Chapter 33: Denying their feelings

"Edward, my dear son, we're having a party next week," his mother cheerfully announced.

"What do you mean a party?" Edward inquired of his mother.

"Yes, I thought I'd throw one because we haven't entertained in a long time, and Cassandra, you'll get to meet some of our friends," Mrs. Consuelo explained.

"But, Mrs. Consuelo, I won't be here; Akia and I will have left by then," Cassandra replied, her voice sad.

"Oh, that's a bit sad," she said, her smile hidden.

Juan walked into the room. "There is a call for you on line two, Miss Cassandra."

Mrs. Consuelo instructed her, "Use the phone over there, honey."

They all sat around waiting for Cassandra to finish her call, and when she did, she appeared flustered.

"What's wrong? Is something wrong?" Edward inquired.

She looked at them all as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "That was Mr. Robel. There's a septic tank problem, but we can settle for another two weeks," she explained to Edward.

Then Mrs. Consuelo smiled. "That's a bit sad, but at least you'll be here for the party," she says to Edward, "isn't that amazing Edward?" she asks.

"Y-Yeah, just spectacular," he said, despite his expression.

Akia jumped up and down, as any little girl would be happy as they were staying longer. "Mommy can wear the dress she wore when you took her on a date, Daddy?" Akia inquired eagerly of her father.

"That's right, my honey," he said, remembering how when she wore it, her leg showing made him breathe hard, and that wasn't the only thing that night that was difficult.

~

Cassandra didn't see Edward much over the next few days because he had meetings with the board members and spent his time at home with Akia. They went swimming while he continued to teach.

She was telling it to swim, just like a fish does to water.

They also went horseback riding, and he would color and play games with her at night. Cassandra noticed how similar they were as she watched them. When they were trying to solve a problem, they both chewed on their bottom lip. And they shared the same laugh and smile; Akia was a miniature Edward.

Cassandra did wear the dress to the party, but she had her hair done up on top of her head this time.

When Edward saw her, he smiled and said, "You look very pretty, but there's one thing wrong," as he looked at her.

"What?" she asked, perplexed, afraid that her makeup was off or her hair wasn't right.

He approached her and, reaching up, pulled the pins out of her hair, causing it to fall, over her shoulders, and back. "That's better. You should always put your hair down." He stood, staring into her eyes, then he moved back and cleared his throat.

Mrs. Consuelo had gone all out for this party, including the food and decorations, as well as hiring a live band to perform. Outside, tables and a bar were set up, as well as a dance floor. The place was swarming with people, and no one noticed, but there were a lot of young single men there.

Edward observed his mother showing Cassandra around and trying to introduce her to everyone. She was quite active for a sickly old lady. He wondered if she wasn't as frail as she portrayed herself to be.

He walked over to Cassandra, picking up two glasses of red wine and handing her one of them. "Are you having a good time?" he inquired.

"I am; everyone is so friendly; I'm glad the house was postponed another week."

"And Akia, do you think she'll wake up with all these loud sounds?" he inquired.

"No, but I'll be keeping an eye on her all night."

"I will as well," he added.

Two men approached Edward and Cassandra. "Cassandra, these are my cousins, Ben and Jhon."

Jhon and Been then extended their hands to shake hers. "Where have you been hiding this beauty?" Jhon wondered as his gaze moved down her body.

Edward felt a pang of jealousy as he observed him scrutinizing her. "In my bedroom," he sneered, not paying attention to Cassandra's dirty look.

Cassandra scolded him as the two men grinned and moved on to talk to the other guests.

"Why would you say such a thing? Don't you realize how embarrassing that was for me?" she snarled.

"Didn't you notice how they were looking you up and down? I did you a favor. If they had their way, you'd be in bed with both of them at the same time, or maybe you'd like that, "he joked.

"You're despicable," she replied before walking away.

Later, she realized Edward was correct about Ben and Jhon; they kept following her around, making sexual comments, so she avoided them as much as possible. Fortunately, some of the other men were romantic and nice.

Cassandra went to check on Akia, but Edward had already arrived. He turns to face Cassandra. "Look at her, she's so sweet and small." "I wish I had been there when she was born; I missed her first steps and words."

Looking at Edward and seeing how sad he appeared made her feel bad. "I apologize, Edward; I should have told you."

He sounded angry when he responded to her before walking away. "You certainly should have."

Mrs. Consuelo summoned her. She was standing next to an attractive man who gave her a warm smile. "My dear Cassidy, this is Anthony Rivera."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Cassandra."

She returned the smile. "It's the same here, Mr. Rivera."

"Please address me as Anthony."

"Sure."

"Well, Cassandra, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

"I'd love to," she said, taking his arm and leading him to the dance floor.

Mrs. Consuelo smiled as she noticed Edward watching them with a frown on his face; it was obvious that he was jealous.

Edward approached them after two dances. "Do you mind if I cut in, Anthony?"

He shifted his gaze from Edward to Cassandra. "I'm looking forward to having a drink with you. I'll see you later. " He kissed her hand and then left them alone.

Edward wrapped his arms around her and they swayed to the music. "I see Anthony is taken with you, and you appear to enjoy his company," he said.

"Why not? He's nice," she said.

"Yes, he's nice enough, it's just the kind of man you go for," Edward said, moving his hand to the small of her back and drawing her in closer.

"What do you mean?" Cassandra demanded.

"He's a mama's boy; if you date him, you're also dating his mother."

She fixed her gaze on him. "You've put down every man I've talked to; I wonder if you're just jealous and don't want me to be with anyone else, even though you've made it clear you no longer want me."

"I'm not jealous," Edward scoffed, "and if you want to be with Anthony, go."

"So go, have a glass of wine with the mama's boy," he said as he rushed away.

Cassandra later had that drink with Anthony on the balcony. When Edward walked in on them, they were laughing.

"You two seem to be hitting it off, " Edward snapped.

Anthony smiled as he took her hand in his. "We are, Cassandra is a beautiful and interesting woman, and I was just wondering if she would like to have dinner with me before she leaves for Manila."

When Edward looked at her, his eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you agreed?" he inquired.

She returned his stare with her own. "I haven't made a decision yet."

"You should go, it'd be good for you to get out, and I'll be more than happy to accommodate Akia," he said as he walked away.

Anthony dared to ask Cassandra, and Edward's jaw began to twitch. But he knew he didn't have any claim on her. "if she wanted to go, I couldn't stop her, could I? " he asked himself.

~

When he saw Cassandra dancing with Anthony again, he went and got someone to dance with, making sure they were close to her and Anthony. When he saw her observing him, he held the woman closer, his eyes glued on Cassandra, and snuggled his face into the woman's neck, waiting for her reaction.

"What is he doing? Is he trying to make me jealous? "she said to herself.

Cassandra could even see Edward from the way he drew the woman in. Then when he placed his face against her neck, it was too much. She didn't want to see him anymore. She excused herself from Anthony's arms, rushed inside, and went to her room.

Edward stopped dancing when Cassandra took off running. Deciding to leave the woman standing there, he chased after her.