She panicked like crazy. She didn't know what to do or how to act around her husband.

It felt weird.

This is what I was talking about, she thought with frustration.

What to do now? What? She couldn't possibly walk up to him and say, "Hey, I think I'm in love with you. No, I'm certain I'm in love with you. And I don't want to get that divorce we talked about. Is there any way we can extend it until we sort this out? What do you say?"

That was what she wanted to say, and that was what her mind had been shouting since that phenomenal moment of realizing she was falling in love with Philip Strindberg.

"Shit," she groaned, falling back in the bed.

"Cass?" Philip's voice called out from downstairs.

"What?"

"I need help up the stairs," he said.

She went to her feet and walked to the top of the stairs. He was standing at the bottom, crutches and all. "I thought your therapist taught you how to use that thing when climbing up the stairs?" she asked.

"Yes, he did. But I need help anyways."

God, he's killing me right now. "Just...just climb up. I'm busy."

His smiled disappeared as he peered at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she snapped too quickly. "I'm okay. I'm just tired with all that driving."

"What did Harrison want anyway?"

"He wanted to have dinner. I said no."

"Why?"

"Who would watch over you?"

"I can take care of myself."

"Like climbing up the stairs?"

He sighed. "Okay, fine."

She let out a breath and walked down to help him.

"What are we having for dinner?"

"I'm still thinking about it."

"You're still thinking about it?" he asked with amusement. "No offense, babe, but you only fry. What's there to think about?"

She stopped in her tracks and glared at him. "Do you want to know how it feels to stumble down the stairs before you even get to the first step?"

Philip chuckled but did not answer. "I'm hungry."

"I'll call for pizza. I can't cook right now."

"Why?"

"Because I'm tired. Remember I told you that?"

"Fine. Pepperoni for me."

"Sure." She guided him up the stairs and the moment they reached the top, she let him go and walked back downstairs. She could not stay upstairs alone with him.

"Where are you going?"

"Calling the pizza."

"You can make the call from up here," he said behind her.

"And I'm gonna start on some painting!" she lied.

She knew he was looking at her curiously, but she chose to ignore it. Yes, that was it. She would be ignoring him for now.

She had to think.

*****

In the days that followed, she made sure she did not spend a lot of time alone with him. If she did not face her canvas all day, she would invite any member of their family to come visit. Hope and Mary were her constant companions. Just like now, they were having coffee at the back of the house.

"I don't understand why you can stay confined in this house," Mary spoke, "it's too far away from the city, dear."

Hope nodded. "I agree. I understand that my grandson can stay here for eternity without going out, but you my dear, I admire you for it."

Cass smiled faintly. "I love it here. It's peaceful," she answered.

"Oh, well, I think it suits your artistic side," Hope said, sipping from her cup.

"Philip told me a long time ago when he bought this house that he was sure he would spend the rest of his life here," Mary informed them. "His father didn't like the idea of him working from home. It was actually the first time I saw him stand up for something where his dad was concerned."

Curious, Cassandra said, "I can't imagine Philip following orders."

"Believe me my dear, though I loved my husband, may he rest in peace, I didn't like how he treated my children."

Hope nodded. "That man was the total opposite of William."

"He dictated Philip's life. And I was happy when my son was finally able to fight. Oh, it was fun to see them start fighting." Mary chuckled along with Hope.

"Remember that girl he dated?" Hope asked.

"Yes, of course. Who was it? Tania?"

"Why? What happened?" Cassandra asked.

"Philip dumped her after he found out his father paid the girl to date him."

"That's impossible," she gasped. Who would have to accept money to date Philip? Anyone would jump at the chance!

"Believe me, it's true. I was mad when I found out," Mary explained. "Philip has never had a stable relationship ever since."

"And it shocked everyone when he announced he was getting married to you," Hope added.

"We have been prodding him to find someone and start a family. There even came a point that he would not join us for any affairs just to escape."

"When he announced his marriage to you, we all thought it was just something he cooked up to stop us from pushing women at his direction," Hope added. "But I guess we were wrong. He really did marry you."

Cassandra almost sputtered into her cup. "You suspected he was lying?" Cassandra asked in disbelief.

"Yes, of course!" Mary answered instantly. "I know my son very well and I know he would do anything just to have what he wants."

"What changed your mind?"

"When he brought you to meet us," her mother-in-law said with a sweet smile toward her. "We finally got to see the face behind the name. And we did not just see Philip the way he was toward you—we saw you together."

Cassandra didn't know what to say. She was dumbfounded. It was odd how Philip's family suspected he was lying but ended up believing his lies when they saw her. She must be a really good actress!

But then, just as suddenly, she felt an attack of guilt. There, sitting with her, wearing their happy faces, were two of the people she and Philip had been fooling. She didn't know if she could continue this charade she was having with her husband for a long time.

They don't deserve it, she silently uttered in her head. Since she met his family, she had been feeling guilty every time they met. But on the other hand, she doubted if she could make herself tell them the truth. If the time came that she and Philip would have to separate, she hoped they wouldn't hate her.

The thought of the apparent separation crushed her, the feeling being new to her. When the day came that she would have to leave, she would not only leave the man she loved—she would also leave behind an amazing family.

Hope was in the middle of saying something about William's health when Philip came out the door, and as if she was allergic to him, she shot to her feet—an instinct she had developed for almost a week now—and said, "I forgot I need to call Angelica about something," she didn't even know why she uttered Angelica's name, her statement pulling a frown from Philip.

Mary and Hope never thought anything of her sudden exit, but she was certain Philip was getting annoyed.

"Are you, by any chance, avoiding me?" Philip's voice right behind her made her jump with a curse.

"What are you talking about? Of course not," she cried out in one sentence.

He looked at her like he was studying one of his papers and he couldn't quite get it. "I know you're avoiding me. Why?" Standing there with his crutches, she was thankful. That way, he couldn't stop her with his hands. "Don't you dare walk away, Cassandra," he warned when she took a step back.

"I need to call Ange," she lied. Shit. She felt like a junior high student having an undeniably intense crush on an older high school guy.

"I know you when you're lying," her husband uttered matter-of-factly.

Really? "I'm not. I really have to call her."

He awkwardly took his phone from his pocket and handed it to her. "Then call her with this."

"Uh...it's private." The look on his face made her say, "Okay, I'll call her." And then, she slowly searched for Angelica's name and tapped the green button, looking at her husband innocently as she waited for the call to connect.

"Hello?" Angelica's voice was a whisper.

"Hey, it's me," she beamed, trying to think of something to say.

"Cass? I can't talk right now. I'm busy." And just like that, the line went dead. That was weird, she thought with a frown. Why was Angelica whispering? And she sounded nervous.

"So?" Philip broke her line of thought.

"She said she's busy," she said, handing the phone back to her husband.

"What do you want to talk about anyway?"

"It's a secret," she answered and started to walk away.

"And where are you going now?"

"I need to shower, I feel sticky," she lied once again though she was sure he knew she was only giving lousy excuses.

"We need to talk about this problem of yours, Cassy," he pointed out.

"Tomorrow maybe," she said over her shoulder. She had to really clear her mind and wrap her head around everything by tonight.

*****

But that night, she fell asleep in her room without bothering to try figuring out about her situation. She couldn't just ignore and avoid her husband for the rest of their months together because that would be stupid.

By morning, Philip was busy in his office which was a relief for her.

She was about to call Chanty for coffee when Harrison called her.

"Hey," she said with a smile.

"Just wanna check up on you," her friend said from the other line. "Want to go visit Dennis?"

"Uh, no. Sheena and Beth might be there and I don't want any more trouble."

"Well, as a matter of fact, I'm here with him and the two tigers are not here. They're out for a day or two. They started some new therapy the other week and it's looking good."

"Okay, I'll be there in an hour," she said without further hesitation.

"Want me to pick you up?"

"No, it's okay. I'll drive," she said proudly.

"You can drive now? Oh, yes. I remember you climbing out of the driver's seat the other day."

"Of course. How difficult can driving be? See you soon?" She clicked off before he could ask her if she already had a license. Of course she didn't.

She went to Philip's office and knocked.

"What?" his voice asked from behind the door.

Cassandra opened it a crack and announced, "I need to borrow your car keys."

His frown deepened. "Where are you going?"

"The hospital? I'm going to see Dennis." There was no use lying.

"You don't have a license. I'll go with you," he said, standing up and grabbing his crutches.

"It's okay. I can drive alone—"

"You are not allowed to drive my car alone for a month. You ruined my headlight," he reminded her as he took his jacket. "Let's go," he opened the door widely and walked past her—limped was more like it.

Humbly and like a puppy that was deprived of a cookie bone, she followed him out the door.

She didn't have any more excuse to give him so she went directly to the driver's side and waited as he sat himself beside her at the passenger seat. Amazing how the fear and the claustrophobic feeling were gone and she could breathe more easily. Well, not when her husband was just inches away.

"Why do you want to see him all of a sudden?"

She shrugged. "I just found out from Harrison that Sheena and Beth are not there. He said they started a new therapy of some sort the other week and it's looking good."

"But why do you want to see him?" His brows were already forming a straight line as he stared straight at the road.

"Because he might wake up?" she tried to jest. And I was hoping I could stay away from you for a little while.

He obviously did not find her statement funny. "You should get over him," he said more gently.

She did not feel too defensive because she understood what he meant. He thought she was still hanging on to Dennis. What a moron. If you only know. "I'm over him," were the nearest words to I love you she could utter.

"Then why the need to see him?"

"I got over my fear of driving or riding shotgun. Perhaps it is time to see if I can see him more often now. I still care for him, Philip."

"You feel responsible to what happened to him. And I also told you—among other people—that it was not your fault."

"I don't care. And Dennis was special to me—he still is special to me—and I couldn't just leave him like that."

He did not answer, his gaze not leaving the road. She could sense he was trying to control his temper and she knew she had to keep her distance and shut up. Any words about Dennis could make him burst in fury.

Did it mean anything? This anger he displayed over Dennis—did it mean anything?

When they reached the hospital, he followed her up to Dennis's room and into the room when he found out Harrison was inside.

"Hey," Harrison greeted her, completely ignoring Philip. Her husband, already used to having no conversational relationship with her friend, approached the seat near the door and settled down.

Cassandra wondered how he felt being in the same room with two men who were special to his wife, one completely asleep and the other standing beside her by the bed.

"He's still the same, isn't he?" Harrison smiled.

She just nodded, looking down at Dennis's face. She reached out to hold his hand.

"Hey, Den, we're here to see you. Glad your sister and your best friend are not here though, no offense," she joked.

"Hey, bro, did I mention to you she dumped me again?" Harrison said, giving her shoulder a light tap.

Cassandra threw her friend a look. It was weird to say something like that to Dennis.

She was about to sit on the bed beside Dennis when something weird and really shocking happened.

"Uh, Harry, is he supposed to be doing that?" she asked carefully, looking at Dennis's eyes. It was freaking open!

Harrison looked undisturbed. "Sometimes, coma patients open their eyes. It's some kind of a reflex. And they've been doing the procedures I told you about and he's been reacting to them positively," he explained.

Cassandra tried to ebb the hammering of her heart. That was scary! Dennis suddenly opening his eyes was the first time for her but apparently, it was not. Her thoughts halted as she felt something else.

"Uh, Harry, should he be able to grip my hand? Like he's really holding it?" she asked, looking down at her hand clasped by Dennis' pale one.

"Don't joke something about that, Cass, it's not funny," Harrison said with a snort.

"I'm seriously serious," she said with growing anxiety. "Oh my God, Harry, his hand is moving!"

With her words, she saw Philip stand up and walk near them with his crutches.

"What?" Harrison suddenly turned serious when he saw Dennis' hand holding hers, then he brought out a penlight and checked his friend's eyes. "Dennis?" he asked aloud. And as if he came out from nearly drowning, Dennis opened his mouth and a tiny raspy sound escaped his throat.

"Oh my God!" Cassandra cried out, jumping away from the bed. Her hands flew to her mouth as a single drop of tear fell from her eye.

Was Dennis waking up or was he dying? The two stupid questions erupted in her mind.

She looked over her shoulder at Philip, her eyes wide with alarm.

Harrison grabbed for the buzzer and punched the button to call the nurses. He was too excited to wait so he rushed out the door and called at the top of his lungs.

What was happening!

Cassandra jumped back to the side of the bed and covered Dennis's hand with both of hers. She looked into his opened eyes.

No, he was not dying.

She scoffed in disbelief and then she started to laugh, her tears running freely down her cheeks. She turned to her husband who was frowning with curiosity and seemed lost with what was happening and uttered, "He's awake! Philip, he's awake!"