Made of Steel

Epilogue. Made of Steel

 Cassandra Reid

I intertwine our hands in search of giving him some confidence and let him take his time to respond.

Of all the scenarios I imagined, this one never crossed my mind.

"I took a 'DNA' test...", he finally confesses, "but I never dared to read it. To this day it remains intact, kept under lock and key. At that time, I refused to know about it. I lost everything, Cassandra and my children were the anchor to which I held on to continue. Despite the extraordinary resemblance to her mother, Ella thawed my soul with a simple look. She was my daughter, period."

I tighten my grip on his fist to give him strength.

"She was the biggest victim of the situation. Both my children and I were hurt and we learned to heal between the three of us."

I go over to kiss his cheek and then lean on his shoulder.

"It's what family does," I comment absently. "You became a mother, a father, the center of their world just as you were theirs. And despite everything, you decided to hide the bad part of the story from them to give them a mother figure to love."

"It was the best for them," he shrugs, downplaying the matter. However, I cannot imagine how much such a decision must have cost him. "Then, regarding her attitudes, her gestures, the way she arched her eyebrows... she was riveted to me. Physically Ella may be identical to Stella, but in character she is undeniably a Di Lauro."

"She is," I confirm.

"And I don't need a stupid piece of paper to tell me," he points out possessively. "The three of us were fine alone..., or so I thought. Panic attacks began, teenage behavior in a six-year-old boy..., psychological therapies without much progress... Everything came together and my mother's insistence for finding me a wife, opened my eyes."

"That's where I come in," I chime in smiling as he kisses my head once more.

"That's where you come in. I refused to accept her candidates..."

"Even Carina?", I ask.

"Even her," he assures passing his thumb over my chin, "but I saw you and I imagined a whole future together. You came to change my world, Cassandra Di Lauro. I was looking for a wife who loved my children and I ended up finding a life partner ."

"Instead I wanted freedom", I reply "and I ended up finding it under your chains."

"That was very poetic," he smiles, his voice hoarse. We both find ourselves inundated with impending emotions.

"You're not far behind," I counterattack before launching myself at his lips.

"Was it a good story?"

"The best", I emphasize and then fall asleep, curled up in her body.

There are no longer contracts, nor a past that restricts us, there are no ties. It's just him and me, loving each other without barriers, without fear, far from prejudice.

The next week I spend locked in my room. They don't even leave me alone to go to the bathroom and so much harassing bothers me or overwhelms me in equal intensity. The children join me in their games, my friends along with the rest of the family give me turns and consent to everything while the hormones do their thing. Sometimes I cry with happiness, other times with sadness and a few times because of the bad mood I'm in charge of.

They treat me like I'm made of glass and I could break at any moment.

I step under the hot shower angrily and muffle a shriek into the water. They're worried and I understand, but they don't realize that they overwhelm me. I need to go out to breathe fresh air, take a light walk. I'm about to go crazy in these four walls!