53- I have to be excellent

-The woman exclaimed as she tried to lift her patient's shirt, but was quickly stopped by Cassandra's grip, who held her by the wrist.

The new mother's reaction surprised the doctor as much as Sebastian, who, trying to keep up appearances, exclaimed:

-Darling, you must let the doctor check you out.

Cassandra looked worriedly at Sebastian, knowing that she could no longer hide her marks. He slowly let go of the doctor's wrist, letting her lift the shirt.

Cassandra simply wasn't able to look, directing her gaze to a fixed point in the distance.

She didn't have the courage to confront Sebastian's look of bewilderment as he saw that her slightly swollen, whitish belly was decorated with red lines, some older some more recent, that she had done to herself in the moments when she couldn't stand it.

None of them said anything.

But the doctor exchanged a puzzled glance with the father, who stood firm but inwardly felt himself dying, not knowing what to make of it.

Suddenly, the young mother felt an icy liquid in her belly, causing her expression to contract.

Tentatively Sebastian's hand rested on Cassandra's, causing the redhead to finally turn to the CEO, meeting a dark and worried gaze, like a cloudy sky of gray clouds. Then Sebastian smiled sideways at her, and the young woman felt him stroke her hand with his thumb, showing support.

-Okay, Mommy ready to see your baby?

Cassandra looked with her big blue eyes at Sebastian, silently pleading.

-Will you leave us alone for a moment, doctor? -ordered the heir politely.

-Yes, of course," he answered, leaving the office.

-If you don't feel comfortable we can come another day," he exclaimed quickly, afraid of pressuring the young woman.

-No, it's not that...

-What is it then?

-It's that... -the redhead bit her lip, almost opening a wound- It's that I think it's time to assume it- she smiled sideways, although her eyes didn't show happiness.

-Hey... -the CEO exclaimed softly- I know it may not mean anything to you, but you are not alone, I am going to accompany you through the whole process.

Cassandra felt her eyes fill with tears and her throat closed up.

-I'm afraid," she exclaimed with a broken voice, letting out some tears.

-Me too," answered the CEO honestly, holding both of the redhead's hands in his, "I guess it's something normal, isn't it?" he smiled as best he could.

-Yes..." answered the redhead, smiling back. They both remained silent as they looked into each other's eyes, experiencing the energy of love that was transmitted from their souls to their pupils.

-I'm ready," she finally exclaimed in an unconscious impulse as she felt the security that Sebastian generated in her.

-Are you sure?

-Yes," she answered confidently, lying down again on the stretcher.

The doctor returned and proceeded with the control, placing the gel again and resting the device gently on Cassandra's belly.

Cassandra was unable to look at the monitor, but when she felt Sebastian again take hold of her hand she was able to get the courage she lacked, tightening her grip and finally directing her blue sky-like orbs towards the black and white monitor.

-He's still very small- exclaimed the doctor pointing to where her baby was- We can't tell the sex yet.

Cassandra barely heard everything the doctor said, because her eyes were glued to the screen with a strange magnetism, some natural force of love that did not let her gaze stray from that little creature that was growing in her womb.

-It's... It's...

-It's perfect- exclaimed the CEO finishing the sentence of the one who, at least inside that office, was his wife.

Sebastian would never cry in public, but he felt how at that moment his eyes burned with tears of happiness that wanted to come out.

Never before had he imagined himself feeling so much love for someone he had never even met. But he felt an energy inside him, a need to protect this being and his mother.
As the days passed inside the apartment, Cassandra knew that that illusion, that intimate and even magical moment in the doctor's office had been just that, a dream moment and nothing more.

After the ultrasound, Sebastian put her back in her new home while he went on with his life pretending that it had never happened.

A week of deep loneliness passed and Cassandra began to feel that she was going to lose her mind at any moment.

At first she thought that being isolated from people was what she really needed to begin to heal. But she had never been more wrong.

The sound of the silence of the apartment made her mind noisier, at night she could barely sleep and the long, painful baths became more recurrent, only this time she felt guilt about damaging her womb, leaving it untouched. There was a creature inside her, she had checked it on that monitor.

Did she really want to hurt it?

She didn't know anymore.

-How was the week?" the CEO asked as he entered the apartment without even knocking, which irritated Cassandra, making her feel that the place didn't really belong to her even though it said so in the contract.

The redhead didn't answer, concentrating on preparing her bland lunch, as she wasn't even in the mood for it.

The heir walked towards her in silence, waiting for an answer that never came.

-Is everything all right?

-You can't keep me locked up here as your prisoner," the young woman finally exclaimed with annoyance, without even looking up from the vegetables she was chopping.

-Cassandra, you know very well why I do it.

-Why?" she exclaimed, hitting a carrot with the knife, "So that your perfect life won't be stained by my presence, so that your shrew of a wife won't find out that I'm going to solve all her rich girl problems?

-Cassandra, listen...

-No, you listen to me," she interrupted him angrily, "I want my job as presidential secretary again.

-What?

-What you heard, I want my job back... -What?

-Cassandra, that's not going to happen," laughed the CEO nervously.

-Then I don't want to do this anymore.

Sebastian walked angrily to the redhead, taking the knife out of her hands and leaving it forcefully in the kitchen sink.