Till the Flower Blooms

When Cassiopeia came to, she could still feel her head spinning.

"Cassie, you are finally up."

When Lucas noticed she had opened her eyes, he held her hand firmly and kissed her.

"You have no idea how scared I was when I found you passed out on the floor. My heart almost stopped beating! Good thing you woke up."

Lucas, who was known for being a merciless businessman, was showing an uncharacteristically vulnerable side. His voice quivered, and his palms were coated with sweat. His affection toward Cassiopeia would exasperate anyone who witnessed the interaction.

All Cassiopeia did was turn away to avoid his gaze. She would never forget how Lucas was only concerned about Freya's safety when she was calling for his help. He hardly noticed her passed out on the ice-cold tiles.

Lucas grew frantic. He had never seen Cassiopeia dismissing him like this. "Cassie, I just didn't happen to notice you were passed out, too. That’s why I saved Freya first."

She had only been lying less than a meter away from Freya. Did he truly not notice her or was he simply blind to everything else because he was so focused on Freya?

She pulled her hand back and shut her tired eyes. Having just woken up and still exhausted, she did not have the strength to uncover the truth at the moment.

Lucas hesitated to speak upon sensing her silence.

After a moment, he started, "Freya hasn't fully recovered yet, and Liam just got out of surgery. I…"

Cassiopeia had been with him long enough to understand what he was trying to say without him having to complete his sentence.

How ridiculous. Although he was physically here, his mind was somewhere else with Freya and Liam.

"Go on."

She was over it.

Lucas stared at her blank expression for what seemed like ages and finally heaved a sigh of relief upon noticing her closing her eyes to get some shut-eye.

"I’ll be back soon. Get some rest."

It was going to be another week before Cassiopeia saw him again.

On the day she was discharged from the hospital, she had to sort out the paperwork by herself.

When she happened to pass by a certain ward, she heard a familiar voice filtering through the door that made her stop.

"Liam, you have to cling to Daddy, alright? Our future is in your hands."

"But, Mommy, he's not my Daddy…"

Cassiopeia felt her heart stop for a moment.

What was that supposed to mean? Why was the child saying that Lucas was not his father?

She held her breath and proceeded to turn on the recorder on her phone.

Freya shed off her disguise of a dignified lady and proceeded to tell Liam off severely, "So what? As long as Lucas recognizes you as his son, you are his son! Do you want to go back to the days when we had to freeze outside and didn’t even know where our next meal was coming from? I’m done with living like that!"

Suddenly, a passing nurse noticed Cassiopeia and enquired, "Can I help you with anything?"

The occupants inside the ward were alerted by this and broke off from their conversation. Cassiopeia frantically shook her head and put away her phone to leave.

After she was done with the discharge procedures, she prepared to go home. As soon as she reached the door, two bodyguards stopped her.

"Madam, Mr. Cadell wants to see you."

Cassiopeia frowned.

Lucas had been gone for the past week. What could he possibly want with her now?

She reached for her phone and tried to text him only to have the bodyguard snatch her phone away.

"Mr. Cadell has given orders for you to see him immediately. You’ll know what he wants when you meet him."

With that, the two large men practically arrested her and dragged her away by force.

It was not only when she was brought to the familiar ward that she realized they were bringing her to Freya and Liam’s ward.

The moment she entered…

Smack!

Freya brutishly slapped her across the face!

Lucas stood next to Freya and watched with an icy gleam in his eyes.

Freya seemed like she had been crying.

She cried out, "Mrs. Cadell, I’ve been telling you that we are not interested in being part of the Cadells! All I want is for Liam to have a good childhood. Why won’t you give him a break?!"