“Where did this girl disappear?” Her old lady was smoking a joint under stress. It was eight in the evening already, but Cassandra wasn’t home yet. Blowing another puff, she tries to call her once again only for the call to be deflected back to voicemail.
She was worried sick, especially since it was just an orientation class today. She must have been home by mid afternoon, right? Her school bag was gone, her boxes weren’t put to wash, and with those evidences, Cassandra’s mother couldn’t worry more about the girl.
On the other hand, Cassandra takes a deep breath in as she smells the flowery scent from the male’s hand. She opens her eyes to see him retract his hand back and turn away from her. She smiles softly.
“I know you were in love with my mother, sir. I’m sorry-”
“You shouldn’t apologize for the things that were not on your plate to apologize, sweetheart. It was 36 years ago and I… I…” he couldn’t articulate his own words. He was choking on his tears as Cassandra pulls her lips into a straight line.
“Dad…” A young, charismatic man hugs Alex as Cassandra tags him to be Alex’s only adopted son- Christopher Johnson.
“Um… I’ll leave now, my mom must be worried.” Saying, she walks out with a ton of gifts from the Johnsons. She almost refused their kindness, she was pleasured by their behavior though.
As Zayn encourages her to take the gifts, Cassandra was dropped back to her house by Zayn himself with the car full of gifts.
Zayn and Cassandra show up to the woman’s door as she dumbs the blunt down to the extinguisher. Ravine strides towards the door to open it and welcome her daughter with an earful.
Although, her words were stuck in her throat when she sees the older man accompany her.
“Oh, haha. Mrs. Ravine, I happen to be her school teacher-”
“Mr. Zayn Johnson.” Ravine was a little furious that her daughter had acquainted to the Johnson again. Cassandra senses the tension between the two as she pushes her mother inside with a friendly tug on her dress.
“Mom, be nice.”
“I know all about being nice, Cassie. I can’t believe-” Ravine was furious on her daughter as well. She was clearly instructed not to associate with the Johnsons ever again.
She knew Ravine’s story, even before her mother told everything to her daughter herself as well. She wanted to change the past, Cassandra was determined that way.
“Mrs. Ravine… I’m aware of the past you and our family share as well. I am sorry to have caused trouble to you and my student. But please, accept these gifts from our side. We would love it if you-”
“Mr. Zayn, please take them back. I know you are only trying to mediate between me and your family. But it’s not happening.”
“What’s not happening?” Cassandra looks up at her old mother.
Ravine looks down to her cute little baby as she purses her lips together tightly.
Somehow, Cassandra’s magic spell from ages was working on her mother. It works almost always, as if Ravine was trapped by her daughter’s cute and reasonable demands.
Suddenly, she thinks of her daughter’s fatherless life.
She could be allowed to be pampered by a male that was her father’s equivalent. In no terms possible was Ravine thinking about having an affair with Alex again, she wouldn’t repeat those mistakes.
But for the royal reasonable sake of Cassandra to experience fatherly love again, Ravine would allow a few things to slide past her.
Cassandra’s devil-trembler plan was working so well. As Ravine sighs in defeat, accepting her daughter’s wordless demands, Zayn and Cassandra high-five each other in their heads.
This mission was a success as well.
The next day, the D’Angelo’s were invited to have lunch with the Johnsons. As the security allowed the two women to pass into the Johnson estate, Ravine takes a deep breath in.
Ravine was a businesswoman in the fashion industry as of today. She was well know within the upper-middle class. She had designed many things for many companies, often making large money by patents.
Ravine was clad in a white dress that reached below her knees as she accompanied her dress with a set of magical, irregular looking pearls that accentuated her look by a thousand times.
Her daughter wore a long palazzo pant of military green color and a black shirt with emeralds hanging down her neck. They looked classy, the mother-daughter duo were about to discover their competitions in as well.
Georgina was clad in a sophisticated purple dress for the old ladies.
Jessica preferred a white, sky blue border dress as she matched gracefully with her lovely husband. Carla, their 29 year old daughter wore a wine red dress which matched the liquid she was drinking in the mean time.
Aurora, Gracie and Charlotte were all matching in a yellow sunny dress as they made the best grandma-mama-daughter trio.
“Mama… I think we’re a little late.” Cassandra says to the old lady who smiles at her daughter’s worrisome statement.
“The party started a little early, darling. That’s all.”
Cassandra jumps her eyebrows as she had nothing more to say against her old lady.
As they walked all the way up to the estate entrance, they see the people pause on their feet to welcome the family.
“Summer Christmas, huh.” Ravine looks through the glass to see a tree heavily decorated and filled with gifts on their backyard.
“Yup. Johnsons are a little weird.” Ravine chuckles as she pats her daughter’s back.
They see someone walking down the stairs, gently and slowly.
He was looking down at the woman as she turned her head towards him.
He looked attractive in a black shirt and white pants. He looked so old, so charismatic in her eyes.
Zayn meets up with his girl as he gives her a glass of apple juice.
“Mr. Zayn, she’s undera-”
“It’s apple juice, ma’am.” The man says, Ravine nodding as she looks back towards the man who was ascending down the stairs.
Cassandra gives her mother an encouraging and friendly tap on her butt as she walks away with her ex-professor.
Ravine takes a deep breath in.
“Hi…” Alex had approached her, taking her hand as he kisses her knuckles.
“Hello, Alex.” Ravine greets him back.
They didn’t know that their love for each other was rebounding.