Chapter 264: Surprise Performance

Scratching the back of his head, Charles turned over to look at Cassidy and quickly waved goodbye.

"I'll get going now, Ma'am Cassidy. Have a great day," he said, and she nodded.

With a smile on her face, she watches him walk away. She could see Adrian settle down beside her through the corners of her eyes. He then casually placed his arm around her neck and pulled her close to him.

"I'm guessing your talk with Edward is over, huh...?" she said with some sarcasm before letting out a sigh.

"When are you going to understand that Charlie doesn't see me that way? He just wanted to know how I was doing. I haven't talked to him in a while because I've been so busy. You shouldn't be rude to him. I can't believe you still get jealous of him."

"What...?!" he exclaimed, giving her an incredulous look.

"Look, I'm not jealous. I know that, and I get it. Really, I do. At least, in the present, he doesn't see you that way. Not anymore. I just don't like the way he looks at you sometimes - or how any other guy does it for that matter."

"You're so weird."

Cassidy giggled at him. She is almost sure that Adrian has already figured out that Charles has his eyes on Olivia for a while now, but it seems like it will take some time before he completely moves on from his silly belief that his secretary used to have a thing for her. 

"By the way, Adrian..." she began again, her voice getting a bit serious.

"Why did you get home late yesterday? You had your driver take me home without you, but you didn't get there until hours later. Why was that? What were you doing? You never got to tell me."

"Oh, yeah, about that..." he said, his voice getting a little serious too, before he turned to her so that he was looking straight into her eyes.

"I was actually going to tell you this morning, but I kinda forgot."

"What's going on, Adrian? Is everything okay?"

She stares at him worriedly, and in each passing second, she can feel her anxiety rising rapidly. He was able to notice this right away, having already known her more than anyone else, so he placed his hands on top of hers and gave her a look of reassurance.

Smirking, Adrian then went on to say to Cassidy,  "Everything is okay. Perfect even."

---

"Seriously, Adrian, where are we going?"

Cassidy looks at him from the passenger seat of the car. Adrian only continues to drive, smiling and humming, "It's a surprise."

He briefly glances at her before he stares ahead again. Pouting, she looks out of the window and says,  "You know I've had enough of surprises." 

So far, all she can tell is that they are in someplace she has never been at - the outskirts of the city, she is guessing. Here she thought she already knew this place very well. They've been driving for more than half an hour, and most of the buildings here look abandoned and unoccupied. 

"Say, you're not going to turn out to be a serial killer that takes his wife out to a creepy place and murders her, are you?" she humored him with an amused smile.

"You'll just have to wait and find out, my love," he chuckled darkly, mischief dancing in his eyes.

He then takes his hand that is not on the wheel and caresses her cheek. Giggling, she playfully smacks his hand away.

"Knock it off. Are we almost there?" Cassidy said, earning some laughter from Adrian.

"Yeah. Here we are."

He finally pulls over in the middle of a parking lot. She looks up and sees yet another one of those old buildings they just passed through on their way there. Even so, this appears to be in a better shape than the others. 

"Ummm... I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but this is really kind of creeping me out. What if it's haunted or something-"

She was cut off when a warm pair of hands rests on her lower back. Then, she was pulled into an even warmer body.

"Cassidy, chill out. I own the place. I bought this a long time ago. This whole place will be renovated soon, but before that, I want to show you what's inside it first. We have this entire thing to ourselves," he reassured her, and as she saw the smile on his face, she felt her heart calm down.

With that, she nods at him. He takes her hand and starts to lead her into the building. They get to the front door which he opens for her. She slightly flinches at the loud creak it causes.

"Sorry, this door has always been a pain in the ass..." Adrian apologized with a sheepish look while Cassidy only shook her head in understanding. 

"I haven't been here in so long."

"Really? Why?" 

"Because I never had a reason to go here. It was actually my father who wanted to get this place for some reason I never got to know. I kept it because I wanted to cherish his memory... Oh, watch your step."

He grabbed her waist then, lifting her up a step. This took her by surprise. She must have been not paying attention to where they were going.

"Well, this is it," he said a moment later.

Cassidy is not sure where they are. She wonders how Adrian can see in the dark so well while she can't even see a thing other than little outlines of things.

"Uhhh... Where is it? What is it? Huh?" she blurted out as she looked around, clearly confused.

He lets out a laugh, finding her irresistibly cute. She continues to scan the place until he suddenly leans down to her and gives her a quick kiss on the lips.   

"I had my piano brought here a while ago. To tell you the truth, I used to attend piano lessons when I was a child. I just stopped at some point and forgot about it until recently," Adrian confessed. 

"Why?" Cassidy asked, voice as small as a whisper.

"Because I didn't have a muse. I didn't know why I was playing, to begin with. But you, Cassidy... You brought the reason to me. Now, I have a muse."

She sees him smile then, but before she can say anything, he leans down again to press a long, slow kiss on her lips. Returning the gesture, she gladly wraps her arms around his waist and holds him close to her, never wanting to let go. She's so happy right now that it's unbearable. 

"Come on. I want to play for you..." Adrian started again after pulling away.

"I know you've already heard me play back in the party. But those songs were not really the ones I wanted you to hear."

"Okay…" Cassidy beamed, letting him lead her further in until she came up with something.

"Oh, wait, Adrian!"

"Hmm? What is it? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just want to say that I love you."

She felt him go still for a second - probably out of surprise. That did come out of nowhere. But he really should've been used to it by this point.

He spreads an affectionate smile and responds a couple of seconds later, "I love you too, angel."

She grins back at him, and he opens the door. That's when she catches sight of the all-too-familiar glint of a black grand piano. 

"How can you even play when it's this dark?" she asked,  still holding his hand.

He simply hummed before he flicked something on the wall. Then, the whole room lights up, bathed in a warm, golden glow. She looks up to find a huge chandelier above the grand piano. 

"Wow," was all Cassidy could breathe out then, struck with awe and wonder.