Cassandra

After Christian left the kitchen, I remained recalculating what had happened, as it was something that couldn't simply be true. For a moment, I wondered if this was a dream because I couldn't wrap my head around how my parents handed over the CEO position specified in a contract that all parties signed, and it gave me a lesser position than the CEO. I couldn't believe it because my parents didn't even have the decency to tell me what awaited me in the future when they decided not to work anymore. Maybe they were going to tell me about it later, as they didn't plan on leaving their positions as heads soon, and the plane accident caught them off guard, preventing them from doing so. However, what I was judging wasn't the timing, but the action, because it didn't seem fair that they had told me my whole life that I would take over the company as the new CEO, only to give the position to someone they didn't even know. I couldn't simply swallow the idea that Christian and my parents knew each other and that they promised him the position. It was something that seemed illogical to me.

I glanced at my representative, who looked at me with a concerned expression. I didn't want to take it out on him because it wasn't his fault, this was my parents' decision, not my assistant's. He was just following orders. But he was my father's right-hand man, so he must have known something. Something more that I didn't know.

"I can't believe what my parents have done to me. Are you serious? How is it that this man is the new boss?" I pointed emphatically in the direction Christian had left.

"I'm very sorry, Miss Cassandra."

"What do you know? Tell me what you know," I requested. I demanded.

"I know nothing."

"Don't lie to me, please. You were my father's right-hand man, it's impossible that you knew nothing about it."

"I know nothing, Miss Cassandra. Your father kept many things to himself."

I couldn't believe my assistant either. I didn't know why he didn't want to tell me the truth, but I would find out.

"You can't be lying to me when I'm your boss, for God's sake."

Adding this situation to my emotional pain from losing my parents was tough. I wasn't sure how I was going to continue my daily life without the presence of the two pillars of my life. It had been a very short time since my parents' death, but I was searching for the answer to how to survive the pain, to live without them, and I couldn't find a way. I had always been a self-sufficient person. It never bothered me to be that way because it came naturally to me. But I didn't mean this in terms of personal independence, rather, my life had taken a 180-degree turn, and I didn't know the best way to face this matter. None of my thoughts seemed workable to implement. Everything felt like complete nonsense, and nothing seemed like it would help me. Adding to all my emotional and mental exhaustion, I had just found out that my parents preferred someone else for the CEO position, and that made me feel terrible and sad because that was supposed to be my place, and that had already been discussed. But I suppose I was to believe and feel calm it would be that way. I had a lot of resentment, anger, and frustration inside me because their decision seemed very illogical. And what was the worst part of all this? That I didn't have my parents in front of me to ask them why they did this to me and why they kept it from me. And even worse, I would never have them in front of me again to talk to them the way I would like to. All this resentment made me feel like the most guilty person in the world because they were gone, they had just died recently, and here I was on Earth feeling frustrated, upset, and angry with them for this.

"I'm not lying to you."

"Please, stop addressing me informally. I've told you many times," I know he did it out of respect, but it was something I didn't like. And I had told him several times, but he still didn't listen.

"I'm sorry, Cassandra."

"Tell me what you know, please," I demanded once again.

It frustrated me so much to know that he held valuable information for me in his mind and didn't want to tell me anything.

"I know nothing. I may have been your father's right-hand man, but that doesn't mean he told me everything, all the time. He kept things to himself, and I don't know why he chose Christian over you. What I know is that he didn't do it because he didn't believe you could take the position. He might have felt that, perhaps, it was too much for you and didn't want to burden you so much."

I couldn't believe that either. I felt like I was walking in a constant lie since Christian walked through the dining-room door to leave. Well, all this tangle of doubts started when he crossed the door to talk to me. Just thinking about him made me feel angry, envious, jealous. He had what belonged to me. A stranger... Please... this seemed like a tasteless joke.

"Burden on my shoulders? But if he's the one who told me all my life that this would be my place. I don't understand why they changed their minds and didn't tell me. And do you seriously believe that nonsense about Christian being friends with my parents? How can someone so young be friends with my parents?"

"His parents are friends with yours. Well... were," he corrected, and that hurt me deeply, as it was a reminder of what was happening in my life. I needed no more reminders; it was already enough to feel the empty house, because, beyond the fact that now it was full of people everywhere, even outside, the absence of my parents could be felt. That life that used to be in the house was missing. "And Christian grew up knowing your parents, and they've always had a beautiful relationship."

I felt jealous again.

"A beautiful relationship? But is it because they had a good relationship that they handed over the position to Christian, along with a contract? No, I refuse to believe that it's true, my parents could never do something like this to me."

My assistant sighed wearily.

"I'm so sorry, Cassandra, but I'm afraid it's true what Mr. Christian Cassano just told you a moment ago. It was your parents' decision, and although I don't know exactly why they gave him the position, I'm sure they had important reasons. Your parents loved you very much, Cassandra, and you know perfectly well that they wouldn't do this to hurt you because they loved you very much. If they did it, it's because they must have had their reasons."