In the next following weeks, Adrian just doesn't know how to stay away. He called me the next day I had a dinner with him. And then the day after that. And then a few times a day, every day.

We haven't seen each other, though. We went for a morning coffee once, but that was all. I understand he's busy and he understands that I still needed some time away from him to see if I can do this again.

Turns out, I can. Either I'm too dumb for my own good to trust this man enough, but this is the man I love and I can't just turn around and walk away from him, especially when he's so persistent and tries so hard. Because he's really trying.

I get flowers from him a few times a week. Roses mostly. Sometimes roses and sunflowers together. And he texts me a lot. Sometimes, it feels like I'm back in high school when he dares to send me flirty texts that make me blush like a virgin. And other times we just talk about our days.

He throws in random questions sometimes like what colour was my room back at home, what was my favourite toy as a kid, what season is my favourite one and so on. He's getting to know me. And I'm glad because in that way, I'm getting to know him, too.

There's so much of him he doesn't show to the world that he shows me. I see that now. Looking back at our time, I realise he was never really open or friendly with anyone. He mentioned he doesn't really have close friends and therefore it must be hard for him to trust another person.

I bet he's lonely. He must be. That made me wonder if that was the only reason he wants me back and I mentioned this to him, to which he reassured me that is not the case at all and that he hasn't thought about that at all. He said that he likes being alone and he chose to be this way. He values his alone time and he rarely gets the urge to share that alone time with anyone else so it took him by surprise when he wanted to spend every minute with me and learned how hard it is for him to stay away. His words, not mine.

I think I believe him. I have some of my fears, too, though. But they won't go away on their own. I guess I'll have to see how serious he means by giving him another chance.

One week after we saw each other over the coffee, Adrian shows up at the bar, completely unexpectedly. I'm talking to Thomas yet again. We created quite a friendship. He stopped asking me out, finally, and now he's just being friendly. He probably realised I'm not going to cave in.

But Adrian showing here now is ... not what I expected. Or even wanted.

"Adrian. What are you doing here?" I say, shocked when he sits down right before me. He eyes Thomas who's sitting on his left now.

Thomas looks at Adrian with interest, shifting his body towards him to get a better look. "This is your man?" Thomas asks me, still looking at Adrian.

I shift on my feet, uncomfortable. I watch as Adrian's eyebrow slightly lifts up. He stays quiet.

"Well, now I at least know why I didn't stand a chance with you."

I close my eyes, mortified. "Adrian, what are you doing here?" I ask the question that remained unanswered the first time.

"I wanted to visit my girlfriend." He grins, looking pleased with himself.

I feel Thomas's eyes on me and whatever he sees on it, must amuse him because he grins as well. Now both men are grinning like fools while I'm frowning.

Adrian turns to Thomas, extending his arm. "Adrian Welch. It's nice to meet you."

Thomas accepts his hand. "Thomas. Just Thomas." He once again looks Adrian up and down, noting his expensive suit, most likely. I want to die of embarrassment. I can only think of what Thomas must think of me now.

Adrian turns to me, then, his head cocking to the side. "If you don't come to me, I'll come to you, Cassandra. I believe that was my promise."

I look at him in surprise. "Adrian, please. It's not wise for you to be here. I have a lot of work and I can't talk. You should've at least mentioned to me that you're planning on coming here."

"You've been avoiding me."

"That's not true," I defend myself. "We talk every day."

Adrian leans over the counter a little. "Talk, yes. But we don't see each other and I can't take that."

I look at my co-worker and she looks at me back, her eyes wide. She thinks Adrian's a customer by the way her eyes go to him and get all wide. I get insanely jealous with no right to be at all. This is another reason why I don't want him to be here. "Okay, we can see each other somewhere else and some other time."

"Tonight?" Adrian asks hopefully.

I look around. The customers are waiting and Sophie can't take care of them all by herself. "Yes," I agree with Adrian's proposition.

"Excellent. I'll pick you up. Does 8 sounds good?"

I grit my teeth together. That bastard. He did this on purpose. He cornered me so I'd have no other choice. "If I have to dress up for some fancy restaurant, you can just go alone."

Adrian shakes his head to himself. "I know you better than that, Cassandra. Don't offend me. Eight it is then." He dares to wink at me and kiss my cheek.

He slaps Thomas on the shoulder as he turns around. "It was nice meeting you."

Thomas watches him in interest as Adrian walks away and then he turns to look at me, that stupid grin still on his face. "I don't really know why, but it's always funny to me to see how men act when they're in love."

"He's not in –"

Thomas doesn't let me finish. "Darling, he is. And you are, too. It would be unfortunate to go that to waste. You don't see and feel so much love radiating from many people, you know." Thomas shakes his head, looking down at his empty glass in silence. "Can I get another beer?"

I actually take just a few minutes more this time to get ready. Because, this time, I actually want to look presentable, at least. Adrian has seen me in the worst state possible, even when I started working for him. I don't even know why I thought if I purposefully looked bad, that would turn him off and he wouldn't want me anymore.

When Adrian appears at my door, I'm surprised yet again. He's not wearing a suit as I supposed he would. He's wearing jeans and a coat. And he looks to die for.

Maybe I should've taken just a few more minutes to get ready.

Adrian greets me with his infamous smile that makes me weak at my knees.

I wave at him, giving him a polite smile. He makes me nervous and I don't know why. We've done so many things together already, I don't think I should have any reason to be nervous around him.

"Good evening, Cassandra. Are you ready to go?" he asks me with his naturally deep voice.

He's on time, which doesn't surprise me. He's always tardy. "I think so. Where are we going this time?" If it were for me, we'd stay here, but I'm afraid where that would lead us so I don't even dare to propose that.

Adrian gives me his half-smile. "Not very far, actually."

I notice a champagne and two glasses in his hands. "Are we celebrating anything?" I wonder, confused. Neither of us has a birthday. Not that I know it ...

"I have high hopes that we will have a reason for celebration."

I look at him, blinking a few times, not having a single clue what he's on about this time. And a part of me is afraid to find out. "Pardon?" I ask, the confusion clear in my tone.

"Just come with me and we will see how this evening goes."

I step out of the flat and lock the door behind me. Adrian takes me to the stairs that lead up instead of down. "Adrian, the stairs leading down are on the other side."

"I know. We're not going down today," is his simple answer.

I frown, but I follow him nonetheless. "What's up there?"

"The reason this is one of my favourite buildings."

He takes me upstairs, unlocking the door when we come to the top. I'm already breathing hard, trying to hide in what a bad shape I am while Adrian looks more than fine.

I find out we're on the rooftop when we step outside and the cold air that the wind blows hits me, making me shudder. It's colder up here. But the view ...

"Díos," I breathe, walking to the ledge. The city lights are twinkling before my eyes, the car honking and the crowds of people indicating that the city is still very much alive at night as it is during the day. It's breathtaking. "I didn't even know about this. Otherwise, I'd come up here before. And often."

Adrian chuckles. He's right behind me. And that doesn't bother me, especially because I feel his warmth at my back. That actually comforts me. "No one can come up here. No one has the keys."

"Oh?" I slightly turn my head to the side. "Sometimes it comes in handy that I know such a powerful man, then."

Adrian's eyes crinkle at the corners. "Powerful? Not at all, Cassandra."

He is. But he doesn't seem to realise what power he has. Especially over people. Me, to be exact. I turn around to look at him instead, tilting my head back so I get a clear view of his face. "I missed you," I admit, showing my vulnerability and my weakness to him. I think it's time I admitted that to him, even though he already knows it.

He lets out a loud, long exhale. His hand appears on my cheek, his touch soft. "I missed you, too, Cassandra. So much. The house was so empty without your witty comebacks. I had no one to challenge me."

That brings a smile to my face. "Did you only miss me for my witty comebacks?" I ask jokingly. I started feeling relaxed with him once again, trusting him more and more. It's almost like we never ended things. It's almost like he never hurt me and I never hurt him.

But we did; hurt each other. A lot. And it was on us to choose if we want to forgive and move on or decide that what we did was unforgivable. I think we chose the right thing. No, I pray we chose the right thing. I want, more than anything, to make this work between us. I want us to be each other's it.

"I missed more than that." He slowly puts a strand of hair behind my ear. "You were so different with me. I saw two sides of you while you were working for me. The professional side of you or the side how you act towards strangers and how you were with me. And I am so damn glad that you were trusting enough to be that open with me and that you showed me who you are, not who you thought I wanted you to be. Don't ever, ever change that about you."

His words completely overwhelm me. He can bring my weak side out in just a few seconds. "I was thinking about the same think about you, you know." I lower my head. "I will never be able to be as polished as your wi– Katherine was. I don't have her grace, I'm afraid." My smile is sour and Adrian sees it clearly when he lifts my head so he can see my face again.

"I don't want you to be Katherine. I want you to be you. If I wanted Katherine, I would have stayed with her, Cassandra. I love you; it's best to believe other people will, too." Adrian shakes his head to himself. "How could they not? You amaze everyone when they see you. Your beauty, your brain, your sweet soul ... you're a whole package. Why are you beating yourself up and comparing yourself to someone you think is better than you? Having money does not make us good people, you know. And if someone has money, that does not make them better than someone who doesn't."

I put my hand on his chest, feeling the fine material of his coat under my palm. Adrian puts the champagne and the glasses on the ledge and looks at me again. "All I can give you is my love. And I truly hope that's enough because that's all I have."

Adrian lifts his hand and puts it on my neck this time. "That is all I want from you. That is more than enough for me."

I hope so. I really, really hope so.

Adrian takes my silence as some kind of a clue because he leans his head down, bringing our lips close and waiting just for a heartbeat to see how I'm going to react. My breathing gets uneven and my heart starts beating faster and when Adrian finally closes that small distance between our lips and kisses me, it feels like the butterflies in my stomach start having a wild party and my heart almost explodes.

His kiss is gentle and he takes time. We both take time, enjoying this moment. I think both of us feel relieved. And, most of all, joyful. Because things are finally right. They're finally how they should be. Well, not exactly, but almost. And I firmly believe that we're going to make it. Because we're two stubborn people who won't give up that easily.

When Adrian breaks the kiss, he has a huge grin on his face and I can't help but smile back. I feel so deliriously happy.

Adrian leans his head back, looking up at the sky, still smiling like a fool. "This is what dreams are fucking made of," he says, making me grin even harder.

Yeah. This is what dreams are really made of.

Adrian pops open the champagne, smugly looking at me. "I told you we'll have a reason to celebrate."

"You did, indeed, Mr Welch."

His eyes fall down to my lips when I say that and they darken. "Save that for later, Miss Duarte."

He fills the glasses with the bubbly liquid, giving one glass to me and keeping the other one to himself. He clinks our glasses together, looking me straight into the eyes. "To us, Cassandra. Because there's a bright future in front of both of us and I can't wait to experience all the great things with you by my side."

I'm drinking to that. 

Well. This is it, I guess. Some of you didn't want this kind of ending, some of you did. 

There will be no sequel or any extra chapters because I don't want to drag this story on any further. A short epilogue is coming on Friday (hopefully) or the next following days so you'll get a proper 'speech' from me then haha.