Chapter 19
Cassandra took the pen the young man held out to her. Then, with a heart full of sincerity and reverence for love, she wrote down her thoughts in the
notebook.
“To the young man’s beloved, whose name I don’t know, the young man has told me your story. He said a lot of things, but everything he mentioned made two things clear to me–the gentleness in the way you treat him and his genuine feelings for you. Even when you rejected him, you said it was because you feared the opinions of others. You didn’t admit to not liking him.
“Therefore, if I may hazard a guess, I think you love him too. You love the passionate young man who loves you so deeply that it makes him act a little silly. However, you can’t bring yourself to admit your love for him because you’re the older one.
“You think you need to be the more rational of the two. You think he can act immaturely, but you can’t. You may even think you need to steel yourself and terminate this relationship that will never be accepted by society. You believe that would be the right thing to do.
“But is society’s opinion truly that important? We only have one shot at life. Do you want to cower in fear and live the life you think society expects of you, or do you want to take courage and fight to be with the person you love?
“The young man who loves you is currently going from street to street, talking to everyone he meets and asking them to jot down well wishes for your love for each other in this childish–looking notebook of his. He doesn’t fear how others see him. Do you think it’s because he doesn’t care?
“I don’t think that’s the case. He does it because his love for you is strong enough. He is determined enough that the gossip from others can’t bring him down. Neither can their strange, judgmental gazes.
“I asked him if he thought it was worth going to such lengths, and he said the thought of your smile alone made everything worthwhile. I figured that was the truest form of love. Love had nothing to do with age or wealth. Love was pure. We’re the ones who put labels on it and cheapen it.
“I learned a lot from his words today. If you accept his feelings, I sincerely wish you two the best. I hope your love lasts a lifetime, unshaken by the gossip of others. May you two live happily ever after.”
Done with her note, Cassandra handed the notebook back to the young man. He was touched to see that she had written so much.
“Thank you, miss. You wrote so well. I’m sure she’ll be moved by them.”
Chuckling, Cassandra replied, “And thank you as well. After talking to you, I feel like my mind has cleared too.”
The fog that clouded her heart all along had finally scattered. At last, she dared to confront her true feelings.
She loved Sebastian. She didn’t want to remain like a sister to him. She wanted to hold him, kiss him, and make him hers.
Her love wasn’t familial or generous. She loved him selfishly, the way a woman loved a man.
Perhaps society might not approve of their love, but so what?
There was only one chance at life. If she missed hers, she wouldn’t get another.
Cassandra had already lost Sebastian once. She wasn’t going to do it again.
When she got home, she made two decisions.
The first involved a change in technological focus for Yeager Corporation. From that day onward, the company would set aside 20% of its profits. Half of it would be donated to the cryonics research team to assist in the development of a safe method to thaw those who had been cryogenically frozen, in the hope that they would be able to achieve that soon.
The second half of the profits set aside went to a cancer research team to aid in their quest to combat cancer for the betterment of humanity.
At the same time, Cassandra resigned as the chairperson of Yeager Corporation. She made Noelle Yeager, her younger sister, the acting chairperson and left her in charge of handling the day–to–day matters.
As for the second decision…
