Chapter 13: Chapter 13
Cassandra's POV
I sat with Amelia in the garden area as more guests came in and Claire went inside to greet them. The guard at the main entrance still stared at me and stood directly opposite where I sat with Amelia. She fidgeted with her hands, as she waited for the event to start. Was she marrying next after Anna and Stefan?
"When are you both planning to tie the knot?" I couldn't help but ask as Amelia stared at me dumbfounded.
"Whenever he asks, I guess," she answered truthfully shrugging her shoulders.
"He will, very soon, don't worry," I said.
"What about you and Julian?" She asked me instead.
A deep sigh escaped me, "It can't happen. Everything's not what it looks like from the surface. Julian will find someone much better than me. He will move on. I'm just attending this wedding as Anna wanted me to." I told her sadly.
"Cass, you have to trust someone at one point in time. You can't live alone forever. Julian is a good guy. He loves you, if he sticks around please promise me that you will give him a chance?" She reasoned with me.
"Let's see how long he sticks around. A guy abused me and got me pregnant. He escaped from his responsibilities and I was too young to take any action against him all by myself. I was just 18 years old then. Julian hasn't contacted me for over a month. I'm sure he has moved on," I said as she held my trembling hands in hers.
"Everyone's not the same Cass, believe me. Time will heal your wounds. Julian's serious about you. He was in California on emergency work, " she tried to comfort me. This was news to me but still, I didn't want to hope too much.
"Maybe but I have my son with me and I don't want anyone," I told her with a sad smile on my face.
"That's wonderful. How old is he?" Amelia asked looking at me with curiosity.
"Max is 18 months old," I informed her as she smiled. I was afraid that she would judge me but strangely she didn't. This was the only reason I hadn't ever told anyone about Max and my past.
"I've got to meet Max, then. Does Julian know?" Amelia asked hesitantly but her honest eyes were enough to make me want to tell her everything.
"Yeah, Max already likes Julian and he adores Max," I told her smiling at the memories of them together. I had never expected Max to bond with any man so fast but seeing him with Julian made me feel as if they were meant for one another. They really were father and son!
"That's great then, now don't be a spoilsport and marry him already." She said grinning too.
"Hey, what are you two chatting about?" Claire asked as she sat beside us."That security guard is so shameless. He's staring at you, Amy. Do I replace him?" Claire said glaring at him as he smirked.
Amelia rolled her eyes and said, "Just ignore him." I knew what she meant. Even I had noticed and wondered why were there so many guards around as if we were celebrities! But mostly I had no clue as to why were they staring at us instead of doing their job!
We had a round of musical chairs and a lot of fun games. Last was the 'Dance as you please' game, where Anna, Amelia, and I danced to the music and stopped when the music stopped. Dance has always been my favorite pastime, so I would have won too but I slightly tripped and fell in the middle of the performance. The security guard who was staring at me from the garden entrance came rushing forward and helped me get up. "Thanks," I said and he nodded at me and went back to his place and again started staring. Weird. He smirked at me when I looked at him. I looked elsewhere.
All games over, we made Anna sit on her special seat, as we flocked around to give her gifts. Claire gave her a lacy baby doll dress and she blushed crimson. I gave her a big box of c*nd*ms, "Enjoy a month's supply, more to come. We don't want you pregnant every year. Do we?" I said giggling.
"Shut up, wait till it's your time," Anna threatened to smile with pink cheeks.
Mom gave her two tickets to Hawaii and an all-paid stay for two at one of the best resorts in Hawaii. It was a 10-day honeymoon package. "God bless you, my child. I'm so glad that you are my daughter-in-law. You are more my daughter than anything else. My Stefan is so happy now with you in his life. He even started calling me 'mom'. Thank you, honey," she said with glistening eyes.
I was also touched by mom's words. She had so much love for all of us. I was waiting for the opportunity to tell her about Max. Would she accept Max as she accepted me? Would her opinion of me change after I told her about Max?
Gran gifted Anna a beautiful pair of sapphire and diamond-encrusted earrings. Amelia gave her a beautiful designer gown, exquisitely designed for her.
Lunch was served as we sat at our designated places. I sat with Amelia and Claire and picked at my food. I didn't know whether Max had eaten properly, I couldn't eat without ensuring that he was well fed. Avery's house was a new environment for him, maybe he was cranky. I was just waiting to go to him. I didn't touch the sangria, as I avoided alcohol like a plague after that fateful night.
We received beautifully wrapped party favors and gran, mom, and all the elders left the party.