne gave him a pointed look. “I doubt that any woman who can hold herself up against Sebastian Vice easily gets scared, Stel. Besides, Cassie’s one of us. A Cartwright has a steel spine and everyone knows it.”
Jack shook his head with a smile. “Only because you prove it so over and over again, princess.”

“And it doesn’t look like any of you mind at all,” I murmured dryly, drawing their attention back to me.

Vivienne beamed and linked our arms together. “See? You know us so well, already. Ha! I told these two there was nothing to be so anxious about. I can already tell we’ll get along famously.”

I arched a brow in amusement. “Don’t tell me psychic powers run in the family too.”

She laughed. “Only excellent female intuition, sis. Which makes us female Cartwrights all the more dangerous.”

Brunch was a splendid and exceedingly pleasant affair. Despite my delicate appetite, I’d managed to enjoy most of the food.

There was also no talk of the past—just easy conversation about random topics.

They talked about Stellan’s love for science and technology, Vivienne calling him a nerd. Jack mentioned a little bit about Cartwright Cruises and its history. Vivienne talked about her fashion background and she turned out to be the famed gown designer who owned Vienne where Lexie brought me to get my dress for the Christmas party.

They seemed like a happy trio to me. They laughed, joked and teased one another with ease but even then, I didn’t feel like I was intruding. Jack was an affectionate and demonstrative father. Stellan was charming, gallant and down-to-earth. Vivienne was candid, amusing and a little outrageous.

I anticipated a lot of things coming here this morning but laughing hard and thoroughly enjoying myself were not among them.

Just as we finished dessert, Oliver arrived, walking into the breakfast nook.

He was in jeans and a black turtleneck sweater, darkly handsome with his short black hair and ice blue eyes.
He grinned as he greeted us but the moment his eyes spotted Vivienne, he positively lit up.

I watched curiously as Stellan and Jack beckoned him over to join us and Vivienne leapt from her seat to intercept him with a hug.

“Hello, Viv,” he murmured in a muffled voice with his head lowered against her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her to return her eager hug. “I’ve missed you too.”

I glanced at Stellan who had a knowing smile on his face. When he caught my eye, he winked.

“Well, you’ve missed breakfast as well,” Vivienne said in a mock-stern voice as she pulled away and glanced at the cleared table. “Come, I’ll make you something.”

“And I’ll go make sure to keep those two out of trouble,” Stellan said, getting up. “I’ll leave you two to talk. Are you alright with that, Cassie?”

I smiled and nodded at him. “Thanks, Stellan.”

Jack and I waited after the three of them disappeared from our sight.

“I think those two aren’t exactly platonic,” I murmured in observation, glancing at Jack.

He sighed. “Those two are complicated. I promised Vivienne I wouldn’t meddle and I haven’t. I figured they’re old enough to sort that out. And I’m not a big fan of meddling parents myself.”

I chuckled. “So you don’t try to play matchmaker with your children? I’m so relieved.”

“I hate matchmaking,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “People can make their own decisions about that.”

I glanced back at the door where my siblings and Oliver disappeared from. “Stellan doesn’t seem to be like his other three friends, Sebastian included. He doesn’t seem much like a womanizer.”

“He can’t stand hurting people,” Jack said quietly. “Stellan is a unique person in that sense. He’s got a very big, kind heart. I admire that about him but it can be frustrating to see people take advantage of that.”

I snorted. “Stellan is very intelligent. I doubt he lets people get away with that.”

Jack sighed. “Oh, it’s not that he doesn’t know. He just doesn’t do anything about it. He doesn’t break women’s hearts. They break his.”

“Oh. Well, that sucks. I hope you run off the women who hurt him,” I grumbled irritably. “He deserves a woman who will love and cherish him.”

“For a while, we all thought he’d met the right girl,” Jack said after a pregnant pause. “She was perfect for him and Stellan was over the moon. They were engaged several years ago. She jilted him two days before their wedding and was photographed carousing the French Riviera with her new man a week later. He was humiliated but he never said a mean thing about her, even to us, even in private. He suffered through it quietly. He’s just like that.”

My heart squeezed for my brother.

“Well, I hope Vivienne was furious enough to go after her.”

Jack laughed. “Oh, you can bet she did. The woman became very unpopular for a while and she’d stayed in Europe since then. No one will risk Vivienne’s disapproval. She’ll make you beg to pay for it.”

“Vivienne is wonderful,” I admitted softly although an amused grin was tugging at the corner of my mouth. “I was worried she would hate me on the spot.”

Jack smiled. “Vivienne doesn’t like everybody and she won’t make bones about it. But she would never hate you. When she found out she was going to have a baby sister, she was relentless about it. She wanted to know your name, when she would get to meet you, when you can come over to play. She was only six then. She was very excited.”

I furrowed my brows. “Stellan told me you sat down with both him and Vivienne and told them about me. Why did you do that?”

“Because I wanted them to look forward to you. I was going to marry your mother. I wanted all my children to get along.”

I stared at him for a moment. “You don’t have to lie to me, you know? Whatever happened in the past won’t change the way I feel about my siblings. Or you, for that matter.”

Jack’s eyes brightened kindly. “I won’t lie to you, Cassie. I don’t have all of the answers but maybe I can tell you enough that you’d understand some of what happened in the past.”
Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Alright. Then tell me.”

He studied me for a moment before getting up from his seat. “Let’s take a walk, shall we? Stellan mentioned you like the conservatory at Chateau Beaumont. I have a small glass house for my roses. Would you like to see it?”

I smiled and took the arm he offered.

We turned to a long hall across the breakfast nook and entered a lush garden full of a dozen rose varieties in a cozy building of steel and glass. 

“I married my wife, Francine, when we were young, practically the moment we graduated from college,” he started as he led me down the curving path. “Our families were close and we grew up together. It seemed like a no-brainer at that time. We had Stellan right away and then Vivienne six years later. At that point in our marriage, things were starting to cool down. We just drifted apart. We cared about each other but we just couldn’t live as husband and wife anymore.”

“After Vivienne turned four, Francine moved back to New York where she got busy with social events. She was happy with her new life there and I was happy with mine and the kids. Then I met Gabriella.”

I watched his brown eyes grow alight with the memory, his lips curving into a faint smile. “She was young, beautiful and refreshing. I met her at a restaurant where she worked part-time as a waitress and occasional singer while she was going to school. I fell head over heels in love with her.”

I swallowed hard. “But you were still married.”

“Yes, I was,” he agreed gravely. “I told Gabriella this but we were in too deep to worry about it then and there. Two months into our affair, she got pregnant. I told her I would start the divorce proceedings with Francine and we could get married. I got her into a nice house, provided her with everything she could possibly need and stayed with her as much as I could. I sat down with Stellan and Vivienne to try to tell them what was going to happen—to prepare them for it—and a lot of it came out wrong. But I was lucky that they were older and wiser for their age then. They knew Francine and I were not together anymore. They knew we were happier apart and had accepted that. They want to meet this pretty lady I mentioned and their new sister. I was stunned by how incredibly easy things seemed.”

“I talked to Francine and told her of my plans and she didn’t oppose any of it,” he continued. “She actually seemed pleased to see me happy. She told me to have my lawyers send her the paperwork. After that, I stayed with Gabriella especially as she was nearing your birth.”

He glanced at me with a tremulous smile. “I was there with her in the hospital the night you were born. I held you in my arms when you were just a tiny little baby with a pink face and thick, reddish hair much, much lighter than the one you have now. We named you together and fussed over you until the nurse had to take you back. I’ve had two children then, and they are both very special to me, but you were mine and Gabriella’s miracle and that felt different to me.”

My mother’s letter told me he’d been there but hearing him say it had a different effect on me.

“She stayed put after she had you. I had to leave for business for New York but while I was there, my mother waylaid me and told me that Francine was sick. She had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Our divorce hadn’t been finalized yet. She was my wife then. I had the kids flown out to stay with her. I called Gabriella to tell her I would be delayed a few days. She had a bevy of staff to look after so I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

His expression hardened and he took a deep breath. 

“That’s when my mother took initiative. Cynthia Cartwright was a formidable woman. She liked things a certain way and my marriage to Francine was one of them. She wasn’t happy when I told her about the divorce and about you and Gabriella. Without telling me, she flew out to see her in Cobalt Bay, telling her that I’d reconciled with Francine and that I planned on taking you with me. She offered Gabriella a fortune to leave with you. Your mother refused.”

I didn’t say anything. I knew the part about the bribe.

“I called Gabriella to tell her that I might be stuck in New York for some time and that I would make arrangements to bring the two of you over so I could be close to you. I didn’t tell her that Francine was dying. Any conversation that reminded her of my married state upset her that I avoided it as much as possible. Gabriella took that phone call as a confirmation of what my mother told her. She didn’t mention anything about my mother’s visit but she blew up at me on the phone when I told her of this. She hung up on me. I flew out to see her two days later and she was gone, along with you. That’s when my mother told me that she had offered Gabriella money and she’d taken it and left.”

I bit my lip, aware of the pain that etched his face at remembering. “How did you know the truth?”

“My mother confessed to me on her deathbed, nearly ten years after Gabriella left,” he said with a harsh laugh. “She thought I couldn’t do anything but forgive her because she was dying. I still think about it now and feel angry. She convinced me that Gabriella took the money and left. I was so mad that I didn’t set out to look for the two of you right away. She told me that she gave Gabriella a fortune so I didn’t worry that you wouldn’t be taken care of. I did send someone to track the two of you down in Boston where Gabriella was originally from but he found nothing. I told myself I didn’t care but I couldn’t stop looking. I just acted like I didn’t care. Francine had died nine months after Gabriella left, the kids were grieving and I decided to stay in New York because I couldn’t deal with being in Cobalt Bay, being constantly reminded by the fact that you and Gabriella were gone. As the years went by, I started pushing the search farther but it seemed like the two of you disappeared from the face of the earth. After my mother’s confession, it became a full-fledged mission because I realized that Gabriella had run away with hardly a penny to her name.”

The suffering was plain in his face that I couldn’t help but squeeze his arm in reassurance. 

“I returned to Cobalt Bay with Vivienne after my mother’s death. Stellan had returned a few years before that but he heard or learned nothing about the two of you. I announced to the media that I was looking for my long-lost daughter. I was desperate to find you—the both of you. But the search turned up fruitless. Sure, some frauds tried to pass themselves off as you but none of them got very far. I never got close enough to you until we ran into each other at the Halloween ball.”

He smiled down at me and lightly pinched my cheek. “When you smiled, I instantly thought of Gabriella. You look a lot like me but that dimpled smile was so like hers. Then it sank in that your name was Cassandra and everything just fell into place. I found you. I was so relieved and happy to know you were okay. When you told me your mother had passed, I felt it cut through me but the fact that I haven’t lost you as well reminded me to count my blessings.”

Tears stung my eyes but I quickly blinked them away. 

I hadn’t planned on how to tell him but before I could think of it, the words started to pour out as I fished out the small box from my purse and handed it to him. 

“She came back, you know?” I stammered through the tears that escaped and spilled down my cheeks. “She ran away to stay with my aunt and uncle in West Virginia but she came back to Cobalt Bay almost right away. I don’t remember it but her letter says so. She’d hoped that you’d come back but by the time you did, she was already sick and we’d moved back to Bluefield. She probably never heard about you looking for your long-lost daughter. If she had, I’m sure she would’ve come to you.”

I silently cried as Jack studied the picture for a moment before reading the letter with a trembling hand, his chest heaving with emotions.

He lowered the letter as he settled on a bench, setting down the box as well before he clutched his hair with both hands. 

“If I’d known she’d been here all along, I would’ve come back,” he whispered in shaky voice. “But I stayed angry for too long. I let my pride get the better of me. If I’d found the two of you earlier, maybe she would’ve lived and we would be a family.”

I sat down next to him on the bench, putting an arm around his back.

“Jack,” I started softly, brushing my tears away with the back of my free hand. “We are a family. You are my father and I have no problem with that.”

He looked up and leveled brown eyes at me shimmering full of tears.

“I’m so sorry, Cassandra,” he said, his face crumpling. “I’m so sorry for all that you and your mother suffered through. I’m sorry that you’d been alone most of your life—that I hadn’t been there when you needed me. I’m so sorry.”

I gave him a wobbly smile. “As much as our fate relies on our decisions, sometimes, we’re merely just victims of circumstances.”

He pulled me into his arms and held me close as we both cried silently—for the woman we both loved and lost, for the years that had been wasted and for the second chance we’d been given.

When Stellan and Vivienne found us in the glass house, our faces were puffy and sticky from crying but the two of them just laughed and pulled both of us in for a hug.

This was what family was like.

It was something I’d only wondered about and I couldn’t believe my utter luck at finding it.

The ghosts of my past have been extinguished and it felt liberating.

If I could do it, so could Sebastian.

***

So, what do you think? I thought I wouldn't close this book without letting Cassie find her closure with her own puzzling past. I think having her learn this about herself helps her understand family better and by extension, Sebastian.

Don't hate me for making Sebastian do what he did. He's definitely proving to Cassandra that whatever decision she comes to about the two of them, it would be out of love and of willingness to be with him no matter how rough the ride had been. I think Sebastian needs someone who can prove to still love him despite everything, if he is to believe that he can be loved at all. 

Don't forget to vote and comment. The ending is coming soon. =)

XOXO! -Ninya