Andy had a frown on her face as she thought about Cassidy. She couldn't help but wonder why he was making himself scarce despite the fact that they had come to an understanding the last time they spoke and he gave her Candace's photos.
She knew for a fact that the people of the Island had thrown a small welcome party for him the previous night, but he had not invited her or taken her along. She did not even know when he left for the party.
She hardly knew anything about his coming and going now, and she doubted that he still slept in his bedroom next to hers.
Not that she cared where he slept or whether or not she saw him. But it annoyed her that he brought her here and didn't even have the courtesy to at least check in on her often to know whether or not she was doing okay.
"Why are you scowling?" Maribel asked as she peered into Andy's face.
"I'm not frowning, doll. I'm just lost in thoughts," Andy said with forced smile as she looked at Maribel who she had kept busy by asking her to color some diagrams.
"Why do you always call me doll?" Maribel asked and Andy tapped her nose playfully.
"Because you, my perfect little girl, look just as pretty as a doll," Andy said, and Maribel giggled happily at the compliment as she rose to go get into Andy's lap.
"I like you a lot," Maribel said as she pushed up her glasses on her nose with one hand and touched Andy's hair.
Susan, the housekeeper, chose to walk into the living room in that moment and she eyed them both with disapproval as she moved about, pretending to be busy.
"You do? I'm so relieved to hear that I have someone who likes me here. I wonder why you like me though," Andy said as her hands went around the little girl's waist.
"Because you're pretty, you are not old and you are fun. If I had a mama she would look just like you," Maribel said, reminding Andy that she wanted to ask Cassidy about that.
"But you have Susan with you," Andy said as she patted Maribel's back.
"Susan is too old to be my mama," Maribel said and while Andy stuck out her tongue at Susan discreetly so that Maribel wouldn't see her.
"It's time for your nap, Mari," Susan said as she went to where Andy was seated and tried to lift Maribel.
"But Susan…"
"Now, Mari!" Susan snapped, but Andy held Maribel tightly without letting Susan snatch her away.
"I will take her to her room and put her to sleep," Andy said with a sweet smile as she rose with Maribel and headed for the kid's room.
After she had put the kid to sleep thirty minutes later, she met Susan waiting for her outside the kid's bedroom and she raised a brow.
"She is asleep already," Andy said as she walked past Susan and immediately Susan followed her.
"What do you want here?" Susan asked, and Andy stopped walking and turned to Susan.
"I beg your pardon?" Andy asked, and Susan nodded.
"You heard me. Why are you here? I know that Sir Alex brought you here, but why did you come? Who are you to him? Why did he bring you here? What is your relationship with him?" Susan asked, and Andy crossed both arms in front of her.
"Why are you asking me all that when you can ask him yourself?" Andy asked irritably.
Susan ignored Andy's annoyance, "That is not a question I can ask Sir Alex…"
"So, who do you think you are to ask me such questions?" Andy cut in impatiently.
"I am responsible for Sir Alex and Maribel, and I won't let you hurt them," Susan said stubbornly and Andy frowned.
"And what makes you think I want to hurt them?"
"What do you think will happen to Maribel after you make her get so attached to you and then you leave here?"
"So you'd rather I'm unkind to the child so she doesn't get attached to me?"
"I'd rather you leave things the way you met them. Stay all day in your room if you must. Act like you don't exist, unless you plan on staying here for the rest of your life, which I know you don't. Someone like you wouldn't be able to stay here anyway," Susan said and Andy raised a brow.
"What do you mean someone like me?" Andy asked, wondering what she meant by that.
"You are a wild one. Things like that cannot be hidden. I can see it in your eyes and in the way you walk. Unless your aim for being here is to warm Sir Alex's bed, which I strongly disapprove of because he deserves someone better…"
"I believe you have said enough, Susan!" Cassidy snapped as he joined them.
"Sir Alex…"
"Apologize to her," Cassidy said harshly, and Susan pressed her lips together.
"Right now!" Cassidy repeated, but before Susan could say a word Andy walked away.
Cassidy followed her immediately, and before she could shut her bedroom door, he put in a door to stop the door.
"I'm sorry she said that to you," Cassidy said, but Andy said nothing as she walked away from the door and went to stand by her bedroom window with her back to him.
Cassidy remained by the door, not sure of what to say but not sure he should leave without making sure she wasn't upset either.
He had been really busy with work in his study until he caught sight of Susan and Andy talking in the hallway and from their postures and expressions he had determined it wasn't a light conversation.
Andy was more amused than annoyed or hurt by Susan's statement. It amused her that Susan believed that Cassidy deserved someone better. Did Susan have any idea who Cassidy really was? Did anyone on this Island know what he was capable of?
"Susan used to be like family to Maribel's mom. She watched Maribel's mom grow, and moved in with us when Maribel's mom was pregnant. She is very protective of Maribel and me," Cassidy explained in a tired voice.
"If only she knew you and all you are capable of she wouldn't bother being so protective of you. Do any of them here truly know you?" Andy asked in an even tone as she faced him.
"You're the one who doesn't know me," Cassidy said as he met her gaze. He was still standing outside her bedroom without going in.
Andy laughed humorlessly, "I don't?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes. You don't," he said flatly before turning around to walk away, since he could see she wasn't as upset as he had thought.
Andy followed him as he walked into his bedroom and he turned to look at her, "Why are you following me?"
"We are not done with our conversation. And I have some questions for you," Andy said, and he raised a brow.
"What did I tell you the last time you came in here?" He asked, and she raised her chin defiantly.
"You can either come out let's talk or I'm going to remain here," she said as she watched him massage his temple.
He seemed to do that a lot, she observed.
Without saying a word Cassidy walked further into his bedroom and opened one of the drawers. He took out some pain relief medicine and Andy watched as he picked a bottle of water from his bedside and swallowed them.
After he had done that he got on his bed and faced her, "You can sit on the stool," he said, pointing to the padded stool by his dressing table.
"I'm comfortable standing here," Andy said stubbornly from where she stood by the door.
"Alright. So, what do you want to talk about?" Cassidy asked even though he was feeling sleepy since he had barely slept for more than four hours in the last seventy-two hours.
"Who are you? Cassidy or Alex?" Andy asked, and Cassidy's lips twitched.
"Notice how your name Andy rhymes with both my names?" He asked, and Andy scowled.
"What has that got to do with my question?"
"Nothing. It just occurred to me. Alright. I will answer your question if you can answer mine. Who are you?" He asked and she raised a brow.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Deep down, are you the innocent waitress who was taken in by Jero, or are you the call girl Jero made you into? Or the stripper you had to become to survive?" He asked, and Andy's brows furrowed.
"I am neither of those," Andy said angrily.
"Yeah. I didn't think you were either. But those are all you, are they not?" Cassidy asked as he watched her.
"How then would you describe yourself, Andy? Would you describe yourself by your circumstances or who you know you are deep down?" He asked when she was silent for some time.
pandasnovel.com "What are you getting at? And how does this answer my question? You're making this about me when it should be about you," Andy said, and Cassidy shook his head.
"No. The answer to your question can be found in your answers to my question."
"No, I don't think so. We are nothing alike. All my life I've never had a break. From the orphanage I worked as a waitress and struggled to get the basic things of life. Our paycheck was never enough to cover the bills. Jero showed up in Candace's life and we both thought maybe heaven had decided to smile on us and we could catch a break, but our life with Jero was a nightmare! And after escaping Jero we didn't have the qualifications to get any good paying jobs that would help us take care of ourselves and Jamal, so we had to resort to stripping. I'm not a whore! I've done all I had to do to survive until now! And you? You don't have an excuse for doing what you did to me or for living a life of crime as you did! I didn't have a choice, but you did! So don't you dare compare yourself to me!" Andy yelled at him angrily.
Cassidy nodded as he watched her, "Maybe you are right. Maybe violence like other things can be hereditary," he said thoughtfully.
"As you've rightly put it, life is all about choices, and I believe the choice we make as individuals tells a lot about who we are. What does my choice of living here tell you about me?" Cassidy asked and she scoffed.
"That you're a coward hiding out here away from the enemies you made for yourself," Andy said and he held her gaze for a moment before speaking.
"I don't believe in judging people based on the situations where I meet them. I believe that a lot of factors affect the choices we make and the actions we take at different points in our life. I didn't choose to live here because I want to hide from anyone. I chose to live here because I desire a life of peace and quiet for myself and Maribel. I know you think I'm a monster, but I've never shed an innocent blood…"
"Your men killed an innocent girl! (Chapter 259)" Andy snapped at him.
"She wasn't as innocent as you believe. She knew we wanted you, and she was willing to play along as long as she was well paid…"
"You expect me to believe that? Because she is not here to defend herself you can afford to tell lies," Andy interrupted.
"Believe what you will, Andy. Every single man who died on that yacht were my father's men who were present when Maribel's mom was killed. They all had it coming. I have only two regrets in life that haunt me. One of them is not being at home when my late fiancée was attacked, and the other is doing what I did to you," Cassidy said, and when Andy opened her mouth to speak he continued.
"Now to answer your question. This right here, is who I am. A father and a responsible citizen. I'm Alex. I'm not Cassidy. Cassidy is the monster my father gave birth to and the cartel made. That's not who I am. I'm sorry you had to be caught in the crossfire and became a victim of that monster. I'm tired. I want to be left alone now," Cassidy said as he turned on his side and shut his eyes, letting Andy know that he was done talking.
Although Andy still had a lot of questions for him, she was too stunned by the revelation to speak. His father's men had killed Maribel's mom?
She looked at him for a moment before walking out of his room. This conversation was not over yet. She was going to stay in the living room and make sure he didn't leave the house without her knowledge.
As she walked into the living room, she saw Susan seated there knitting a sweater for Maribel.
Susan cleared her throat, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that to you. I was worried about them and spoke without thinking. Sir Alex has never brought anyone here before. It has always been just us. Before she died, Maribel's mom made me promise to look out for them both…"
"You were there when she died?" Andy asked softly and watched as tears gathered in Susan's eyes as she nodded.
"I wasn't at home. I came back in time from grocery shopping to see the cars leaving. She was so strong. She did her best to hold on so the baby could be born. She said it was fine if she died as long as Sir Alex had the baby," Susan said as tears dropped from her eyes.
"I don't know how you both know each other, but Sir Alex is a good man and all I want is for him to not hurt anymore and to be fine. And I want little Maribel to be happy. I'm sorry," Susan said again, and Andy sighed.
She already felt a lot of anger and hatred for Cassidy, but what she did not expect to feel was pity.
She needed to organize her thoughts and put the all the pieces she had together to get a clear picture of who he was.
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