Chapter 123 Told The Story
Chapter 123 Told The Story
Cassian’s POV
I walked into the classroom in the hope of teaching my newly admitted student and going back out of there just the way I have always done in the past. Lecturing was fun, yeah right? But at the same time, it was tiring. And most tiring when you have to teach three classes in a day.
I heaved out a sigh as I walked through the class entrance door. Then I lifted my head, gazing to the front of the class, the podium, and all of the students' heads. As I was moving my gaze back onto my feet, my eyes stopped as they landed on this particular lady’s head, or should I say hair? The hair color, the crispness to which the head stood on the neck, the way the gentle, beautiful fingers touched gently on her cheeks like the beautiful princess of Persia—it all reminded me of one lady. Rebecca.
Back in college, she was everything I wanted to be with. And why this? Her gentle voice when she talked, her beautiful, attractive physique, the way her waist moved when she walked like she was the enchanting Catwoman. Her principles as a human and her humbleness and priorities. But how unfortunate she didn’t like me back. She respectfully told me she was with someone else. Gabriel. And only God knew why she loved that man because... Well, I’d not judge. She had refused me back then, and I have made peace with myself.
I walked further into the class, but for some reason, I couldn’t keep my face away from her. I wanted to see the face behind this beautiful hair and gentle fingers. And perhaps I’d tell her she looked like someone I used to know. As I walked a bit further, I was almost passing her when I opened my eyes in shock.
“Rebecca?!” I screamed in my thoughts. I mean, what was she doing here? How was she sitting in my classroom?! My legs felt weak immediately. This was not out of fear but out of excitement. My heart raced as I still felt the same way I felt about her back then. The feeling I thought I had overcome and buried—to the extent that I even got married to someone else—resurfaced. It grew out of the deepest hole again and blossomed like a tree with many flowers. All of this happened in the space of one second.
I tried to avert my gaze, to just walk away so that she wouldn’t see me. But still, I found myself standing in front of her.
“Rebecca?! Rebecca Harrington?!”
She looked at me in shock. Recognition flashed in her eyes, and she gasped slightly. It was clear she remembered me. And in that instant, she was excited to see me too.
Because of this, within seconds, I grew confident with her again. We talked for a few minutes, but I had to go because I needed to teach. However, the moment my lecture was over, I immediately walked right to her. I couldn’t risk her heading home without us talking again.
“You are still here?” My whole heart felt relief from some hard panic when I saw her still seated. It was like I had feared she would disappear.
“Yes, I am still here,” she said gently, her smile soft and reassuring.
“Do you want some ice cream or some coffee?” I asked her with a smile.
“Yes,” she answered, and with that single word, I became the happiest man in that second.
There was a place I knew on campus. It had the best ice cream ever around here. We walked side by side, heading toward the spot. It was a bit of a distance from where we were.
“I parked around there, let’s hop in and go,” I offered.
“I also parked around here. Let’s just do the walking. It’s been a while since I have done a long walk with a person I am close with,” she said with a smile.
Just then, it felt like my prayers had been answered. As we began walking, I hesitated for a second before slowly reaching for her hand, unsure if she would pull away. But to my surprise, she didn’t. When my hand reached hers, she allowed me to hold her, and we walked like a couple to the ice cream vendor.
While walking, we talked about so many things, reminiscing about our friends whom we were so close with in college. It was sad how life had different plans for different people. Some, we haven’t heard from since college, and some, we barely keep in touch with.
“But you and Natasha are still best of friends?” I asked, my voice rising with excitement. The fact that after all these years, Natasha, who was her best friend, still remained her best friend? That was something good.
“What about Gabriel?” I asked, and instantly, I saw how her face changed. Her excitement faded, and her expression turned somber.
“Can we not go there for now, please?” she said in a low, sad tone.
“Of course,” I swallowed hard. Her facial expression alone told me everything I needed to know. Something had gone terribly wrong between them. But that’s the thing about heartbreak—it takes time to heal, and sometimes, time moves slowly.
I remembered the time I had to break up with my ex-wife. I was the one who ended the marriage, yet, I was the one who got so heartbroken. It hurts the most when you learn that the same lips that kissed you, that spoke admiring words about you, that confessed to loving you—those same lips killed you. Maybe not physically, but mentally, emotionally.
They nagged, said horrible things to your face. They stopped cheating behind your back only to start cheating openly, right in front of you.
“What are you going to do about that, huh?!” I remembered the way she nagged, her eyes widening as if she wanted to swallow me whole with just her glare.
I was broken, tattered, shattered like a broken jar falling from the highest mountain to the bottom floor. I looked so depressed, so tired of life itself. I was losing weight. Yet all she cared about was the man whose touch had replaced mine.
I broke up the marriage, and since then, I haven’t looked back or wanted her back. So, I understood when Rebecca said she didn’t want to talk about it. She needed time. And she needed more of it to heal.