Eighteen Again: The CEO's Wife was a Delinquent

Cassidy was eighteen-year old at the time Maruschca was able to understand everything.

Ever since she saw that picture of his grandson, not even its blurriness and his disguise could keep her from putting the pieces together. As she continued to learn more about their adventures together - about how they bonded together and that it all happened during the summer she stopped visiting the orphanage, she remembered that he was also showing interest in a girl around that time.

While Cassidy may have fulfilled her promise to keep his intention for his visits as a secret, Maruschca saw through the fact that he was indeed paying visits to that orphanage just like her.

"He used to look so grumpy and brooding, but even then, he was kind and generous! He would buy me ice cream and play with me! He would also walk me back home from school!" 

Since bringing that photograph, Cassidy kept rambling about that guy for hours straight every time she visited the hospital.

At first, Maruschca only listened to her story. She neither confirmed nor denied that the person she was head-over-heels in love with was her grandson. That's because she couldn't just establish the truth from a single blurred photo. She wanted to learn more about him - his attitude, his way of treating other people, and how he made friends from outside his comfort zone for the first time.

Soon enough, Cassidy was able to convince Maruschca that this guy was none other than Adrian.

"Eight years... It had taken them eight years to find the chance to reunite at last..." was what she thought that time. 

"All there's left is my grandson. I wonder how Adrian will react when he sees Cassidy again." 

But then, there were two crucial facts that Maruschca did not know about - first was that Adrian had lost his memories, and second was the heartbreaking incident that happened to Cassidy and her family.

"Cassidy? What happened, child?" 

It was the first time Cassidy visited Maruschca again ever since turning nineteen-year-old.

She thought about making their reunion happen as a present for her. Yet before she could even tell her about it, she faltered after seeing her trudge inside her hospital room like a corpse. She looked lifeless, empty and dead - the first she ever saw on this bright and cheerful girl.

"G-Granny... M-My family..." Cassidy choked out, sounding like she had swallowed a thousand of broken glasses. 

"T-There was this fire... O-Only f-five... Only five were left."

Maruschca nearly got a heart attack after hearing the news.

That was the day when everything changed for Cassidy. Certain arrangements were made that required her to part ways from the remaining family she had. For the past years, all she had were the orphans and their caretaker. She had no other home to go to. Her friends never showed up again for a long time. She was all by herself - lost and alone.

"I want to protect my family until the very end... Those five - at least, I wanted to give those five everything I couldn't give to the others. But even if I want to, I don't even have a home to return to anymore. The orphans will have to be admitted to another orphanage, but now that I reached the legal age, I have to fend for my own..." Cassidy continued crying her heart out while sitting on the floor beside her bed - a sight that hurt Maruschca to an unfathomable degree.   

"I have to look after myself, and I also want to continue looking after those children."

It was one of the days in her life that she cried the longest.

She kept losing everything. At a young age, she lost her parents, and as she grew up, she lost her friends. Now, it was her one and only family. A girl like her could only take so much. She knew that she tried her best to struggle and enjoy life at the same time, but even then, life still found a way to bring her this further down.

Maruschca wanted to help this poor little soul - not only because she owed both her deceased grandfather and his son so much, but also because she had come to love her herself.

"Cassidy, you still have a home..." she told her as she steeled her resolve to save her from her harsh reality as much as she could.

"You can marry the person you love the most. You can still have a new family."

Little did Maruschca know that such a purely benign offer would only be a whole new world of sufferings and pain for Cassidy.

---

Since the blurry photograph was her only evidence of his existence as that 'Mister Shady' she fell in love with - and it got burned during the fire incident, reuniting with the person she badly wanted to meet had not gone by the way she imagined.

Cassidy felt her world fall apart when Adrian treated her apathetically for the first time.

In her own subtle ways, she tried her best to make him remember, but she never succeeded. He had really lost his memories of her - without her and Maruschca knowing. She wanted to tell him more about her. However, she couldn't let anyone in that family know about her background unless a certain condition was met.

"The Millicent's are very strict and scrupulous. They would never accept a commoner with an ordinary background into their family. So, please bear with me, Cassidy. Until Adrian recognizes you and comes to your defense, you should not tell them about it. I believe that my grandson will protect you," was what Maruschca cautioned her about before.

But then, Adrian never recognized Cassidy. He did agree to keep her by his side, but that was not enough to protect her from his suspicious and judgmental relatives.

'Even then, I want to stay with him. Besides, this is the only home I have left. By staying in this family, I can also gain enough power to help the other orphans - to provide for them and fund their needs just like what Granny did to us before. I can't afford to complain when I don't even have anything left...' was what Cassidy decided back when she realized that Adrian was not the same as he was before.

'And really... I just really want to be with him.'

It started out with that desire - to be with him no matter what.

His relatives could do all sorts of things to her. She endured everything for five whole years. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was desperate to be part of a family again - to have a home. She also believed that he would get to remember her someday. If she continued to work hard and make him regain his memories, he would definitely recognize her again.

"You kept telling me about these 'eight-years-ago' thingy. How many times do I also have to tell you that I don't remember at all? I'm with my grandfather that whole time..." Adrian snapped one time after she tried to insist their forgotten past again.

"Or are you trying to tell me that my own family has lied to me?"

It happened several years ago. That was probably the last time she ever tried to force him to recall - and that was because he showed her a look that told her that she was nothing compared to his own flesh and blood. She would never be anything to him.

But even then, Cassidy only decided to smile and hide her pain for the millionth time.

"Whether you remember or not, I will always love you, Adrian."

---

Cassidy woke up from her slumber with tears rolling down her face.

For some reason, she had dreamed of Maruschca as well as her missing memories. It seemed like the trauma that was brought to her by the revelation of the disappearance of her previous home was the one that did the deal. Her memories were beginning to come back little by little - and so was the hellish pain that she had been through for a long, long time.

"Cassidy, do you feel fine?" 

At someone's call, she weakly turned her head to the side and found Asher looking down at her.

That's only when she realizes that she's inside of an apartment, lying comfortably on the top of a bed. He probably brought her to where he was currently staying at after she lost consciousness. 

"Had been hours since you fainted. It's already past midnight. Do you want something to drink or eat?" Asher continued to ask, concern laced in his voice.

"I still feel a little dizzy. Maybe later?" Cassidy said groggily, fighting to stay awake.

"Wanna sleep more?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay."

With how weak she felt, she didn't even bother to dry her tears. She just went ahead and fell back to sleep. He only remained on the side of the bed that entire time, watching her breathe away. As soon as he knew that she was back to dreamland, he reached out his hands and started wiping her tears away with his fingers. He then leaned down to her and brushed his nose against hers.

"You'd been through a lot. Stay here with me, Cassie," Asher then whispered in her ears, still caressing her face all the while.