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Cassandra wouldn’t let herself wallow.
With this one final betrayal, Benedict had shown just how little she meant to him. It didn’t change how much she loved him. If anything, it was some comfort to know that his heart was not likely to be won by anyone, ever. If he was capable of love, he would have loved her right back.
How ironic that he had done to her exactly what his own father had done to his mother.
She pushed up from the floor, swiping the tears from her cheeks.
Cassandra would sleep one last night in this penthouse, and then she would start the rest of her life. It wasn’t just about her now. She had a baby to support. And if that meant using her trust fund to give their child everything it could ever need in life, then so be it.
It shouldn’t have been so easy for Cassandra to sleep, but the second her head hit the pillow, she did. She fell into a deep slumber, and she didn’t wake until well into the morning.
On autopilot, she stretched her hand out to the other side of the bed. No Benedict. The bedroom still smelled of his tangy aftershave and she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping her heart would do the same. It must remain closed off to him, forever more.
First things first, Cassandra thought, sitting straight up in bed. She had to get the pregnancy confirmed. She used her phone to search for the closest obstetrician and found one a few blocks away, in a small medical centre. Once she’d made the emergency appointment, she dialled a number she knew better than any other, and heaved out a sigh of relief when Cherie answered. “Are you free today?” She asked her best friend.
“For you, honey, I’ll clear my important schedule of laundry and grocery shopping. What have we got on?”
“Would you come to an appointment with me? To hold my hand?”
She could hear Cherie frowning over the phone, and conversely, it made Cass smile.
“Of course,” Cherie said in a clipped voice. “Is everything okay?”
“Sort of. I’ll explain in person.” She gave Cherie the address and time and then disconnected the call. There was less than an hour to the appointment and Cassandra had to wash the palpable grief from her body before attending what should have been one of the happiest doctors’ visits of her life.
Having no idea what one wore to an obstetrics appointment, she settled on a pair of jeans that still fit her like they’d been designed with her in mind and a black singlet top. She walked the couple of kilometres to the appointment at a brusque pace, observing every detail along the way to stop her mind from straying to Benedict. He should have been there with her. Not Cherie. Benedict.
When she arrived at the two story building, Cherie was sitting on a brick wall, her legs kicked crossed at the ankles, her shoulder bag draped diagonally across her chest.
“Cass!” She waved a slender arm in the air and Cassandra jogged over.
“Thanks for meeting me,” she said, wrapping her hand through Cherie’s arm.
Cherie jumped down from the wall. “No problem. That stinky Laundromat will still be there tomorrow. What are we doing here?”
Cass bit down on her lower lip, her pale blue eyes scanning the signs posted on the doors of each separate clinic. Finally, she saw the one she was looking for. With a shaky breath she guided them towards it.
“Obstetrician!” Cherie squeaked. “Oh, Cass. You’re not...”
“I don’t know.” Cassandra admitted. “I’m pretty sure I am, but that’s why I’m here. To find out for sure.”
“Where’s Benedict?” Cherie had unsuccessfully tried to keep the judgement from her voice.
“He left.” Cassandra sounded as bleak as she felt.
“When?”
“Last night.”
“Bastard. How could he leave you when you might be carrying his baby?”
“He didn’t know.” She said with a grimace. “Bad timing.”
“Bastard,” Cherie said again, her little white teeth looking gnashed as she thought of the too smooth billionaire who’d stolen her friend’s heart and stomped all over her life.
Cassandra inclined her head in assent. The way he’d left was pretty unanimously unforgivable. Baby or no baby, she’d deserved more than that. Nothing could have come up, surely, that couldn’t have waited a matter of hours.
A prim medical receptionist greeted her as the glass doors whooshed open automatically. Cassandra’s feet faltered and Cherie took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “I’m here for you. Whatever you need.” She promised, her brown eyes gleaming with the seriousness of her offer.
