For some time, Cassidy watches everyone in silence while she continues to take pleasure in her pile of cotton candy.
She still finds it a little hard to believe that her life turned out like this. The world around her has become brighter - gone are those days of never-ending pain and heart-wretching sadness. There are many things that changed, and fortunately, most of them are for the better. One of these is the change she is seeing in her sister-in-laws.
Cassidy takes a moment to look at Irish and Olivia, recalling how the former used to be a sadistic narcissist and the latter an unsympathetic follower.
'Adrian told me that he still hasn't completely forgiven them. Even I still haven't really forgotten every horrible thing they did to me. But we're giving them a chance to redeem themselves. And they seem to be trying their hardest to do just that...' she thought to herself as she continued to stare at her sister-in-laws.
'I've heard that Irene lost her career as an actress, has a bad reputation up until the present, and received many criticisms. But she confronted all of them and started pursuing another career instead. If she was still the same spoiled brat she was before, she would've not taken the high road and admitted her mistakes. Ofelia, on the other hand, learned to become more independent and sympathetic of everyone around her. She also helped her siblings as much as she could and replaced their mother in managing their household affairs.'
Speaking of her mother-in-law, she remembers that what Adrian only keeps telling her is that she is confined. She doesn't know where exactly, though. It seems to be a very sensitive topic not only for him but also for his siblings. What's even stranger is that her nephews are not aware of her whereabouts either.
Adrian promised to Cassidy that he'd tell her about what happened to Gertrude someday, which gave her the impression that he's just probably not prepared to reveal it at this point.
"Cassidy."
At that, Cassidy jolted in surprise. She then turned around to find Adrian making his way to her. Edward is walking behind him, carrying a teddy bear which she recalled seeing at one of the booths earlier.
"Whoa! Daddy got a teddy bear!" Hugo chirped and rushed over to his father, making everyone else turn in their direction as well.
Advertisements"Seems like they failed to get you that teddy bear in the end. So, I grabbed one for you," Edward said as he offered the stuffed toy to his son, much to his delight.
"Thank you, Daddy!"
Seeing Cassidy a little baffled, Adrian smiles in reassurance. He puts his hand on her head and leans down for a bit, keeping his voice low as he speaks.
"Don't worry. That creep already got caught. We left him with the security in the meantime. I'll handle him later when we go home..." he whispered, much to her relief.
"Edward got that teddy bear so that the kids won't ask where we'd been, though in reality, he just really wanted to get one for Hugo."
"I see. I'm glad that the matter is not that serious."
While the two of them talk to themselves for a moment, Damien and the others gather around Hugo to take a look at the teddy bear. Aira touches the stuffed animal before she grabs it into a tight hold. She then buries her face in it, loving its softness.
"I love this! I want one!" Aira squealed.
"Then, we get to go shooting after all...!" Asher enthused, puffing out his chest and putting his hands on his hips.
"You should all see Cassie! I bet she can win you guys all the stuffed toys you want!"
"Eheh..." Cassidy giggled, acting bashful.
"I just have a good aim. Toy guns aren't very heavy, anyway."
"So, shall we go, then?" Adrian asked, earning everyone's approval.
With that, the group sets off for the shooting games.
The children are just really curious to see whether Asher's words hold true or not, so they force Cassidy to try shooting first. They first search for a stand with good prizes. Once they see one, she takes on the challenge and gives it a go.
A moment later, she ends up winning a huge stuffed bunny for Aira.
"See...!" Asher exclaimed, looking quite proud.
"Told you! Cassie is really good! She learned from the best, after all!"
"Not that I want to be a wet blanket, Asher. But you see, this only applies in shooting games - not the real one..." Charles commented with a wry look, recalling something.
"I still remember how Ma'am Cassidy kept ending up hitting her targets' lower parts back when-"
"C-C-Charlie! Why do you still remember that?!" Cassidy bolted out, blushing in embarrassment.
"But if he's the one who taught you how to aim, he gotta know that he did a big mistake."
"S-Still! I-It's embarrassing to-"
"I've got to hand it to you, big sis..." Aira cut in, straight-faced.
"I didn't know that."
"Me neither! Who would've thought that Aunty could shoot even the lower parts?! I thought you could only shoot at the upper body! Like the head or the chest, for instance!" Hugo beamed - and no one got to correct him.
"Now, I kind of want to try shooting, too!" Joshua blurted out, ecstatic.
Everyone eventually splits up again - with the children bouncing after Asher who'll show them some 'tricks with the gun' and the others heading over to a stall where they have to throw balls at stacks of cups to win a prize. In the end, Adrian is left alone with Cassidy once more.
"Do you want something, Cassidy...?" he asked a little sheepishly.
"I want to try winning something for you too."
"Sure...! she replied before tilting her head in a thoughtful manner.
Advertisements"But I don't really know what I want. So, surprise me!"
"Alright."
Adrian looks around the place - at the different prizes that the stands put on display. He searches in his memory for any little nuances in his wife's personality that might give him a clue as to what she might like best. His keen gaze eventually locks on something.
"Come on," he said and gestured to her, leading them both through the crowd and stopping at another shooting game.
Cassidy smiles and looks around at the prizes, trying to guess which one Adrian will try to win for her.
For some time, Cassidy watches everyone in silence while she continues to take pleasure in her pile of cotton candy.
She still finds it a little hard to believe that her life turned out like this. The world around her has become brighter - gone are those days of never-ending pain and heart-wretching sadness. There are many things that changed, and fortunately, most of them are for the better. One of these is the change she is seeing in her sister-in-laws.
Cassidy takes a moment to look at Irish and Olivia, recalling how the former used to be a sadistic narcissist and the latter an unsympathetic follower.
'Adrian told me that he still hasn't completely forgiven them. Even I still haven't really forgotten every horrible thing they did to me. But we're giving them a chance to redeem themselves. And they seem to be trying their hardest to do just that...' she thought to herself as she continued to stare at her sister-in-laws.
'I've heard that Irene lost her career as an actress, has a bad reputation up until the present, and received many criticisms. But she confronted all of them and started pursuing another career instead. If she was still the same spoiled brat she was before, she would've not taken the high road and admitted her mistakes. Ofelia, on the other hand, learned to become more independent and sympathetic of everyone around her. She also helped her siblings as much as she could and replaced their mother in managing their household affairs.'
Speaking of her mother-in-law, she remembers that what Adrian only keeps telling her is that she is confined. She doesn't know where exactly, though. It seems to be a very sensitive topic not only for him but also for his siblings. What's even stranger is that her nephews are not aware of her whereabouts either.
Adrian promised to Cassidy that he'd tell her about what happened to Gertrude someday, which gave her the impression that he's just probably not prepared to reveal it at this point.
"Cassidy."
At that, Cassidy jolted in surprise. She then turned around to find Adrian making his way to her. Edward is walking behind him, carrying a teddy bear which she recalled seeing at one of the booths earlier.
"Whoa! Daddy got a teddy bear!" Hugo chirped and rushed over to his father, making everyone else turn in their direction as well.
Advertisements"Seems like they failed to get you that teddy bear in the end. So, I grabbed one for you," Edward said as he offered the stuffed toy to his son, much to his delight.
"Thank you, Daddy!"
Seeing Cassidy a little baffled, Adrian smiles in reassurance. He puts his hand on her head and leans down for a bit, keeping his voice low as he speaks.
"Don't worry. That creep already got caught. We left him with the security in the meantime. I'll handle him later when we go home..." he whispered, much to her relief.
"Edward got that teddy bear so that the kids won't ask where we'd been, though in reality, he just really wanted to get one for Hugo."
"I see. I'm glad that the matter is not that serious."
While the two of them talk to themselves for a moment, Damien and the others gather around Hugo to take a look at the teddy bear. Aira touches the stuffed animal before she grabs it into a tight hold. She then buries her face in it, loving its softness.
"I love this! I want one!" Aira squealed.
"Then, we get to go shooting after all...!" Asher enthused, puffing out his chest and putting his hands on his hips.
"You should all see Cassie! I bet she can win you guys all the stuffed toys you want!"
"Eheh..." Cassidy giggled, acting bashful.
"I just have a good aim. Toy guns aren't very heavy, anyway."
"So, shall we go, then?" Adrian asked, earning everyone's approval.
With that, the group sets off for the shooting games.
The children are just really curious to see whether Asher's words hold true or not, so they force Cassidy to try shooting first. They first search for a stand with good prizes. Once they see one, she takes on the challenge and gives it a go.
A moment later, she ends up winning a huge stuffed bunny for Aira.
"See...!" Asher exclaimed, looking quite proud.
"Told you! Cassie is really good! She learned from the best, after all!"
"Not that I want to be a wet blanket, Asher. But you see, this only applies in shooting games - not the real one..." Charles commented with a wry look, recalling something.
"I still remember how Ma'am Cassidy kept ending up hitting her targets' lower parts back when-"
"C-C-Charlie! Why do you still remember that?!" Cassidy bolted out, blushing in embarrassment.
"But if he's the one who taught you how to aim, he gotta know that he did a big mistake."
"S-Still! I-It's embarrassing to-"
"I've got to hand it to you, big sis..." Aira cut in, straight-faced.
"I didn't know that."
"Me neither! Who would've thought that Aunty could shoot even the lower parts?! I thought you could only shoot at the upper body! Like the head or the chest, for instance!" Hugo beamed - and no one got to correct him.
"Now, I kind of want to try shooting, too!" Joshua blurted out, ecstatic.
Everyone eventually splits up again - with the children bouncing after Asher who'll show them some 'tricks with the gun' and the others heading over to a stall where they have to throw balls at stacks of cups to win a prize. In the end, Adrian is left alone with Cassidy once more.
"Do you want something, Cassidy...?" he asked a little sheepishly.
"I want to try winning something for you too."
"Sure...! she replied before tilting her head in a thoughtful manner.
Advertisements"But I don't really know what I want. So, surprise me!"
"Alright."
Adrian looks around the place - at the different prizes that the stands put on display. He searches in his memory for any little nuances in his wife's personality that might give him a clue as to what she might like best. His keen gaze eventually locks on something.
"Come on," he said and gestured to her, leading them both through the crowd and stopping at another shooting game.
Cassidy smiles and looks around at the prizes, trying to guess which one Adrian will try to win for her.
