Cassie

I was beyond devastated by the news. For three days I could not believe the resounding turn that my life had taken. One night, I simply said goodbye to my parents and told them I would see them next week when they returned from their trip to Italy, and the next day I learned that their plane had gone down and there were no survivors. Worst of all, my parents' bodies had not appeared, because the plane collapsed into the water. I was beyond devastated that I had lost the only family I had left and that I didn't even have the strength to hope that they would ever return. The people who work for my family told me I should be strong and wait for new news, they said that, perhaps; they were alive, but I know they only said it to make me feel a little better, but I could not accept that reality, because, as the investigators said, no one had survived.

I had to face life alone now. No one to love me, no one to be there to support me, no one from my mother or my father's hugs. Now I was alone against the world and I couldn't feel emptier than I do now. I felt like I was going to die.

I gave some specifications for the planning of my parent's funeral, but I did nothing more than that because I did not have the strength or energy to be able to do something like that. My father's assistant, who was now going to be mine, took care of all this.

My black dress fit my body perfectly. I liked the color black, but this day I hated it with my whole being. It wasn't long before the farewell ceremony began, so I had to get out of the car early to walk to the burial place. I had seen many elegant people walking through the cemetery, and according to my new assistant, all those people were acquaintances and friends of my parents. Most of them, I had never seen in my life. He could only recognize a few people. I didn't want to socialize with anyone, much less receive people's condolences, but I did it for my parents.

"The ceremony will begin soon, Miss Oxford," said my assistant.

I stood for a minute looking out the car window, watching more and more people walking in the direction I was supposed to go, too. The silence was deafening. The emptiness in my chest wouldn't let me breathe.

I got out of the car without waiting for my assistant to open the door for me and walked in my uncomfortable shoes to the burial site, where people were taking seats in the white, flower-adorned chairs my employees had prepared. Everything looked very luxurious and beautiful, and it was curious because these ornaments accompanied me on the worst day of my life.

People immediately watched me as I approached all of them and took a place in the front row of seats. I said nothing to anyone because, simply I didn't get words and I didn't know what to say. It wasn't because I was an unkind person; it was that I was going through the worst event of my entire life and I didn't know how to handle it. Within minutes, the place was filled with people. When I least realized it, the place was almost full, with very few empty seats.

I don't know at what point it was that the father in charge of giving the farewell ceremony began to speak and say beautiful things about my parents. Yes, my parents were believers, and Father Frank had known them very well for many years. I was uncomfortable and sad; I didn't want to be there, but if I put in a little of my effort, it was because of my parents. I did it for them.

I noticed someone dressed in black taking a seat in one of the chairs in the first row on the left side. My eyes immediately traveled to him to see who it was, but I had never seen this man in my life.

He was a boy in his twenties, wearing an incredibly fine and impeccable suit that made him look incredibly good. He paid immediate attention to the father's words, while I left my eyes on him, for I could not help but admire his beauty. You could tell he was one of the many millionaires my father had surely made some deal with, although he was too young to be a business executive my father wanted to deal with.

The boy's eyes fell on me and I was immediately nervous, but that didn't stop me from looking at him. My gaze remained on him, who now had his arms crossed and a hard, serious look. I think he recognized I was the daughter of the deceased. He gave me a slight smile and looked forward again. That smile pierced me.

When the ceremony was over, and we all gathered around my parents' grave to bid them both farewell, before they were buried, it almost gave me something. This was too strong for my eyes, too strong for my heart, which was barely beating for everything I was experiencing. But I held back my tears and didn't cry. I didn't want to cry in front of people. It embarrassed me to do so.

That boy I had seen in the front row, the one who was late, strangely stared at me. I couldn't decipher his gaze, but it was very eye-catching. He looked at me seriously, but you could tell he felt... Pity for me.

Once it was all over, I didn't stay to kneel in front of the grave or shed a single tear. I think I was the first person to leave there. I noticed everyone's gaze, but I didn't care. I got in the car all at once and waited for my driver to get in to take me home all at once. Worst of all, I couldn't go to bed, because I had to take in all the people who went home to keep saying goodbye to my parents.

People started arriving shortly after I arrived. I had to receive everyone; I had to listen to the number of condolences that everyone dedicated to me, and I had to listen to how amazing my parents were as people while holding the tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat. The house was full of people who didn't want them to be there; I wanted them all to leave at once because my head was going to explode.

I walked to the kitchen and stayed there because the headache I had was killing me. I closed my eyes for a moment after sitting down and rested my head on my hands. At least, in that part of the house, there was some peace. I stayed like this for several minutes, until someone gave me a scare that almost made me fall out of my chair.

"Hello," he spoke.

"Ohhh!" I complained about the fright, and that's when I almost fell off my chair.

But, if I didn't fall, it was because his firm arms held me back from the waist to prevent my fall. When I looked up to see him, I found the beautiful brown eyes of the boy I had seen in the cemetery a while ago. I immediately got drunk with its sweet perfume, but I felt uncomfortable because we were too close. His mouth was almost over mine.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, moving away from me a little. I felt a little dazed by the matter. I didn't intend to scare you, Cassandra.

How did he know my name?

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

The boy took the audacity to sit in the chair next to me. What did I want?

"Because I've known your parents since I was little.”

I raised my eyebrows.

"Whose son are you?"

"My parents have done a lot of negotiations with yours. They are very close partners," he replied.

"They were, you mean," I corrected him.

He fixed his deep gaze on mine.

"I'm sorry, you're right. My name is Christian Cassano, Cassandra. Your parents have told me a lot about you.”

"Shade me? Why?”

"Let's say you were his pride. Have they told you about me?”

I grimaced.

"No, not really.”

"I will be the new CEO of your parents' companies, Cassandra.”

I raised my eyebrows, surprised by what he was telling me.

But... is that this could not be real.

"What are you telling me?" I asked, worried.

"What? Haven't you been told?”

No, no one had told me any of this. But it couldn't be real. How come this stranger was going to be the new boss of my company? He must have been drunk.

"Excuse me, I don't know how much you've been drinking, but you're very wrong if you think you'll be the new CEO of my company. It is that this makes little sense.”

I barely knew him, and I was already terrible for him. He said it with security as disturbing as it was annoying.

But he didn't take my comment badly. He remained serene and took his briefcase and took out some papers, and held them out for me to see.

"What is this?"

"They are the papers in which your parents leave me in writing that I would be the boss if they died. This is the contract your parents, and I signed when I turned twenty.”

No, my God, this couldn't be real. I was supposed to be the new boss. I was supposed to be the heir to all this. How did my parents come up with such a thing for me?

"No, your parents haven't taken everything from you, if that's what you think. You will still have all the money you want and you will have a high position in companies, but I will be the one who leads everything.”

I rested the papers sharply on the counter. From what little I had read, he was right in what he told me, but I refused to believe this was true. Because my parents would never have been able to do this to me.

"Who do you think you are, Christian? You can't be the new boss. These papers are rubbish, they are a fraud. I swear I'll report you for wanting to scam me out of something like this” I threatened him, pointing the finger at him.

Worst of all, he continued to behave serenely.

"No, Cassie, he's right," replied my assistant, who had been watching us from the kitchen entrance.

"What do you say? Did you know about this?” I looked at him indignantly. How is this possible?! This man cannot be the CEO of companies. I am my parents' daughter! It's up to me to be the new CEO!

My assistant approached me.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Cassandra. I did not want to tell you anything because it was a very delicate moment, but Mr. Christian Cassano is the new CEO of the company by order of his parents, miss. That contract and they will have been made for years.”

I felt betrayed. My parents always told me that I was going to be the owner of the companies, but now it turned out that I was not. How could they choose this stranger as the new boss and not their daughter?

"This can't be!”

"Miss, starting Monday, you will have your position in the company, but the CEO will be him. I'm so sorry, seriously.”

"Don't worry. I will listen to all your opinions, we will work very well together," Christian replied, smiling at me.

Working together? No way.

"You and I will never work together in life!”

"The contract says yes unless you don't want to use your position, Cassandra. In that case, I will have to find someone else.”

"Don't even think about it, damn it...!" I kept my mouth shut so I wouldn't end up insulting him.

"So, I'll see you early Monday." He closed his briefcase and got up from his chair and then left.