He'll Be Your Stepfather

Cassie's POV

I looked at the huge mansion that stood erected on, and I felt nostalgic looking at the place that was my home for years. Compared to my small condo, this was paradise, but I left this place for that small condo because I couldn't find peace and fulfillment here. My mother didn't support my dream, so I left to pursue that, but look at what that got me.

“I think I should just turn…” I slurred, as I turned to leave, but I heard my name being called. “Miss Cassie, are you back?”

I turned around to see one of the maids, and I knew I couldn't ruin it anymore. I was ushered in, and I waited for my mother in the living room. I looked at the place where I grew up, and my eyes glistened with tears as I remembered some of my memories. Perhaps she was trying to get back at me for not visiting after many years. She didn't come to see me for a long time.

“Erm, erm.” I heard someone clear their throat, and I jerked from sleep immediately. My drowsy eyes cleared out immediately. I saw my mother, who still looked more graceful than the last time I saw her. Dressed in all designer clothes, her face dabbed with minimal make-up, she could be passed for my sister, and not my mother.

“Hi, Mom,” I beamed, as I hugged her tightly, and that was when I realized I had missed her. Even though we had a strained relationship, she was still my mother, whom I loved so much.

“Have you taken anything today?” She asked, and as we disengaged from the hug, unlike me, she wasn't an emotional wreck; she believed in showing actions. “No,” I replied, and she asked the maids to set the dining table.

I had lunch with my mother, and from discussing life, she moved to the topic of my work. “So you quit?” She confirmed, and I nodded my head; the food turned sour in my mouth.

“I told you the following: that passion was a total waste of time, but someone didn't listen and wanted to prove me wrong. Guess who was wrong.” My mother mocked me, and I couldn't even defend myself because she was right.

I spent years trying to reach my goals, but my efforts always got watered down by my subordinates, which made it exhausting for me, and since I couldn't hold on, I decided to flee.

“I'm sorry, Mommy.” I blurted.

“Don't be. I didn't call you back for that. I'm getting married in a month, and I want you to be here.” She said, and I almost choked on my food. “What!” I shrieked as I spat out my food, and I only continued after I gulped some water to calm my nerves.

“You are getting married, but why?” I asked, but she just waved it off. “You don't need to know; it's just a formality that I need to get something, but you need to be nice to him regardless, even though he's just 8 years older.” My mother said, and my eyes dropped in shock.

“What? He's 8 years older? That means you are 15 years his senior; what are you thinking?” I shrieked, but a glare from my mother was enough to shut me up.

“Don't play smart with me, Cassie Williams! I'm the one who calls the shots here,” she breathed, and I heaved a sigh.

Even though my mother couldn't care to explain, I still couldn't get over the age difference between her and her mysterious fiancé. I knew my mother still looked very young for a woman in her late forties; she could pass as my friend if we went out together, but this was different. It was marriage, and I was sure she didn't stay single all these years to marry a man almost 2 decades younger; she had to have a reason.

“I know it's not my place to butt in, but can you tell me the reason you are getting married? Is it because of a grant? Or is…” I was saying, but she cut me off.

“Are you sure you quit that useless stuff? It looks like you are questioning me right now,” my mother sneered, and I cowered in fear seeing I slipped off. “Sorry.” I mouthed, and lunch resumed in silence, with lingering questions in my mind.

‘Who's my mother's fiancé and my soon-to-be stepfather?’

I stayed with my mother for a week, and it was hell. She remembered the reason I left the place in the first place, but since I didn't have anything to return to, I decided to stick around, which led me to attending her dinner party, which she organized to introduce her fiancé and also announced the wedding.

“Are you dressed yet?” I heard my mother's irritated voice from outside as I applied the finishing touch of my make-up. “Yes!” I replied, and she asked me to meet her downstairs.

I was dressed in a lilac strapless dress with a skit cut that stopped mid-thigh, and the neckline was incredibly low. My mother picked the dress, so I couldn't complain. I looked at my cleavages in the mirror, and I got flashes of the night at the hotel with the hot stranger.

“Snap out of it, Cassie! It's just a wild night.” I breathed, glancing at myself for the last time before I walked out of the room.

I went downstairs to find the ballroom at the mansion already buzzing and filled with people who looked at me interestingly, but I gave all the people that came a blank look, so they let me be. I went to the garden to wind up because I was getting suffocated in that room, and I smiled looking at the moon hanging beautifully in the sky.

I was jealous at the moment because the moon got to fulfil its purpose every day when I couldn't even realize my dream after such a long time. I stayed in the garden for the longest time, until my mother came looking for me, with a man behind her.

“You are here; I want you to meet someone,” she said, and the man beside her walked to her side. That was when I saw the man's face clearly.

“You…” I whispered under my breath as I looked at the man, hands interlocked with my mother, and I found myself not breathing for a while.

“This is Sergio Carter; he's going to be your stepfather,” my mother rasped, but I was too stunned to speak as I stared at the man who I had slept with a week ago at the hotel.

His name was Sergio? No, that wasn't the point, but my mother just mentioned that the hot stranger that I had a one-night stand with would be my stepfather.

“What!” I shrieked, as I finally registered what was happening.