Her Fear Of Falling Again

Chapter 38

Although it was hard and Cassie gave him a runaround, to finally get her back and have her say yes, was worth it. Sebastian was not about to let her go this time. She is his and he couldn't have been more happier. Sebastian was certain he had made the right decision. He always knew she was the one he wanted to be with, from the day he saw her sitting in his board room, the way she could go from strong, confident, and assertive, to a little girl when she's around her dad, and the way she cared for her family and made sure to show up at all the family events no matter how busy she was.

What made the biggest mark on him, was the day she spent time with his family and was willing to take his teenage nieces to a concert. No woman had ever shown care or interest in his family like that. Cassie was big on family, and that was precious to Sebastian as he had never found anyone safe enough for him to want to grow old with Cassie. She was beautiful and sexy but also shared all the same values as him, above all, she was his best friend.

As Sebastian boarded the plane, his mental smile quickly faded and turned to rage as he recalled what she told him about Jake. Sebastian could not believe it as he was always convinced that the guy still loved her and wanted her back, but he never could have imagined him hurting her. He felt guilty as if it was his responsibility to protect her even when they were broken up. He did nothing to stop this from happening, he couldn't stop picturing what had transpired that day which made him feel even more useless. He wished he could wipe out that entire event but he clearly couldn't even wipe the images out of his head.

He promised her he would stay out of it and not do anything about it, but truthfully, that was going to be impossible. Every second that Jake was roaming the streets free and avoiding his consequences, Cassie was battling trauma, and guilt was eating away at himself. Sebastian knew the second he promised Cassie he would stay out of it, he was going to break that promise, he just wasn't sure how. How was he going to make Jake pay, without Cassie knowing? Cause if she ever found out, it might ruin them.

2 weeks later, Cassie arrives at the airport and is greeted by her dad. "Dad!" Cassie exclaims as soon as she sees him at baggage claim. She runs up to him and pounces on him like she did as a 5-year-old. "Oh honey I missed you," says Mr Rowan, as he squeezes his daughter and places a massive kiss on top of her head.

"So what are we doing this week?" Cassie asked him as he pushed the cart carrying her bags out of the airport towards the car park. "Well, I thought maybe we could spend some time together tonight and maybe you would want to see Sebastian tomorrow." He said, which instantly caused Cassie to shift uncomfortably. Her dad was busily pilling on the bag into the trunk of the car, to notice her shift. 

"Umm, I hadn't told Sebastian that I'm back." She says, nervously showing both hands in the back pocket of her jeans. 

"What? Why not?" He looks up at her in concern. Cassie just shrugs, with hands still in her back pockets. "I just wanted some time with you, that's all." She says. He looked at her questioningly. "Honey, is everything okay? Are you rethinking the engagement?"  He asks in concern. "Don't you think it's a bit hasty?" She asked him.

"Well, honey, I'm a guy, and speaking as a man, when we know, we know. And I knew Sebastian was serious about you when he took you to go and see Lebron." He says as he closes the trunk and gestures for her to get in the car. "He was willing to come back even after that dick Jake came into the picture." He says, causing Cassie to cringe. "What are you concerned about?" He asks. As he looks at his little girl who means the world to him deep down all he cares about is Cassie's happiness. 

Truthfully, Cassie felt she was not ready to be engaged to Sebastian as they had not even dated for that long before he broke up with her. And after being separated for months, she thought they had a lot to work on first and marriage was the last thing on her mind.  

But when he proposed out of the blue and she addressed her concerns to him, it appeared to have hurt him and she really did not want him to think that she didn't want to be with him. Cassie loves Sebastian and she would rather marry him than have to lose him completely. And that's why she said yes. But deep down, she wasn't so psyched about the engagement. She was pleased as soon as Sebastian went back to LA, so she could take a moment to think things through and now that she was back, she knew that it was only a matter of time before he wanted to talk about getting married. That was the last thing she wanted to do, as much as she missed Sebastian, she was determined to avoid him for a little while.

She had also avoided telling him the date she'd be back as she was worried he would turn up at the airport to pick her up. For now, Cassie's plan was to stay with her dad and catch up with her best friend Caroline to discuss her thoughts.

"YOU'RE ENGAGED??" Caroline shrieks, as she grabs Cassie's hand to look at the large rock on her finger. They are both seated in Caroline's apartment, Caroline has decided to throw a sleepover for the two of them. As shiny and charming as Caroline is, she's always been pretty reserved with who she lets into her personal space and Cassie is one of the special ones to her.

"Why aren't you more excited about this?" She ask "How did he do it? When did he do it?" She asks on top of her previous question, all jumpy and excited.

"I know I should be, and I love him, I do. But, I just don't know if we're ready to be married just yet, I mean he did break up with me because of Jake, but we never really talked about that, I was only beginning to get serious with him, when we broke up, There's just so much to figure out about each other." I told her, and saying it out loud to someone else just affirmed my feelings even more.

"Okay, firstly, let's not say the 'J' word, that asshole is gone. And secondly, honey,  you were a mess when he left and all you wanted was for him to come back, and now he's back and wants to spend the rest of his life with you. Plus, he's rich and so freaking hot, you hit the jackpot, what more do you want?" She asked, in confusion. The fact that everyone is shocked that I'm not more psyched, is starting to make me feel stupid. Am I being too paranoid? I'm just afraid that if we rush into things without going over the bigger problems we have, we might be making a big mistake.

"You really think I'm overthinking this?" I ask her. "I think you're just traumatized from the last time you guys broke up and maybe you're afraid it might happen again if you move too soon. Just sit down and talk about your concerns with him. But don't just call it off. Sebastian Steele wants to marry you, he wants you Cassie Rowan, to change your last name. Can we talk about that for a second? I always knew he loved you." She says and I smile. She's right, he is amazing.

"You're right. Now I feel so bad for not telling him I was coming back." I tell her as I lay on the couch, "You what? He doesn't know you've been back for almost a week and he has no idea?" She asks, in shock. "No, I have been avoiding that conversation when we text." 

"Cassie, girl! You need to tell him, this is wrong, whatever you're concerned about, hash it out with him. Don't hide out like this." She tells me, and she's right. Maybe I'll call him or surprise him at work tomorrow. I think to myself.