Page 37 of Neptune

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LUKE

Seven years ago

C assie and I walked hand in hand as we strolled around the town one last time before I went back to New York, our fingers laced together.

The weather was clear that morning because the storm had passed. I was treasuring every moment that we spent together.

Today would really be my last day in Hallstatt. With her.

But I didn't want to let her go.

Cassie held my arm and leaned on me—it seemed like it was hard for her to part too. Just like she'd said.

A souvenir shop on the street caught her attention. She tottered toward it, dragging me along.

"Look," she exclaimed, gazing at the accessories displayed on the counter—necklaces, earrings, rings and other girls' accessories that I had no idea how they were going to wear.

I glanced at my wristwatch. Damn . I fucking hated this, but I had no choice but to go back home before everything in New York got worse.

Cassie noticed my restlessness. "Is it time for you to go?"

I turned to her and found sadness skating all over her face. Yet, I answered, "It is."

Her face fell.

"You know that I fucking hate this too," I said. "But I have to go. My family is waiting for me. I have urgent matters to settle. "

Her lips formed into a thin line, but then she huffed, letting out a deep sigh. However, the pain still crossed her expression.

"I know. I'm not going to let you abandon your responsibilities," she said, her voice small. "I just thought that," she paused, "maybe we could do something more before you go."

I looked at her attentively, listening. "Like what?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know." She laughed, but it sounded like she was forcing it. "Like getting married in a chapel?" Her eyebrows rose.

I stared at her. If it hadn't been her, if it had been some other girl, I would have laughed, thinking that it was nonsense to hear something like that from someone that I'd just met.

But she was not. She was Cassie .

It seemed like she'd always been a part of me, like she was half of my soul, like we were made of each other. Like her presence would never leave me even though we were going to part ways, like she was indeed the air that I needed to breathe.

If one thought that the words she'd uttered just now were crazy, what would they think of me thinking that I would die without her?

A lunatic?

Cassie shook her head in disbelief, a scoff leaving her mouth as she stared down at her feet—she probably had just realized how strange her words sounded.

"Ignore that. I'm crazy." Awkwardly, she turned to the souvenirs again.

Fuck with that. We're indeed crazy, Cassie. We're crazy about each other.

I hugged her from behind as she tried to shift her attention away from me, focusing on the accessories. I breathed against her throat before placing multiple soft kisses on her cheek and neck, ignoring other people who were staring at us dreamily.

Maybe some of them thought that we were a young newlywed couple who were visiting Hallstatt for our honeymoon.

But being together with Cassie behind my parents' backs would only repeat Victor's and Emily's tragedy. Cassie didn't deserve that .

I couldn't imagine what my parents would think and do if they found out that I was considering a girl in the midst of this chaos.

I should focus my mind on building our family's business back up from ruins. I couldn't do that if Cassie came into the picture now.

I needed to focus. Fuck .

And then there was Josephine and her family, who would only add fuel to the disaster.

But I knew that running away would only bring more pain to everybody. I would not run away from my family.

Neither would I run away from Cassie. From myself .

I wasn't ready to be with her now, but that didn't mean that I wouldn’t ever be ready for her.

As I placed my palm on her chest, I could feel Cassie’s heart thumping just as wildly as mine did against her back.

Something on the souvenir shop’s counter caught my attention.

"Can we have those two?" I asked the old man who owned the shop.

He took out a set of couple rings from the display and put them in front of us with a warm smile on his face.

Cassie glanced at me, frowning, wondering about what I was going to do.

There before our very eyes stood a set of couple rings. The one for the woman was significantly smaller and thinner than the other.

They were made of metal, with mini skyscrapers forming the band and a small blue stone in the middle of each of them.

Ironically, the skyscraper miniatures on both rings felt like two different cities and somehow gave the vibe of a long-distance relationship.

I should have doubted that the rings would even fit our fingers, but I had a strong gut feeling that they would. If they did, I would take back all of my harsh and sarcastic comments regarding those fucking terrible movies highlighting the existence of soulmates.

I took the smaller ring and slowly slid it around Cassie's finger—she froze on the spot. After placing the other ring on my finger, I silently cursed again.

Fuck. They fit.

I might have cursed too much for a person who should be grateful to God. Sincerely, I hoped that He would not change His mind about this fucking soulmate destiny, fate or whatever He preferred to call it for me and Cassie.

"I'll take these," I said to the shop owner.

After paying for our rings, I dragged Cassie out of the shop and toward a corner of the street where it was less crowded.

Cassie stared at her new ring secured on her finger before looking at me, dumbfounded. "Luke..." she whispered.

I wrapped her fists inside my palms, looking into her eyes.

"I'm not going to ask you to marry me," I said, a hint of amusement in my voice, " yet ."

She still stared at me with curiosity, wondering what the hell I was talking about. Right. I hoped that she wouldn't run for her life now that she realized I was just as crazy, because it would make things damn awkward.

"But I will come back to you," I vowed. "And when I do, I'll make you mine for the rest of my life."

" What do you mean?" she asked, clueless.

"It means that I'm going to find you wherever you are," I said without the slightest hint of doubt. "In seven years, you will see me again, and that's when we'll be together. Forever."

"Seven years?" she squeaked.

Damn right. Seven years. Had I just made that number up? No. I'd calculated it.

These past few days, every time I'd been wondering how to bring Klein Enterprise into a safe state, that was the number that made sense.

With all the business problems. With how wide the business had spread all over the world, which caused even more complications.

With the number of powerful people who were trying to bring the company down.

With all the employees and workers involved, whose survival depended on me.

In fact, seven years was quite optimistic.

"Yes, seven years," I repeated. "Wait for me, Cassie. I promise you that I'll come to you, wherever you are. I give you my word."

She frowned, still not convinced. "Do you have something big to do within all those years?"

"Yes," I said in a firm tone.

"About what?"

"I have something to settle with my family."

Her eyes widened, her jaw dropping.

"Oh, God," she cried, horror in her expression. "Are you already married?"

That made me laugh. But Cassie still looked at me with hurt and disbelief on her face, and my expression turned serious.

"Cassie." My jaw tightened. "I swear to God that I'm not fucking married, neither am I committed to another girl. It's only you, and it will only be you."

Cassie gaped at me. "Then what is it all about?"

Goddammit . I wished I could tell her. But my ego and pride as a man wouldn't just let her know that I was managing a business that was on the verge of bankruptcy.

"I have a job that many people's lives depend on," I said. "I have to take care of my responsibilities within those seven years. My father can't do it alone."

Cassie's eyes softened.

"Will you wait for me and let me come to you again?" I asked. "Cassandra..." I signaled her to finish her last name.

"Castillo. Cassandra Castillo," she said her full name out loud, like she was expecting me to stalk her on social media and find her whereabouts right away.

I kissed her knuckle, the one close to the ring on her finger.

"Trust me, Cassandra. You are going to be my wife," I said, determination in my voice. "I can only give you this ring right now, but I will replace it with something much better when we meet again."

She still looked overwhelmed with everything that I was saying. Maybe all of this was too much for her to absorb all at once.

"Will you promise me, Cassie, that you will wait for me and let me come to you again?" I asked with a hopeful look.

My heart was beating so damn hard and fast that I could feel it about to explode out of my chest.

She nodded quietly, and I pulled her into a tight hug, our bodies crashing into each other.

I'd thought that she wouldn't believe me. Who would? It wasn't like she could rip open my chest and see what was inside my heart.

But maybe, she could. Maybe she did. Because we were not just strangers. We were more than that.

I pulled away, my arms circling her waist as she placed her hands on my back.

"Maybe I'm stupid," she whispered, looking into my eyes.

"If you're stupid, then I'm an idiot." I smirked.

Seeing the worried look that still crossed her expression, I pecked her lips.

"Trust me, Cassie. I might be a nobody now, and you deserve so much more. When we meet again, I'll be someone who will make you proud. I'll give you the entire world. Even if everything goes wrong, you'll have nothing to worry about, because I'll give you my whole world. "

A soft smile touched Cassie's lips, her eyes watering. But then a playful grin crept onto her face.

"As a starter, will I be able to have my dream wedding filled with my favorite daisies?" she joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on. That's too easy," I said, making her laugh.

I pulled her into a hard kiss, and she tightened her hold on me too, gripping my shoulders as I kissed her endlessly.

?? ?

Our hands were still connected as we walked inside the airport. My heart broke every time I saw the sadness on Cassie's face, and the fact that I hadn't told her my last name didn't help.

Even though she'd disclosed her identity, I still didn't give her the last name that she'd asked for. I didn't want her to have a burden—or worse, a heart attack—if she found out about what happened to Klein Enterprise.

The information about the company was filled with nasty things, not to mention the articles about Victor's and Emily's deaths—the reporters had made my family look even worse.

When it was time for me to go to the departure gate, I faced her, but both of us found it extremely hard to let go of each other's hand.

I tilted her chin up, only to find her looking at me with broken eyes. My heart sank.

"Hey," I whispered, brushing my fingers against her cheek. "Cheer up. The wait will be worth it. I promise."

She just nodded.

"Don't get together with another celebrity, Miss Celebrity." My words might have sounded like a joke, but I was nowhere near joking.

Cassie let out a burst of laughter, and relief washed over me as I saw her smile again.

"It's not like I'm going to be a celebrity." She rolled her eyes.

" Cassie ," I warned her.

She grinned. "Okay, okay. I won't. I promise."

"Wear that ring always," I said, hoping that she would decline any guy who fucking dared to approach her.

I knew that I wasn't being fair, but I would do the same.

"I will never ever take it off," she promised, her voice firm, like she would die before that happened.

I chuckled.

"Only if you do the same thing." She glared at me. "Don't take it off."

Oh, feisty. I smirked. "Not even for a millisecond."

The announcement for my flight’s takeoff echoed again inside the airport, and we looked at each other with a knowing look.

The tears in Cassie's eyes pooled even more, and that was when I pulled her into a bold kiss.

Cassie moaned into my mouth, and I could taste her tears as I kissed her fiercely. I tightened my grip on her body, ravishing her mouth like a crazy person, and so did she.

We kissed, we kissed and we kissed, like two crazy people who had been separated for a thousand years and finally met. Maybe, we really were.

Then I suddenly pulled away, detaching myself from her, turning around. I needed to do it because if I didn't turn my back to her that instant, I never would.

A sudden lump filled my throat as I walked toward the departure gate. I felt my vision getting blurry, a hole spreading inside my chest even though I'd just left her for two seconds.

Cassie's sob finally broke, and I mustered all the power inside me to not go back to her and embrace her in my arms.

The last thing I heard from her was when she shouted, " Can you make it five years ?"

I gritted my teeth, my fists clenched tightly at my sides as I heard her words. If only I could settle everything sooner, I would.

Because the sooner I could see her again, the less my heart would bleed.