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Chapter 138
She's Watching..

“I know,” Katy said, touching my hand. “You faced something really heavy. But Cassy… you’re strong. Stronger than you think.”

I smiled faintly. “You think so?”

She nodded. “Of course. I mean, look at you. You walked in there with your head high. Not everyone can do that.”

I exhaled slowly, smiling. “You’re sweet, Katy.”

She grinned. “I’m serious.”

I looked at the soup, then looked back at her. “You know, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She laughed softly. “You’d survive. You have Nikolas now.”

I rolled my eyes a little. “Yeah right.”

Katy looked curious suddenly. “He got you a car?”

I nodded. “Yes. My dream car. I couldn’t even believe it.”

She gasped again. “He’s totally in love with you.”

“Stop it,” I said laughing.

She giggled. “It’s true though. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you.”

I smiled shyly. “Maybe.”

There was silence for a while. Just the sound of the spoon touching the bowl.

Then Katy looked at me seriously. “You’re happy with him…”

I paused for a moment, thinking. Then I smiled slowly. “Yeah… I am.”

She smiled back. “Then that’s what matters.”

I reached out and held her hand. “Thank you, Katy… for everything.”

She squeezed my hand gently. “Always.”

We both smiled quietly.

After a while, I leaned back on the bed. “You should rest too. You’ve been running around all day.”

Katy shook her head. “Nah, I still have to check on the kitchen.”

I frowned slightly. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to,” she said with a smile. “It keeps me busy.”

I sighed. “Alright then. But promise me you’ll rest early tonight.”

She smiled. “I promise.”

She stood up and adjusted her apron. “Eat well, okay?”

“I will,” I said nodding.

As she opened the door to leave, she turned back again. “And Cassy…”

“Yeah?” I asked.

She smiled. “You deserve every bit of this happiness. Don’t doubt it.”

I smiled back warmly. “Thank you, Katy.”

She left quietly, closing the door behind her.

I sat there for a while, just staring at the ring on my finger, thinking of how much had changed. From pain, betrayal, and loss… to love, safety, and peace.

I sighed deeply and whispered to myself, “Maybe things are finally turning right…”

The light from the window touched the ring again, making it sparkle softly. 

I smiled.

It felt like the beginning of healing to me.

____

OUTSIDE 

“Boss… are you alright?!” Dre asked again as they walked side by side through the long hallway that led out to the garden. 

The evening breeze touched their faces, the sun already setting slowly behind the mansion walls.

Nikolas didn’t answer right away. 

His eyes were low, his hands deep in his pockets. “Do you think going to the prison today was a bad memory?!” he finally asked, his voice low, almost a whisper.

Dre looked at him and smiled faintly. “You did what anyone in your position would’ve done, boss. You went to face the truth… that takes courage.”

Nikolas stopped walking. He turned to Dre and looked at him, eyes heavy, a mix of guilt and pain. “Courage?” he said. “I feel bad, Dre. I wish I could tell her everything. I need to convince her that I’m not a monster… Bruno thinks I killed his daughter…”

Dre kept quiet for a moment, watching his boss closely. 

He had never seen Nikolas this way before, not this vulnerable. “You’re brave, boss…” Dre said quietly.

Nikolas frowned slightly. “I know but… why do you say so?”

Dre scratched the back of his head, unsure how to phrase his thoughts. “Because, boss… I’ve been with you long enough to know you don’t run from the things that hurt you. You face them. You could’ve stayed back and sent someone else to meet Bruno, but you went there yourself.”

Nikolas sighed deeply. “Yeah… and now I feel like I opened a wound that was already healing.” He sat down on the stone bench near the garden fountain, running his hands through his hair. “She looked at him… like she wanted to forgive, but she couldn’t. I saw it in her eyes.”

Dre stood close. “That’s because it’s hard, boss. Cassandra’s been through hell… she’s learning the truth piece by piece. You just need to give her time.”

Nikolas looked up at him slowly. “Time…” he repeated. “Do you think time heals things like this, Dre? Do you think she’ll ever believe me?”

Dre sighed. “If she truly loves you, she will. That woman’s love for you is not fake, boss. She fights it sometimes, yeah, but it’s real.”

Nikolas chuckled faintly, shaking his head. “You sound like Katy now. Always saying things like ‘she loves you, boss,’ as if love fixes everything.”

Dre laughed a little. “Well, boss, maybe not everything, but it fixes something. Look at you now, a man who once said he didn’t need anyone. Now look at you, pacing about one woman’s tears.”

Nikolas smirked, his voice lowering. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“Then stop asking me questions, boss,” Dre said and chuckled.

Nikolas laughed too.

“You know, Dre… I keep wondering why Bruno said what he said today. He looked straight at me… his eyes full of hate. And for a second, I almost believed I did something wrong. Like maybe I really was the bad man he said I was.”

“Boss,” Dre said, stepping closer. “You can’t carry the weight of another man’s lie. Bruno’s angry. He’s trying to find someone to blame. Deep down, he knows the truth.”

Nikolas looked at the garden fountain, watching the water ripple under the fading light. “Still… it hurts hearing those words from him. I respected that man once, Dre. And Cassandra, she grew up calling him father. To her, he’s still that man who raised her. I didn’t want her to see him in chains, I didn’t want her to break down again.”

Dre folded his arms. “You care too much, boss. That’s what’s happening.”

Nikolas turned to him with a slight smile. “Since when is caring a bad thing?”

Dre laughed. “Since the day you, Nikolas DeSanto, started caring. I never thought I’d live to see it.”

Nikolas gave him a playful glare. “Don’t make me fire you.”

“You’ve said that for years, boss, and I’m still here,” Dre said and smirked.

Nikolas laughed again but it quickly faded as he sighed, looking back toward the mansion. “You know, she said something earlier… ‘Even though he isn’t my real father, he raised me.’ That line stuck in my head. I wish she could say something like that about me one day, that even if I wasn’t perfect, I still made her feel safe.”

Dre smiled lightly. “You already make her feel safe, boss. She just doesn’t know how to say it yet.”

Nikolas stayed quiet for a moment. 

His gaze softened, lost in thought. “Maybe you’re right,” he finally said. “But how long do I have to wait? Every time I try to get close, something from the past comes back to haunt us. Bruno. The lies. The blood. I just want peace.”

“You’ll get it, boss,” Dre said. “Peace doesn’t come fast. It comes when you’ve earned it. And you’re earning it now.”

Nikolas rubbed his face with both hands, exhausted. “You sound like some wise old monk now.”

Dre grinned. “I watch too many movies, boss.”

Nikolas laughed again softly. “You should continue then..”

The two men stood there quietly for a while.

Finally, Dre spoke again. “Boss… can I ask you something?”

Nikolas turned to him. “What?”

“Do you think Mrs. DeSanto will ever find out the full truth about her real parents?”

Nikolas’s face went cold for a second. “I think she already did…but if she doesn't, then it's best not to tell her..” 

Dre blinked. “But she deserves to know, doesn’t she?”

“Yes,” Nikolas said quietly. “But knowing might destroy her. And I can’t watch that happen. Not after everything she’s been through.”

“So what will you do?” Dre asked.

Nikolas stared into space for a moment. “I’ll protect her… even if she hates me for it. That’s what love is, Dre. Doing what’s right even when it hurts.”

Dre nodded slowly. “You love her too much, boss.”

Nikolas smiled faintly. “And yet, it still doesn’t feel enough.”

There was silence again.

Then Dre looked up at the window above. 
“Boss… she’s watching.”

Nikolas turned fast. Up on the balcony, Someone looking like Cassandra stood by the curtain, watching them quietly.

“She’s been there long?” he asked.

“Since the part you said ‘I’ll protect her,’ maybe,” Dre said, shrugging.

Nikolas sighed and looked back down. “She must think I’m some sentimental fool now.”

Dre chuckled. “Or she thinks you’re the man she’s always wanted.”

Nikolas looked up again.

He smiled weakly. “I should go back in…something doesn't feel right.”

Dre nodded, “alright boss..” 

Nikolas walked back inside almost in a rush.