Chapter 294 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“Uhm, Jero is with Cassidy, and they have Andy,” Jade said after putting the phone on speaker, making Candace’s heart skip a beat.

“What do you mean Jero is with Cassidy and they have her?” She asked almost panicking.

“Calm down,” Jade said and went on to explain everything that transpired between Cassidy and Jero to Candace.

Candace took in a deep breath after listening to everything, “Cassidy said Andy will contact me when it’s safe?” Candace asked in a worried tone when Jade finished.

“Yes. What do you suggest we do? Should I ask the cops to go after Cassidy?”

Although it was a difficult decision to make, Candace sighed after a while, “Although Cassidy is dangerous, he loves Andy in his own twisted way, and he is a man of his words. If he says Andy will be fine, then I believe that she will be okay. Don’t go after them. I will wait to hear from her.”

“And what about Jero? Are you willing to see him before he returns to jail?” Jade asked since that was Cassidy’s request.

Matt suddenly slammed his foot on the brake when something clicked in his head, and the car screeched to a halt making them jerk forward.

“Oh, my God!” Jade exclaimed in surprise.

 “What did you do that for?” Harry who had almost fallen off the seat, hissed irritably as he sat up.

“Is everything okay over there?” Candace asked just as Matt took the phone from Jade.

“Did you lie about killing those boys?” Matt asked in a very quiet tone, and both Jade and Harry stared at him in confusion.

Of course, she had known that he was going to find out sooner or later that she lied to him. She had done it just to push him away.

“I guess you really were not interested in me if you could lie about something like that just to push me away. I’m sorry I kept interfering in your business,” Matt said with a shake of his head as he hung up the call.

“I believe my job here is done. You can handle the rest on your own,” Matt said as he got out of the car, “You can use the car. I’ll find my way home,” Matt said as he walked away without waiting for either Jade or Harry to say anything to him.

Jade and Harry looked away from Matt’s retreating figure when they heard the sound of an explosion, but Matt didn’t bother looking in the direction of the yacht which had just exploded. He wished them all good luck.

“You must be a very proud father,” Andrew Miller said as he played soccer against Desmond Delgado.

“Why? Because all three of them are successful?” Desmond asked curiously.

“Yes. Lucas mentioned how proud your wife was the first time he met you both at his office,” Andrew asked, and Desmond chuckled at the memory.

“Evelyn is always that way. I love my kids and I’m proud of how much each of them has been able to achieve on their own,” Desmond said, but Andrew heard the silent but in his tone, so he turned to face him.

“But what?”

Desmond chuckled, “I never said that there was a but.”

“You didn’t need to utter it. I heard it,” Andrew said with a knowing smile.

Desmond sighed, “It’s just that the more successful they became, the more difficult it has been for me to see them too. I worked hard to care for my family and help each of my kids to achieve their goals, but while doing that I always tried not to let my job get in the way of spending time with them. Now they’re all just so grown up and they barely call or visit. It hurts. I think watching your kids grow away from you hurts,” Desmond confessed as he dropped the pad with a resigned sigh.

Andrew sighed as he also set aside his game pad, “You should let them know that you’re not happy with them,” Andrew suggested, and Desmond scoffed.

“Like it’s going to make any difference. On Monday is my birthday. And I can bet on it that none of them would even remember it unless my wife tells them about it,” Desmond said, making Andrew feel bad on his behalf.

He couldn’t compare either Lucas or Celsie to Benne and his siblings, but he knew that despite Lucas’ busy schedule, he tried to visit them at least once in two weeks. And Although Celsie had been quite occupied with trying to settle in since she moved to Serenopolis, communication hasn’t been a problem for them.

“I miss my daughter, Jade. It’s been a while since she last visited. I miss her a lot,” Desmond confessed when Andrew didn’t say anything, “In a way, both Sonia and Celsie seem to remind me of her. I can see her in them both,” he said with a smile which Andrew returned.

“I think they will learn to appreciate you more when they’re all settled. I think humans generally grow to appreciate our parents more when we become parents,” Andrew said thoughtfully.

“When they are settled and are too busy trying to balance their careers with their immediate families?” He asked with a shake of his head.

“I’m not asking for too much, am I? I just want them to initiate phone calls without us begging for it. Visiting once in six months isn’t too much either, is it? It bothers my wife a lot, and I try to comfort her so I can’t tell her how upset I feel about it either. Sometimes I imagine that when we grow old they’re just going to dump us in a nursing home and forget about our existence. It worries me a lot.”

Listening to him talk, Andrew could tell that it was really bothering him and he probably had no one else apart from his wife to talk to, “I suppose you don’t have a lot of friends?”

Desmond scoffed, “It’s hard to maintain genuine friendships when everyone is coming close to you because they want something from you. I can barely have a decent conversation with some acquaintances without them trying to matchmake my kids with theirs, or asking me to introduce them to either Benne or Bryan. It gets tiring so I’m better off without friends.”

“Hmm! I can’t imagine what that feels like,” Andrew said as he leaned back into the seat.

“What about you?” Desmond asked curiously.

“Well, Celsie is a workaholic, and sometimes we do most of the reaching out, but she only just moved away from home so it’s fine. Lucas is always busy as is expected of a medical doctor, but he tries to visit us at least once in two weeks. So it’s also okay.”

“You’re so lucky. Sometimes I secretly wish that my kids weren’t so successful. I know it doesn’t make sense,” Desmond said with a shake of his head.

“You should take it easy. I will still suggest that you should talk to them about it now that you are here and you can see them,” Andrew suggested.

“I will try to do that,” Desmond said as he picked up his pad, “Let’s play some more. You should practice against tomorrow if you intend to win against Benne,” he said with a chuckle and Andrew chuckled.

“Shouldn’t you be siding with your son?”

“I’m all for fathers being the one true love of their daughters. Every other man comes second, I’m sure Benne will understand when he has his own little girl. So I’ll be cheering for you,” Desmond said, and both men laughed out loud.

Away from there, Bryan who was heading for his bedroom stopped when he saw Candace at the other end of the hall standing just outside one of the guest’s bedrooms, “Is everything okay?” He asked, and Candace swirled around in surprise.

She flashed him a smile as he approached her, “Yes, everything is okay. I just came out to receive a phone call since I didn’t want to disturb my son’s sleep,” she explained, while Bryan watched her curiously.

“Can you spare me some minutes of your time?” Bryan asked, and she glanced at the bedroom door with a frown.

“I don’t want to go too far from here in case he wakes up,” she explained even though she actually needed the distraction so she wouldn’t get worked up over what Jade had said about Jero wanting to see her or worry about Matt’s anger as well as her sister’s wellbeing. There were just a lot of things on her mind right now.

“He is a big boy. I’m sure he will find his way around if he needs you. Besides we are not going far from here, if he calls out loud enough, you will hear him,” Bryan said when he noticed her hesitation.

“Okay, give me a moment,” she said as she returned inside the bedroom to make sure that Jamal was well tucked in before leaving the bedroom.

Once she returned to join Bryan, he led her down the hallway, “Don’t worry, I won’t take too much of your time,” he assured her as he led her down the hall to another door that opened to a balcony. One thing Bryan loved most about the building was that almost all the bedrooms had their own balconies.

There were two seats and a table positioned there as it was in all the balconies around the house, and Bryan took one of the seats while Candace took the seat opposite him.

“Thanks for not telling your…” The rest of her words trailed off when Bryan raised a brow.

“How long have you been here? And how has your stay been?” Bryan asked, ignoring what she had been about to say.

She sighed, “We got here on Thursday. We have been okay. Jamal likes the place, and the staff adores him,” Candace said with a small smile as she thought about her son.

“He’s a smart kid, so it’s easy to love him,” Bryan said as he watched her.

“I know that you might think that it’s none of my business, but can I ask you what’s going on between you and Matt? He’s my best friend and the last time I saw him he wasn’t his usual cheerful self,” Bryan said, and Candace sighed.

“Nothing is going on between us,” Candace said with a shrug.

“Nothing? You do know that he really likes you though, right?” Bryan asked, and Candace shrugged.

“I’ve got a lot going on with me right now and I don’t want him getting involved in my mess. He just doesn’t seem to get it.”

“So it’s not like you don’t like him either? You are only trying to push him away because somehow you feel that you are protecting him?” Bryan concluded, wondering what it was with these women and pushing away the men they claimed to love.

“You do realize that the mere fact that you are here right now for whatever reason, means that he is already involved in your mess whatever it is, right? So what’s the point?” Bryan asked when Candace said nothing, and then he took out his phone from his pocket when it started vibrating. He raised a brow when he realized that the call was from Jade.

“Is everything okay? Why are you calling so late in the night?” Bryan asked in concern immediately after he received the call.

“I can’t talk right now. I’m in a haste. I just wanted to ask you to give Matt a call,” Jade suggested as she got into the jet with Harry, after receiving the flash drive from Bill as promised by Cassidy.

Immediately the yacht exploded earlier, a car had driven up to them and Bill had handed them the flash drive before continuing to the port to pick Jero.

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