Cassandra, Zayn, Georgina, Ravine, Dan. All their hearts began racing as if they’ve run a marathon when Louis points a bottle of Bacardi towards the new lady and asks them.
They froze like statues on the spot. Cassandra felt incredibly guilty.
For Dan, he felt all the blood drain from his body and leave the drunkenness right away as well. He became sober in the count of three seconds.
“L-L-Louis… we gotta talk.” Louis raises his eyebrow in a calm way. Implying that they had to. Upon everyone leaving to their rooms, Dan begins to explain everything from the start.
“I cannot approve of this. I’m sure papa wouldn’t either. She was a prostitute, Dan. Are you kidding me?”
“Louis, don’t get me started on Sha-” irritated by Louis’s response, Dan almost started a war. The aura around the usually cool Louis changed as he placed his whiskey glass down.
“Louis,” they turn to a subtle call of the girl. Cassandra appears from the wall that breaks both corners of the rooms as Louis sighs.
“Cassandra, stay out of this. Why didn’t you tell us anything about this? Six fucking months? You’re so in love with her now, isn’t it? Was it any sooner that we knew…” clicking his tongue, Louis gets up to go to the backyard through the kitchen. He leans against a pillar, contemplating where things have gone wrong. Dan almost talked ill about the girl he loved, but the whole family knew what kind of a woman Sharon really was.
“Dan, sit down. Let me go talk to him.” Says Cassandra.
“Louis,”
“Go to sleep, Cassandra.” Cassandra feels bad when he takes her full name. It’s been six and a half months of her staying here, in this era. She’s gotten used to them calling her sweetly with her nickname. Things often were serious when her full name was taken.
“Louis, listen to me. Please.” The girl pleads.
“I have nothing to listen, Cassandra. Don’t side with him. What would you think will be going on in the society if they discover her background?”
“Listen to me-”
“Cassie, she’s a pros-”
“Will you fucking listen to me?” Angered than him, Cassandra raises her voice.
“I know she chose this line of profession. But I would also like to tell you that Georgina was a heiress to someone noble. Her parents died, that’s a different story and why she chose this line, alright? Her aunt and sisters stole everything from her. She was forced into that!” Louis widens his eyes.
“But-”
“You’re always worried about the company’s status, isn’t it?” Louis was shocked again. Placing the glass on the ground literally, he tries to calm her down by approaching her.
“Cassie, it’s not what you think. I think of our company and our family as well. What dad gave me is-”
“A responsibility. I understand. But don’t you hate yourself for how narrow your thoughts are?” Louis’s jaw drops to the floor. He stops trying to get close to her, his hands falling to his sides.
“Cassie, that’s harsh.” He points.
“What else can I say? I know I’m trying not to hold a grudge on your for what you said against my dance teacher, but you’re constantly proving me right. I know you’re better than this, Louis. Try to be human just once.” Saying, Cassandra leaves a heartbroken man behind.
Her words stung him like a thousand knifes thrown straight towards his heart, leaving not one space. Feeling ill, he falls to his knees and sits on the ground, contemplating.
“What the fuck did you do?” Dan appears from the kitchen’s adjacent wall, following the fuming young lady back to the living room.
“I’m glad I got it off my chest. Papa would never say not to love a woman if she’s the right one for you.”
“He’s on his fucking knees and crying, feeling guilty, Cassie. What the fuck?”
“Dan… I hope you know how much I loved my teacher then and seeing her helpless when help could have been offered that day by us… I felt eroded as a Johnson. I’m sorry.” Saying, Cassandra briskly walks to her room.
Tugged between a vengeful sister and a brother in vain, Dan chose to console someone who could use some kind words of encouragement. He does just that.
Hugging his eldest brother and thanking him for quite literally everything, Dan pats his back and makes sure he was a good brother for the next fifteen minutes. Everyone had fallen asleep, except for Dan and Louis. They sat at the dinner table, talking softly as Dan told the eldest brother about Georgina.
“I’m sorry that I said Sharon was a shitty person.” Dan apologizes, “I know that you loved her.”
Louis looks down, smiling bitterly.
“Well, Cassandra helped me there as well.” Dan curiously gazes at Louis. What help could she have offered? He wondered.
“She told me I never loved Sharon. And that turned out to be true, because I loved the feeling of being in love, to be able to come home to a woman’s gentle hug waiting for me, that kinda shit. Man, I must be one of the greatest fools in history.” Dan was quite shocked to hear that from Louis.
“I hope you find a lucky one,” he looks down at his lap, blushing, “like me.”
Louis gazes at his brother, happy that he could say such a thing because he was in love.
“I’m happy for you, Dan. I hope she’s a good woman. How old was she again?”
“She’s 27 and oh boy, she’s the best wife-material of the universe. She’s the best, Louis. The. Best.” Louis chuckles delightfully and so does Dan after him. The brothers share more of their experiences as Louis happily listens to his brother go on and on about his first, actual love.
Dan hasn’t told the reason for finding his first love, yet.
He couldn’t tell Louis about accidentally having consensual sex with his own stepsister. Even if they were nowhere related, it was still something sickening to hear.
Dan wishes to keep that secret to his grave. So does Cassandra and Zayn as they were the only ones who knew.