Chapter 618 Maribel
"Oh, my!" Andy whispered in awe as she got her first view of the Island.
The beauty and serenity she could sense even from a distance took her breath away, and Cassidy spied her from the corner of his eyes as she moved closer to the rail to have a better look.
Andy was very certain that the sight before her was the garden of Eden which the sisters of the orphanage had so well taught them as children.
In front of her was land filled with endless grains of golden sand, which made her want to jump off the ship just to dip her feet in the sand.
It was as though the whole island itself was made from the purest of gold. And the evening sun cast a golden orange hue in the background which reflected off the surface of the shimmering blue waters.
Green plants spread out all around the island, dotted with a variety of coloured flowers that grew among the bushes, and from the distance she could almost hear the singing voices of different species of birds.
She could see several buildings scattered around the place in between, and there were people too. Some were standing close to the shore. The whole scenery was so beautiful it made her speechless.
Cassidy almost felt his lips twitch as he watched her, and he was glad that she at least seemed to like the place. He really hoped she would like it enough to want to stay.
"It's so beautiful," Andy allowed herself say as she turned to look at Cassidy who managed to look indifferent as he stared ahead of him with a blank expression.
"Good thing you think so. Should be easier for you to stay then, since it would be hard for you to run off anyway, seeing as you can't even swim," he pointed out and whatever pleasure Andy had derived from seeing the Island vanished and she glared at him but managed to hold back her tongue from saying anything.
If she was going to escape from Cassidy, she needed to befriend him and find out as much as she could from him. Losing her temper wouldn't help her in anyway.
Cassidy didn't miss the quick flicker of annoyance in her eyes before her glare transformed to an easy smile, "I'm certain if I'm a good girl you won't hold me captive forever," she said, making him raise a brow.
He knew when someone was up to something, and he could tell she was planning something. She was acting so out of character by being so agreeable and it made him wary. He intended to find out what she was planning. Not that she would be able to escape even if she tried. She would come to learn that soon enough.
By the time they both got out of the ship a while later, a small crowd had gathered by the shore and were clapping cheerfully in welcome of Cassidy.
"You're welcome back, Alex! It's good to have you back finally," the leader of the group announced.
"No dramas here, Andy. Try to be good," Cassidy warned under his breath as he stepped forward with a warm smile to embrace and shake hands with them, while Andy watched the scene before her in confusion.
Alex? Who were these people? Did these people really know him? Why were they out here to welcome him this way like they were long time friends? What was this place? The amazing thing was that none of the people gathered around look poor.
"Everyone, meet my friend, Andy. Anderson Roberts," Cassidy announced as he placed a hand on her lower back and brought her forward as he introduced her to everyone.
Andy managed to smile as she shook hands with people whose names and faces she was very certain she wouldn't remember after now.
"You must be pretty exhausted. We will let you get home to Mari now. But you should know that there will be a party in your honor on Sunday night," the leader of the group announced, and the others cheered happily as they dispersed, while Cassidy took Andy's hand and led her away.
"Why do they call you Alex?" Andy asked when she noticed everyone they walked past called him Alex as they waved welcome to him.
"Because that's my name."
"Who is Mari?" Andy asked as they walked through a gate into what seemed like an estate. The place and it's residents made her think of Wisteria lane in her favorite soap opera, Desperate Housewives.
"You will see for yourself soon enough," Cassidy answered as they kept walking.
"What is this place? Are there no cars in this place? How much farther do we need to walk?" Andy asked as she tried to keep up with his pace.
"Do you realize you've said more words to me today than you did in all twelve days we spent on the ship?" Cassidy asked, and turned when she noticed that Andy had stopped walking.
"You need to tell me what...."
"Need? No. I don't need to do or tell you anything. You had your chances on the ship but you were not interested in hearing anything I had to say. And now, I'm no longer interested in saying anything either. So you can either move your ass, or I'd...."
"Or what? What would you do?" Andy snapped at him.
"Andy... I'd rather not fight with you. All I want is to go home and get some rest. Unlike you who have spent the last twelve days resting in your cabin, I've barely had up to twenty hours of sleep..."
"And how is that my fault? You shouldn't have brought me here in the first place! Do you really think I'm going to give you any moment of peace? I plan to frustrate you until you get tired of me and send me on my way," Andy said, and Cassidy raised a brow.
"Aren't you forgetting the other option? I could just as easily kill you and throw you in the middle of the water for some human-eating animal to feed off you, and no one would know what happened to you," Cassidy threatened, and Andy scoffed as she arched a brow.
"Am I supposed to be surprised by such a threat? Or was that expected to scare me? I expect nothing different from a creature like you," she said, and Cassidy nodded.
"That is fine by me...." Cassidy broke off when he a sighted a little girl running towards him, and the frown on his face gave way to a splitting smile as he ran down and swept her off her feet, while Andy watched in puzzlement.
"Daddy!" Five years old Mari cried happily as she embraced her father.
"Why are you out here alone? Where is Susan?" Cassidy asked with a concerned frown as he looked around for any sign of the old housekeeper.
"She dozed off. I tried waking her so we could come see you, but she was sound asleep," Mari explained.
"Daddy?" Andy asked aloud in confusion, and Mari pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose as she turned to look at Andy.
"Andy, this is Maribel, my daughter. Angel, this is Andy. She is daddy's friend and will be responsible for you going forward," Cassidy said, giving Andy a warning look not to argue with him in front of his daughter.
"Hello, Andy!" Maribel greeted with a shy smile, and even though Andy was very pissed at Cassidy and wanted nothing more than to hit his head against the wall, she couldn't be mad at the innocent child.
"You are so pretty, Mari," Andy said with a warm smile as she extended a hand for handshake and Maribel shyly placed her hand in Andy's while still being held in her father's arms.
"You are pretty too," Maribel said, and Andy smiled.
"I hope we both get along," Andy said, and Maribel nodded.
They all looked up when they heard a distressed cry and saw a lady who looked like she was in her mid sixties running in their direction breathlessly.
"Sir Alex! I'm so sorry!" Susan cried as tried to catch her breath.
"I swear by God, I only closed my eyes for a second and opened them to find the young one gone," she said, looking very distressed, and although Cassidy did not like that his daughter had been moving around unattended he smiled at her.
"It's my fault. I know you have had too much work on your hands. But you have nothing to worry. I brought someone with me to assist you in taking care of Mari now. Her name is Andy. Andy, this is Susan, my home keeper," Cassidy said, and Susan's gaze shifted to Andy.
"You're welcome, Miss Andy," Susan said with a welcoming smile even though she looked somewhat doubtful of Andy's ability to care for Mari.
"Thank you," Andy said with a polite smile and they all continued down to the house while Susan and Cassidy made small conversation.
Andy was surprised when they got to the house and she saw how simple it looked with a picket fence around it. This was not the kind of house she expected someone like Cassidy to live in. Here looked like the home of a normal man, and she knew Cassidy was far from normal.
"Why don't you go in with Mari, while I explain Andy's duties to her," Cassidy suggested as he set Mari down.
Without saying a word Susan took Mari's hand and scolded her for running off on her own, as she led her into the house while Cassidy led Andy to what she assumed to be his storage room but turned out to be a mini study.
"I can't believe your nerves, Cassidy!" Andy hissed the moment the door closed behind them.
"Alex. You have to call me Alex like everyone else..."
"I do not care what everyone else calls you! How dare you? How dare you drag me away from my family and bring me here to care for yours? What were you thinking?" She asked angrily.
"Apart from Susan, you're the only one I trust. The only one I can trust," Cassidy said, and Andy blinked at him in surprise.
"What?" she asked incredulously.
"I was going to explain things to you on the ship, but you refused to listen. I need you, Andy," Cassidy said quietly as he went to sit on the edge of the table.
"You need me? You have a really funny way of showing it. When you need someone, you beg them and do all you can to convince them. You don't kidnap or threaten to kill someone you need," Andy hissed at him.
Cassidy sighed, "Alright. I wasn't thinking. But then again if you really think about, there was no way I could outrightly risk my plans by telling you anything...."
"Yet you say you trust me?" Andy cut in.
"Yes, I do trust you. But the plan was set. I had to make sure anyone watching me wouldn't suspect a thing. If I had approached you from the moment I knew you worked at the club and told you everything, someone could have noticed something, and that would jeopardize everything. That is why I did my best to talk to you on the ship but you shut me up every time I wanted to tell you," Cassidy said with a weary sigh.
"You expect me to believe all this? You're a very wealthy man. If you wanted a nanny for your girl you could hire anyone you wanted...."
"Are you listening to me? I can't trust just anyone!"
"So why do you trust me? What makes you think I won't hurt you or your daughter the first chance I get?" Andy asked, and he shook his head.
"Because I know you. And that's not the kind of person you are. I'm really tired Andy. Please, could we talk about this later? Maybe in the morning? I really really need to get some rest. This is the only place I don't have to watch my back and can rest," Cassidy pleaded.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have committed crimes that would make you watch your back all the time or have no one to trust!" She snapped at him.
"Do you think I wanted any of this? Do you think this is the life I planned for myself? Or for my daughter? Do you think so? I did what I had to do! I'm not proud of any of it, but it is what I needed to do!"Cassidy snapped back, and then took a deep breath to calm himself as he massaged his temple.
"Let's talk in the morning," Cassidy repeated calmly.
"When can I reach out to my sister to let her know I'm okay?" Andy asked, since she could tell he was really exhausted.
"I will let you know when it's time. I promise. I won't hurt you. I won't touch you or make any advances at you either. And...."
"Save your promises," Andy muttered as she walked out of the study.
She needed to think.
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