The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1454 The Cassie I know

Leila was more than thrilled at this prospect. Her delight was shown on her face. She eagerly nodded at the woman as she briskly folded the underwear which she had picked. Meticulously, she placed them into the paper bag and printed an invoice for her. Even now, there was a part of her that was afraid the woman might change her mind.

But nothing of that sort happened. The woman paid her bill readily and now Leila could finally heave a sigh of relief. She passed the bag to her and decided to indulge her into a conversation.

"Wow, look at your hands! They are extremely delicate! You must give them special attention. Would you mind telling me about your daily hand-care routine?" Leila asked.

Women were generally interested in skin care, hence Leila figured that was the right place to begin.

"Really? You're so sweet! I don't have a routine actually, but I make it a point to apply hand cream before going to bed every night. I have been doing it for a while now. Why don't you give it a try?" the woman replied and flashed her a friendly smile.

Earlier, Leila had detected something mysterious in the woman. Hence she felt herself give out another sigh of relief once she received this friendly answer. 'Thank God! For a second I thought she would sprint out of here. But this woman is speaking to me like she is an old friend of mine, 'Leila thought. Her earlier feeling of skepticism was replaced by relief.

Now their conversation started to flow smoothly. It began with a simple topic of hand care and slowly reached important issues like house rent. They both vented about their indignation at rising room rents. Los in conversation, they didn't even realize the time pass by. In the end, they conveyed their regret for not having met sooner. In spite of the attachment, the woman didn't reveal any private details about herself. Every time Leila attempted, she would quickly dodge it by changing the topic.

As of now, Leila only knew that the lady's family name was Bai. Everything else was still a mystery.

Anyway, Leila shrugged off these thoughts. She had no reason to worry about her personal life. All that mattered was the fact she came into her stop and purchased her commodity. Moreover, they had a wonderful time together.

When the woman informed she had to leave, Leila wasn't done talking. But at the same time she knew it would be rude to hold her back.

"It was lovely talking to you, Ms. Bai. Please do come here again. I believe we'll have lots of fun!" she urged again and again.

"Of course, I can't wait to see you again, Leila! I love your shop and the collection you have got here. I just hope I haven't taken too much of your time!" the woman replied apologetically.

As they spoke, they had a bright smile plastered on their faces. An outsider couldn't tell they had only met today. It seemed like they were long lost friends who had no desire of parting their ways. "Oh, don't say that. You have already become my favorite client! Next time, I'll prepare something delicious for you," Leila added quickly. She patted on her chest to prove that she was telling the truth. These days she was so desperate to have someone around. This companionship of the woman had made her truly happy. She felt the burden on her mind had subsided.

From that day onwards, the woman came to Leila every once in a while as promised. She would spend hours talking to Leila. Before leaving, she would buy one or two new products from the store. Each time this happened, Leila would grin from ear to ear. What was even better was that the woman's presence was good luck for her. Every time she visited, there would be more clients than usual. As time went by, Leila began to give her a very special place in her heart.

Thus, their relationship grew stronger and stronger. They discussed about every subject that came to their mind. Leila could see that the woman took an avid interest in being friends with her. 'Why else would she make an effort to visit me so often?' Leila thought happily.

However, even though they had known each other for a while, Leila knew nothing about her family.

Truth be told, she deliberately avoided this subject. Leila believed it was her duty to respect her privacy. She also realized she might offend her if she tried to invade her privacy. 'I may not know everything about Ms. Bai, but at least she is willing to come here so often. I need to be content with that. The last thing I want to do is scare her away, 'Leila reasoned smartly in her mind.

At the hospital, Cassie ran into Cora the moment she left the medical room. Cora had already seen her, hence it was too late for her to turn around.

Yet she turned her head a little away, pretending that she didn't see her. She was reluctant to see Cora's face because of what had happened between Jordan and her.

Deep down she knew Cora had nothing to do with what Jordan had done. In spite of this understanding, she wasn't willing to face her. Every time she saw his younger sister, it reminded her of Jordan. They bore an uncanny resemblance to each other.

Lost in her own thoughts, Cassie hurried to leave, hoping that Cora was too occupied to spare any time.

"Cassie? What happened? You're starting to scare me with your weird behavior!" Cora said, blocking Cassie's way.

"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine. It is just that I'm sort of busy right now," Cassie replied sternly. She looked pale and her voice was stiff. It was obvious to Cora that something was amiss.

Cora let out a sigh of frustration. She couldn't miss this opportunity of talking to Cassie.

"Do you have a minute? We need to talk!" Cora said. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Cassie's hand and dragged her to the opposite direction.

Everything happened so quickly that Cassie didn't get a chance to react. Yet she struggled to free her hand, but Cora's grasp was strong.

In this working environment, she didn't have the courage to scream. The last thing she wanted was to create a scene in front of everyone. She stumbled along with Cora until they got to the roof of the building. Once they reached an open area, Cora released Cassie from her grip. "What do you want to talk, Cora?" Cassie asked as the cool breeze caressed her hair. Even now, she was hesitating to have eye contact with Cora.

"What do I want to talk about? There is a lot I want to talk about Cassie! I can't hold this any longer. I've been watching you all the time. Your delights, your sorrows, your hesitation and your suffering have all been noticed by me. How can you expect me to not see it?!" Cora retorted back in a high pitched voice.

Such a strong reaction left Cassie confused. She couldn't understand what was happening. She wracked her brain and tried to figure out the reason behind Cora's rage.

"Cassie, go ahead and break up with Nick if he doesn't make you happy. You have no obligation to date him. I believe you deserve someone much better!" Cora explained.

Now Cassie's puzzlement intensified. Her mouth was wide open with shock. She had never expected that Cora would say such a thing.

It would have made sense if Cora was here to put in some good words for Jordan. After all, they were bonded by blood. As of now, Cassie was her good friend. If a relationship was formed between Cassie and Jorden, then they would become a family. But the mere thought of it brought traces of anxiety on Cassie's face.

"Why do you care? That is my private life," she questioned in a low voice, devoid of any emotion.

In the past, Cora had never intervened in her personal life. But recently, there was a sudden shift in her behavior. She has gotten extremely bossy.

"Please don't get me wrong, Cassie. I am doing it only because I truly care for your wellbeing," Cora went ahead and explained. "Do you remember the time when our male colleague asked you out? No matter how hard he tried, you refused to go on a date with him. After many failed attempts, he dropped the idea and married someone else. Later everyone came to know he was going after two girls at the same time. When he realized you wouldn't give him a chance, he trapped another girl. When I asked you whether you'd known it before, you told me that your instinct guided you.

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Cora took a small pause to calm herself down. In a gentle voice, she continued, "Cassie, now answer my question. Are you blind because you're in love? Can't you see what I am seeing? Look what has happened to you. This withered and pale girl standing in front of me is not the confident, independent and bight Cassie that I know!"

After hearing this speech, Cassie was utterly shocked. She had no idea how to react.