Although Cassidy was feeling exhausted, and his eyelids were heavy with sleep, he willed himself to stay awake so he could watch Andy, who was now sleeping peacefully beside him after their very passionate sex.
He didn't want to take his eyes off her. Not even for a second. Not when he knew that this was most likely going to be the last time she would ever sleep beside him like this.
As a matter of fact, despite the fact that they had sex and she was still lying beside him, he was still very shocked that she had asked him to pleasure her.
A smile twitched on his lips as he thought about all she had said and done earlier just to convince him to have sex with her. Thinking about it now, it was sort of funny.
Even though a part of him wanted a lot more from her than just sex, and what he wished was to watch her sleep like this every day, he knew better than to say that to her.
He knew that even though she claimed to have forgiven him, he would be a constant reminder of her painful past if he so much as tried to cling to her.
She was better off without him, and it was better he stayed off her path so that she could fully heal and move on from her past, Cassidy thought with a sigh, and decided that instead of watching her sleep and torturing himself further with his painful longing, he should let her go.
"Andy," Cassidy called softly as he rubbed her arm so she could wake up.
Andy murmured in her sleep as she snuggled closer to him and buried her face in his chest.
Cassidy couldn't hold back himself as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and he decided to let her sleep for a bit before waking her up again.
He cuddled her and buried his nose in her hair. He wanted to cherish this moment. He wanted to remember how it felt to hold her in his arms, how she smelt, how she tasted…
"Alex?" Andy asked in confusion since the room was dark.
He quickly let go of her and got off the bed, "I'm sorry I disturbed your sleep," Cassidy said apologetically, and she sat up to look at him, not minding the fact that she was completely naked.
She had woken up because she had felt him cuddling her. She had felt his tender kiss on her forehead and had heard his rapid heartbeat. She just couldn't understand him.
"It's okay. Why are you still up?" Andy asked with a yawn as Cassidy went to stand by the window with his back to her.
"You should return to your bedroom," Cassidy said, feeling uncomfortable with the sight of her naked body on his bed now that she was awake. It made him want to make love to her again. You'll discover the inception of this content at n0v@lbin★
Andy raised a brow, "Why? You can't sleep because I'm here? Don't tell me you are scared that I might murder you in your sleep?" Andy said, and Cassidy's lips twitched in amusement.
It was true that he couldn't sleep because she was there. As much as he loved to watch her sleep, it was making his acceptance of the fact that she was leaving harder than it already was.
It was funny that she would think that someone like him would be scared of her. It wasn't like she could leave here alive even if she succeeded in killing him anyway.
"Yes. I'm scared you came in here to take your revenge and might murder me in my sleep," Cassidy said with a nod.
"You really do have trust issues. Have you always been deceived your whole life? Trust me when I say I've forgiven you. I don't have any intentions of killing you," Andy assured him.
"Thanks. Now I can sleep easy," Cassidy said with a scoff, and she narrowed her eyes.
"Are you being sarcastic?" She asked, and he sighed.
"Go sleep in your own bed, Andy," Cassidy said, and she raised a brow.
"Will you be there to see me off when I leave?" Andy asked curiously, and Cassidy shook his head.
"No," Cassidy said, and Andy frowned.
"Why not? Why won't you see me off? And why do you keep avoiding me when I'm the one offering my friendship?" She asked in confusion.
"Do you really want to know?" Cassidy asked, and she nodded.
"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't want an honest response."
"I'm avoiding you because I don't have to go back on my word of letting you leave," Cassidy said, still without looking back at her, and Andy raised a brow.
"How?" She asked, and Cassidy turned to look at her.
"I don't want you to leave, but since you insist that you must leave, I can't hold you back. It's one thing to let you go. It's another to watch you go. I'm afraid that I might disregard my promise to you and go on my knees to beg you not to leave if I'm there to see you off. The only way I can truly let you go is if I'm not there to watch you leave. Does that answer your question?" Cassidy asked Andy, who was staring at him while feeling both surprised and confused by his confession.
Andy gave him a nod since she was too speechless to utter a word.
Cassidy watched her as she rose from the bed and picked up her sleeping gown, which she had worn earlier.
"You should be ready to leave by 8 A.M.," Cassidy said, and she nodded.
"Thanks for not forcing me to stay against my will," She said, and Cassidy gave her a nod and watched as she headed for the interconnecting door.
As she opened the door, she turned to him, "Alex?"
"Yes?"
"I wish we had met under different circumstances. I hope you'll come say goodbye to me when I leave," Andy said hopefully.
"Goodbye, Andy. I hope you find all the happiness you deserve."
"I hope so for you, too," She said before walking through the door and shutting it behind her.
As she showered, she tried to imagine how things would have been had she met Cassidy under different circumstances. For a moment there, she had thought about what it would be like to stay there with him, but she couldn't.
That wasn't the kind of life she wanted for herself. She didn't want to live in seclusion away from the people who mattered most to her in life.
Thinking about Candace and Jamal now, she smiled as she thought about meeting them again. She wondered how soon before she could see them again. Where was Cassidy sending her? Would it be somewhere close to Candace and Jamal? Or far away?
She wondered if Candace missed her as much as she had missed her or if she had forgotten all about her now because she now had her biological family. A family which was far more prestigious, unlike her stripper adoptive sister.
Andy shook her head. No, that wasn't true. If she thought Candace was that sort of person, she wouldn't even be thinking of going back to her and Jamal. She knew that Candace and Jamal loved her almost as much as she loved them, and she knew they would be happy to have her back. However, she couldn't be so sure about Candace's family. It was one thing for them to accept Candace since she was theirs. But would they want Candace to remain family with her?
Andy scowled at that. They had better be ready to accept her as well, or else she was going to take Candace and Jamal from them. They were all a package, and it was a buy two and get one free package.
Andy sighed as she got on her bed, but she couldn't sleep. How could she when her freedom was so close? She looked around her bedroom, and her gaze paused at the interconnecting door, and she remembered what Cassidy had said again about the reason he didn't want to see her off.
He had sounded like a man in love. She shook her head to get rid of the thought. She needed to sleep now so she could wake up early to leave.
She closed her eyes to sleep but only turned and tossed for hours until it was morning, and she quickly showered and dressed up before going to find Maribel since she needed to bid the kid farewell.
Andy walked into the living room to see Maribel crying in Susan's embrace, and the moment Maribel saw Andy, she ran to her, and Andy knelt on one knee to embrace her.
"Don't leave me, please," Maribel cried as she held on tightly to Andy.
She had wanted to go to Andy's room to beg her not to go, but Susan had stopped her from doing that. Cassidy had informed them that morning that Andy would be leaving.
Andy caressed Maribel's hair and pulled away to look at her. "I'm sorry, doll, but I have to go home," Andy said with a sad smile as she brushed away the tears from Maribel's face.
"I don't want you to leave. Please stay here with us. I promise to be good to you if you stay. Daddy will be good to you, too. Susan will also be good, right Susan?" Maribel pleaded as she continued to weep, and Andy embraced her again as she tried to calm her.
As Andy tried to calm Maribel, Susan, who was standing a few feet away, couldn't help but feel sad as she watched the scene before her.
Although she had not liked Andy when she first got there because because of how disrespectful she was to Alex, she had to admit that she had been good to Maribel and her presence in the house had made a difference in the kid.
They all turned to the door when one of Cassidy's men walked in, and Andy knew it was time for her to leave.
"I've been assigned to escort you," the man informed Andy, and she turned to Maribel.
"I have to go now, doll," Andy said, and Maribel cried even more.
"If you keep crying this way, I won't visit you ever again," Andy said, and Maribel quickly wiped get eyes.
"You will visit me?" She asked hopefully, and Andy pretended to think about it.
"I might if you promise to be a good girl and to not cry," Andy said with a soft smile, and Maribel sniffled.
"I promise to be a good girl."
"That's good."
"Will you be my mommy when you come to visit again?" Maribel asked hopefully, and Andy looked at her in surprise.
"Why?"
"Because if you become my mommy, you wouldn't want to leave me again," Maribel said, and Andy glanced up at Susan before returning her gaze to Maribel.
"I see. I suppose we will see what the future holds for us all," Andy said as she kissed Maribel's forehead before rising to leave.
She couldn't tell the kid that there was a possibility that they weren't going to see or meet ever again.
Although Maribel wanted to cry some more, she held herself from crying because of what Andy had said about not crying.
As Andy followed the man out of the house, she looked around to see if Cassidy was somewhere around, but she didn't see any sign of him.
"You're not carrying any bags?" Her escort asked, and she shook her head.
"No. I have nothing to take with me. I came here with nothing," Andy said quietly as she walked with him.
Neither Andy nor the man said another word as they continued moving. As they walked, Andy kept looking around, and she tried to walk slowly so that they wouldn't get there too soon. She wanted Cassidy to be able to meet them if he changed his mind about seeing her off.
"Where is Alex?" Andy asked the man, who had been leading her in silence, as they approached the jet, and she still didn't see him waiting by the jet.
"He is busy with work and asked me to say goodbye to you on his behalf," he said, and Andy sighed deeply when it dawned on her that he really wasn't coming.
She looked around one more time and when she didn't see any sign of him she got into the jet.
Cassidy, who was watching her from a safe distance, sighed when she disappeared inside the jet, and he dropped his binoculars.
He knew she must be feeling pretty disappointed that he didn't show up, but it was better for everyone this way.
"Goodbye, Andy," Cassidy murmured as he headed back to the house to console his heartbroken daughter.
Although Cassidy was feeling exhausted, and his eyelids were heavy with sleep, he willed himself to stay awake so he could watch Andy, who was now sleeping peacefully beside him after their very passionate sex.
He didn't want to take his eyes off her. Not even for a second. Not when he knew that this was most likely going to be the last time she would ever sleep beside him like this.
As a matter of fact, despite the fact that they had sex and she was still lying beside him, he was still very shocked that she had asked him to pleasure her.
A smile twitched on his lips as he thought about all she had said and done earlier just to convince him to have sex with her. Thinking about it now, it was sort of funny.
Even though a part of him wanted a lot more from her than just sex, and what he wished was to watch her sleep like this every day, he knew better than to say that to her.
He knew that even though she claimed to have forgiven him, he would be a constant reminder of her painful past if he so much as tried to cling to her.
She was better off without him, and it was better he stayed off her path so that she could fully heal and move on from her past, Cassidy thought with a sigh, and decided that instead of watching her sleep and torturing himself further with his painful longing, he should let her go.
"Andy," Cassidy called softly as he rubbed her arm so she could wake up.
Andy murmured in her sleep as she snuggled closer to him and buried her face in his chest.
Cassidy couldn't hold back himself as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and he decided to let her sleep for a bit before waking her up again.
He cuddled her and buried his nose in her hair. He wanted to cherish this moment. He wanted to remember how it felt to hold her in his arms, how she smelt, how she tasted…
"Alex?" Andy asked in confusion since the room was dark.
He quickly let go of her and got off the bed, "I'm sorry I disturbed your sleep," Cassidy said apologetically, and she sat up to look at him, not minding the fact that she was completely naked.
She had woken up because she had felt him cuddling her. She had felt his tender kiss on her forehead and had heard his rapid heartbeat. She just couldn't understand him.
"It's okay. Why are you still up?" Andy asked with a yawn as Cassidy went to stand by the window with his back to her.
"You should return to your bedroom," Cassidy said, feeling uncomfortable with the sight of her naked body on his bed now that she was awake. It made him want to make love to her again. You'll discover the inception of this content at n0v@lbin★
Andy raised a brow, "Why? You can't sleep because I'm here? Don't tell me you are scared that I might murder you in your sleep?" Andy said, and Cassidy's lips twitched in amusement.
It was true that he couldn't sleep because she was there. As much as he loved to watch her sleep, it was making his acceptance of the fact that she was leaving harder than it already was.
It was funny that she would think that someone like him would be scared of her. It wasn't like she could leave here alive even if she succeeded in killing him anyway.
"Yes. I'm scared you came in here to take your revenge and might murder me in my sleep," Cassidy said with a nod.
"You really do have trust issues. Have you always been deceived your whole life? Trust me when I say I've forgiven you. I don't have any intentions of killing you," Andy assured him.
"Thanks. Now I can sleep easy," Cassidy said with a scoff, and she narrowed her eyes.
"Are you being sarcastic?" She asked, and he sighed.
"Go sleep in your own bed, Andy," Cassidy said, and she raised a brow.
"Will you be there to see me off when I leave?" Andy asked curiously, and Cassidy shook his head.
"No," Cassidy said, and Andy frowned.
"Why not? Why won't you see me off? And why do you keep avoiding me when I'm the one offering my friendship?" She asked in confusion.
"Do you really want to know?" Cassidy asked, and she nodded.
"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't want an honest response."
"I'm avoiding you because I don't have to go back on my word of letting you leave," Cassidy said, still without looking back at her, and Andy raised a brow.
"How?" She asked, and Cassidy turned to look at her.
"I don't want you to leave, but since you insist that you must leave, I can't hold you back. It's one thing to let you go. It's another to watch you go. I'm afraid that I might disregard my promise to you and go on my knees to beg you not to leave if I'm there to see you off. The only way I can truly let you go is if I'm not there to watch you leave. Does that answer your question?" Cassidy asked Andy, who was staring at him while feeling both surprised and confused by his confession.
Andy gave him a nod since she was too speechless to utter a word.
Cassidy watched her as she rose from the bed and picked up her sleeping gown, which she had worn earlier.
"You should be ready to leave by 8 A.M.," Cassidy said, and she nodded.
"Thanks for not forcing me to stay against my will," She said, and Cassidy gave her a nod and watched as she headed for the interconnecting door.
As she opened the door, she turned to him, "Alex?"
"Yes?"
"I wish we had met under different circumstances. I hope you'll come say goodbye to me when I leave," Andy said hopefully.
"Goodbye, Andy. I hope you find all the happiness you deserve."
"I hope so for you, too," She said before walking through the door and shutting it behind her.
As she showered, she tried to imagine how things would have been had she met Cassidy under different circumstances. For a moment there, she had thought about what it would be like to stay there with him, but she couldn't.
That wasn't the kind of life she wanted for herself. She didn't want to live in seclusion away from the people who mattered most to her in life.
Thinking about Candace and Jamal now, she smiled as she thought about meeting them again. She wondered how soon before she could see them again. Where was Cassidy sending her? Would it be somewhere close to Candace and Jamal? Or far away?
She wondered if Candace missed her as much as she had missed her or if she had forgotten all about her now because she now had her biological family. A family which was far more prestigious, unlike her stripper adoptive sister.
Andy shook her head. No, that wasn't true. If she thought Candace was that sort of person, she wouldn't even be thinking of going back to her and Jamal. She knew that Candace and Jamal loved her almost as much as she loved them, and she knew they would be happy to have her back. However, she couldn't be so sure about Candace's family. It was one thing for them to accept Candace since she was theirs. But would they want Candace to remain family with her?
Andy scowled at that. They had better be ready to accept her as well, or else she was going to take Candace and Jamal from them. They were all a package, and it was a buy two and get one free package.
Andy sighed as she got on her bed, but she couldn't sleep. How could she when her freedom was so close? She looked around her bedroom, and her gaze paused at the interconnecting door, and she remembered what Cassidy had said again about the reason he didn't want to see her off.
He had sounded like a man in love. She shook her head to get rid of the thought. She needed to sleep now so she could wake up early to leave.
She closed her eyes to sleep but only turned and tossed for hours until it was morning, and she quickly showered and dressed up before going to find Maribel since she needed to bid the kid farewell.
Andy walked into the living room to see Maribel crying in Susan's embrace, and the moment Maribel saw Andy, she ran to her, and Andy knelt on one knee to embrace her.
"Don't leave me, please," Maribel cried as she held on tightly to Andy.
She had wanted to go to Andy's room to beg her not to go, but Susan had stopped her from doing that. Cassidy had informed them that morning that Andy would be leaving.
Andy caressed Maribel's hair and pulled away to look at her. "I'm sorry, doll, but I have to go home," Andy said with a sad smile as she brushed away the tears from Maribel's face.
"I don't want you to leave. Please stay here with us. I promise to be good to you if you stay. Daddy will be good to you, too. Susan will also be good, right Susan?" Maribel pleaded as she continued to weep, and Andy embraced her again as she tried to calm her.
As Andy tried to calm Maribel, Susan, who was standing a few feet away, couldn't help but feel sad as she watched the scene before her.
Although she had not liked Andy when she first got there because because of how disrespectful she was to Alex, she had to admit that she had been good to Maribel and her presence in the house had made a difference in the kid.
They all turned to the door when one of Cassidy's men walked in, and Andy knew it was time for her to leave.
"I've been assigned to escort you," the man informed Andy, and she turned to Maribel.
"I have to go now, doll," Andy said, and Maribel cried even more.
"If you keep crying this way, I won't visit you ever again," Andy said, and Maribel quickly wiped get eyes.
"You will visit me?" She asked hopefully, and Andy pretended to think about it.
"I might if you promise to be a good girl and to not cry," Andy said with a soft smile, and Maribel sniffled.
"I promise to be a good girl."
"That's good."
"Will you be my mommy when you come to visit again?" Maribel asked hopefully, and Andy looked at her in surprise.
"Why?"
"Because if you become my mommy, you wouldn't want to leave me again," Maribel said, and Andy glanced up at Susan before returning her gaze to Maribel.
"I see. I suppose we will see what the future holds for us all," Andy said as she kissed Maribel's forehead before rising to leave.
She couldn't tell the kid that there was a possibility that they weren't going to see or meet ever again.
Although Maribel wanted to cry some more, she held herself from crying because of what Andy had said about not crying.
As Andy followed the man out of the house, she looked around to see if Cassidy was somewhere around, but she didn't see any sign of him.
"You're not carrying any bags?" Her escort asked, and she shook her head.
"No. I have nothing to take with me. I came here with nothing," Andy said quietly as she walked with him.
Neither Andy nor the man said another word as they continued moving. As they walked, Andy kept looking around, and she tried to walk slowly so that they wouldn't get there too soon. She wanted Cassidy to be able to meet them if he changed his mind about seeing her off.
"Where is Alex?" Andy asked the man, who had been leading her in silence, as they approached the jet, and she still didn't see him waiting by the jet.
"He is busy with work and asked me to say goodbye to you on his behalf," he said, and Andy sighed deeply when it dawned on her that he really wasn't coming.
She looked around one more time and when she didn't see any sign of him she got into the jet.
Cassidy, who was watching her from a safe distance, sighed when she disappeared inside the jet, and he dropped his binoculars.
He knew she must be feeling pretty disappointed that he didn't show up, but it was better for everyone this way.
"Goodbye, Andy," Cassidy murmured as he headed back to the house to console his heartbroken daughter.
