I love her but I can't be with her
Cassandra sobbed silently as she remembers every word she said.
"If this is just a dinner date to you, please don't hesitate to tell me so I wouldn't have false hopes. I don't want to be dumped afterward, I want to be taken seriously. I know what I'm about to say wouldn't be appropriate since you're my boss but it's something that has been in my chest for a while now... I like you a lot, Mr. McAlester. I like you a lot and I wanna know if you like me too," Cassandra said with a smile, waiting for Carl's response.
Carl was astonished after hearing Cassandra professing her feelings for him but he maintained an expressionless face. He wasn't expecting her to confess such words to him even though Noah has teased him that his secretary was interested in him. However, Carl took it as a joke until now.
"ahem," Carl cleared his throat and straightened his back.
"Miss Hills, I'm sorry but I don't feel the same way about you," Carl said and Cassandra's shoulders dropped with disappointment. Even though she knew that Carl wasn't on her level, she still had her hopes up because he asked her out to dinner.
Carl noticed the disappointment on Cassandra's face but regardless of her sad look, he needed to give her a straightforward answer that wouldn't cause any misunderstandings in the future. He already regrets asking her out on a dinner date because he felt that Cassandra must've misinterpreted his feelings for her.
"I know I asked you out on a dinner date but it was simply just for us to have dinner together. It wasn't…" Carl sighed, not completing his words. He was trying his best not to hurt Cassandra's feelings with his plain words.
But despite how heartbreaking it'll be for her, he added "Look, I don't want to give you false hopes and as you said, you wanna be taken seriously so I wanna be honest with you... I'm really sorry but I'm not interested in you and uh… if you feel awkward with this whole situation we can call it a night if you want," he said.
"Why? Is it because of that girl Anastasia?" Cassandra said.
Carl was surprised at how Cassandra knew Anne's name "How did you…" He asked but Cassandra interrupted.
"…I saw her at NYPD the day she tore your papers and at the hospital when Noah was injured. I thought she was just a friend you were having misunderstandings with until I heard you mention her name while you were half asleep in your office. So I guessed that she was an ex-girlfriend or something," she said.
"but if I may ask, what is your relationship with her? Is she your ex-girlfriend? do you still have feelings for her?" Cassandra asked curiously.
Carl exhaled softly with a pathetic look that made Cassandra immediately regret why she asked such a personal question.
"I'm sorry I asked, I shouldn't have…"
"…she's not my ex-girlfriend but she's something like that," Carl cuts in.
"And yes, I still have feelings for her. She's someone I can't seem to get over" he said sadly.
Cassandra felt her heart skipped a beat. That statement from Carl made her lose all hope in making Carl fall for her. She knew it was going to be difficult to have someone whose heart is beating for someone else. She was sad and completely hopeless.
"so why did you ask me to have dinner with you when you're heart is with someone else?" She said, staring at Carl with sad eyes.
"I'm sorry. I thought I could forget her if I went out with someone else," Carl said.
"It's okay, at least I know my place. I appreciate the fact that you're being honest with me," Cassandra said with a tight smile.
"So what now?" He said.
"Well, I still wanna have this dinner with you. I took a lot of time to sort out a dress and I don't want my makeup to go to waste," she said and Carl laughed softly.
"and, who knows we can have a great time and you might forget about that girl," Cassandra said positively.
"It's not that easy" Carl shook his head with a little chuckle feeling doubtful that it will ever happen.
"it's going to be easy if you let me… if you permit me to help you get over her," she said seriously.
Carl was amazed at Cassandra's boldness to say such words to him. He saw how determined she was like she was genuinely interested in him. What if he gives Cassandra a chance and she turns out to be different from Anastasia?
"Alright, let's do that," Carl said with a smile and Cassandra returned hers with a sweet one.
She now had a little hope that Carl might reconsider her feeling. Besides, he kept treating her like a queen as they got to the restaurant. The moment Carl wore her his tuxedo jacket, she felt her heart beating rapidly nonstop. She fell more and more in love with Carl.
Carl wanted to free his heart like how Noah has advised so he thought of giving Cassandra a chance. He was confident that Cassandra was genuine with her feelings even though she had lied to him once. He understood that she only lied about her house because she didn't want to get fired.
Presently, Cassandra was seen wiping the tears from her eyes that couldn't stop flowing. She was back to the sad reality that having Carl to herself was impossible. She was hopeful that Carl would start to develop feelings for her but everything changed as Anne showed up.
…
It was raining heavily outside the restaurant and Carl was still inside his car that was parked. His forehead was resting on the steering wheel of his car and he was lamenting to himself meanwhile, Cassandra was still inside the restaurant. She had to stay put because of the heavy rain outside. The rain was so heavy that it caused the streets to be mildly flooded.
"I love her but I can't be with her," Carl said to himself.
He was busy thinking about Anne and blaming himself why he lost focus the moment he saw her. It wasn't his fault, it was his heart that doesn't want to forget about her. Although, his mind was focused on Cassandra until Anne showed up at the restaurant and stole his attention.
"I shouldn't have kissed her like that," Carl muttered. He thought of how he kissed her like he wanted to swallow her and it made him feel bad for rejecting her after their intense kiss. Carl hasn't kissed a girl like that in his life and maybe it was because he missed her so much. He missed holding her and when he finally had her in his arms, he didn't want to let go of her.
Also, Carl couldn't stop thinking about how Anne cried in front of him. It was bothering him and it made him regret not choosing her over Cassandra even though she might break his heart again. His heart desperately wanted Anne but his brain kept reminding him that he did the right thing in rejecting her. After all, there's nothing more important than his mental health.
Carl exhaled deeply and rested the back of his head on the seat with his eyes shut. 'how did she appear in this same restaurant, it can't just be a coincidence' He thought to himself.
Suddenly, his phone rang waking him up from his deep thoughts. Carl picked up his phone and answered it. It was Noah calling him.
"What's up boss, how did your date go?" Noah said on the phone before Carl could even say "hello"
"I don't wanna talk about it," Carl replied in a deep raspy voice.
"C'mon boss you can talk to me. It was my idea for you to go out on the date in the first place," Noah said on the phone.
Carl sighed before answering.
"I saw Anastasia and everything got screwed up… Though, it was my fault. I saw her and I immediately got distracted and now, everything is more complicated than it was before. I'm just surprised at how Anne came to this same restaurant that I chose for Miss Hills and me to have dinner,"
"Prosecutor Carl, I'm sorry to say this but it was me who sent Anastasia to that restaurant," Noah confessed.
"you did what??" Carl exclaimed loudly and Noah chuckled at his reaction.
"Why are you laughing? This isn't funny at all" he said.
The truth is that Noah never genuinely wanted Carl to go out on a date with Cassandra. He wanted Anne and Carl to get back together because he believed that they were meant to be. By doing so, he came up with a plan to make Anne jealous. He wanted her to see that Carl has moved on with someone else so she would fight for him.
Earlier tonight, Noah asked Anne to deliver a cake to one of the waiters at the restaurant who was his friend. Anne wouldn't have accepted that offer because it was getting late but since it was Noah, she agreed. She had no clue that she'll end up seeing Carl and Cassandra having dinner together.
Everything was all Noah's plan. It also explained why he asked Carl for the name of the restaurant he was taking Cassandra to so he'll send Anne there. He wanted Anne to see that it might be too late for her to get back to Carl if she doesn't fight for him. His intention was just to make Anne jealous he didn't mean to make things more complicated for Carl.
"Do you have any idea that Anne showing up has made me realize that I'm stuck in a loop" Carl vented on the phone.
"What do you mean? I was only trying to help yo..."
"…I don't need your help, Noah!" Carl interrupted. He was already pissed at Noah for tricking him to go out on a date with Cassandra when he had other motives.
"You've done enough already. Stop sticking your nose in my private life and leave me the fuck alone!!" Carl yelled and hung up.
Noah stared at the blank screen of his phone with raised brows. He wondered to himself what happened at the restaurant that made Carl so worked up. Carl has never raised his voice at him and hearing him yell with so much anger made him worry about him.
******
KIM'S HOUSE,
It was past 9 o'clock at night and the rain was still pouring heavily. Kim wasn't at home and only God knows where he was. However, Treasure was in her room, lying comfortably in her bed reading a novel.
Shortly, Treasure heard a knock on the door and she stood up from her bed to get the door. She would've guessed that it was her brother who was at the door but Kim didn't have to knock since he always have a spare key with him.
Just to be sure, Treasure looked through the peephole of the door and she was surprised to see who was at her doorstep.
Treasure opened the door widely and saw Anne looking so wet from head to toe. She was drenched and was shivering with cold. Treasure was shocked to see Anne like this. She saw that Anne's eyes were red like she had been crying and it made Treasure panicked for what might have happened to her.