The next couple of weeks were very stressful and almost made me regret quitting college. Almost.
The pure process of having to speak to all my professors, the forms I had to fill, the legal and financial advice I had to listen to from my academic adviser, it was all so overwhelming. Everywhere I went, people were telling me to work through it, to not quit just yet, to take a hiatus instead. They told me of the financial stress I'd be going through, the difficulty of living penny to penny, off all the applications I'd have to fill out in search for a job and all the bleak prospects without a proper college education.
But through it all, my determination never wavered. College was not the choice for me, and I knew I needed to get out there and dip my toes into the real world. And even if the whole world refused to support that choice, I would still go through with it.
But luckily, I didn't have to go through it alone.
Harry remained by my side through every step of the way. Partially because he was the benefactor of my scholarship and needed to be part of the drop-out process, but mainly because he understood how important this was to me. He could see my determination and supported it, knowing that sometimes, no matter what people wanted you to do, you knew deep down inside what was best for you.
So for the following weeks, I relied on Harry's support, even whilst wanting to handle it myself. He offered to go with me to the various meetings, to help fill out all the difficult forms, but I kindly declined him. This was my own process, letting go of a dream I had fought for for so long.
– But I had another dream now, and I was going to see it through myself.
Standing in the registrar's office, I was filling out some of the last forms, reading through all the questions they needed me to answer. I was exhausted, mainly because last night, I had made the brave call to tell my mother that I was leaving college. She had blown up, had a full-on hysteric outburst and even went as far as to say she would never forgive me for throwing away my education. Needless to say, the conversation had ended up with her hanging up on me, telling me how disappointed she was.
That had led to some tears falling and needing Harry's comforting arms to bury myself in. He hadn't said a thing, but simply let me have my reaction and held me calmly throughout it. By the end, I felt drained and had fallen asleep in his embrace, but woke up in the middle of the night to find him still holding me. That almost made me cry anew.
I had understood my mother's rage, though. Honestly, I had even been prepared for it, but it still didn't lessen the blow. Of course, I hadn't told her the whole story of why I was quitting and what I was doing afterwards. I wasn't ready to tell her about my relationship with Harry yet, mainly because... I was afraid she would judge me there, too.
Moving in with an older man, not making a life for myself, but simply living off of his comforts.
I had no intentions of relying on Harry's financial comfort, however. I wanted to make my own way, but since Harry had offered that I come live with him, and I didn't want to be apart from him, I had accepted. And that would be the only luxury I would take from him. I insisted that the second I got a paying job, I would tip in on rent. I would share the burden of groceries and utilities and not be reliant on his family money to keep me warm at night.
"I know another way to keep warm anyway," Harry had whispered, before wrapping his arms around me and kissing me softly.
And that was all I needed. His understanding and patience had helped a lot, but after the blow-out with my mom, I was a bit emotionally drained, on top of the whole dropout process. That's why, as I stood in the registrar's office, filling out paperwork, I hardly heard anyone else enter.
"Miss Berry."
Her melodic voice felt like a mosquito buzz in my ear as Catarina suddenly stood beside me. Her high heels should've alarmed me, but even that I had managed to block out in my eager to be done with these forms. That meant I was now forced to endure her presence and translucent smile as I slowly looked up at her.
"Catarina," I sighed, turning back to my form after acknowledging her. I sensed her move a little closer, placing a hand on the counter I was standing by.
"I heard the news. Giving up so soon?" She said, furrowing her brows in a way that almost looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry it had to end this way. But I'm sure I, out of all people, can understand why you did this."
I paused my pen and quickly processed her words. Did she think I was quitting... to avoid Harry?
Pursing my lips, I had to bite down my smirk as I felt her move again, circling back around me.
"I'm glad you heeded my advice. I know it's difficult to understand, but... he is who he is," She told, as if she was the expert on him. "And it's very mature of you to realize that this is the right thing. I'm only sorry it's effecting your eduction."
"Yes," I replied curtly, still fighting my smile, "Very sad."
"If you ever need a recommendation, I'd be glad to help. I know you probably don't consider me a friend, given our past... but I wish the best for you, Cassandra. Truly."
Her voice sounded so convincing, I almost believed her. Perhaps in some way, she did wish me the best. That is, if the best was getting further away from the man she was still trying to con.
How disappointed she was going to be when she found out. But I wasn't going to be the one to tell her. That would ruin the fun.
"Thank you," I therefore smiled back as sweetly as I could. "That means, ah... a lot to me."
Catarina gave a smile that filled out her plump lips, and I almost believed that to be genuine as well. At least until her eyes flicked up to something happening behind me.
The door to the registrar's office went, and with a small gust of wind, I felt someone enter. I turned around automatically, and the flip my stomach did was astronomical as I saw Harry enter, wearing his coat and scarf.
The second he saw me there, a small smile slid onto his face, until he saw who was behind me. He looked at Catarina, then at me, and with a subtle shake of my head, I let him know what he needed to.
She doesn't know yet.
Harry caught my gaze, and with a purse of his lips, he walked deeper inside. "Miss Berry. Catarina."
"Harry," Catarina sung in that familiar way. It sounded comically friendly in my ear, as if she wanted to emphasize how great friends they still were—better than me and him. "How nice to see you again."
"If you say so," Harry deferred, walking up to the registrar's desk with a calmness exuding from him.
"I was sad about how we left things last time, though," Catarina continued, now completely ignoring me as she walked up to Harry and placed a hand on his arm, giving a sympathetic look. "Your mother is still upset. I think you should call her. You know, make amends."
"To what end?" Harry replied, giving her hand a dry glare. "She won't be happy until every building in the world has the name Devon strewn across it."
"That's not true, Harry. She simply wants the best for you," Catarina cajoled, as if he wasn't seeing things clearly. "She loves you and only wants you to have what you deserve."
"What I deserve..." Harry repeated slowly. Then, he surprised me by chuckling quietly, before suddenly moving.
Walking around Catarina, he stepped up to me. My eyes automatically widened when he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my temple, before looking down at my forms.
"Almost done?"
The look on Catarina's face. I wished right then and there I could've asked for the security footage just to replay it; her entire face morphed from confusion to shock, to pure mortification. Her luminous complexion turned a funny pale gray, and the always alluring gaze in her eyes turned into a flaccid bleakness. She looked between me and Harry, the pieces clicking together in her head. But just in case she needed the last push...
"Yes, just missing my signature," I replied, smiling up at Harry. "I'll be out in the car in a moment."
Harry smiled back, before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to my lips. I kissed him back and smiled warmly as he pulled back, giving my hand a quick clench. Then, with a final look at Catarina, who was still caught in shock, he gave a polite nod of his head.
"Do send my regards to my mother, will you?"
And with those as his final words, he stepped out, leaving a cold gust of wind to enter the room again.
I bit down my grin and finally turned to my forms a final time. I checked everything over, and with a final flick, signed my signature.
It was done; I was officially done with college.
With a beaming smile, I handed it to the secretary at the desk. Then, turning to Catarina who seemed to have entered a catatonic state, I gave her a sweet smile as well.
"So glad we talked. I'm happy you want the best for me," I told with as much sincerity as she had offered me. "Be sure to give your husband my thanks. After all, I couldn't have done it without him. Truly."
And with those as my final words, I left a speechless Catarina gaping hopelessly as I walked out as well, grinning from ear to ear.
I hadn't been lying, though; If it wasn't for Richard, I wouldn't be where I was today; He had wanted me to create a life — and that's exactly what I had done.
~~~
It took a couple of more weeks before things finally settled down. But during those weeks, a lot happened.
The news finally hit the papers about Harry and me. It was inevitable, even if we had tried to keep it quiet. For privacy reasons more than anything, but also since Harry was still teaching and didn't want any unnecessary rumors to spread around campus.
The papers were ruthless and unforgiving, calling me everything from a gold-digger to jailbait. Harry, of course, was only belittled for finally finding a girl and then choosing someone as young as me. He was called too good for me, but at the same time also called a fool for following the trend of dating someone much younger and perkier than himself. I was made out to be the fortune-seeking young bimbo, and I half-suspected someone we knew to be responsible. Of course we couldn't confirm this, but at the end of the day, we also didn't care. We hadn't let those papers get to us, but instead blocked out all the opinions and unwarranted judgement; We knew the real truth.
But as the end of fall came to a close, so did the semester. Harry's employment ended and so did the necessary pretense. I had stayed at Harry's town house while he finished his teaching, spending the time looking up different courses and classes to take, the best routes to get into senior care. I had sent out applications here and there and were mostly waiting to hear back. Most of the courses started in January, which was lucky since that meant I had plenty of time to meet the application deadlines. In the meanwhile, I had also taken up a small part-time job at the library, as a way of making some money whilst I waited.
But finally, it was time.
My heart was pounding with excitement as Harry, Giselle and Jean loaded up the cars with all of our packed stuff. It had taken about a day to pack up everything, clothes, items, all of Harry's work. But now, as the final bags were stuffed into the trunk and shuffled onto the back seat, I could finally feel a new beginning coming. The prospect of spending Christmas in Harry's mansion, surrounded by the woods and fields around it, excited me more than anything. When the snow came, it would surely look magical.
"That's the last one?" Harry asked Jean as he carried out a box full of kitchen equipment. All of Jean and Giselle's things were packed into one car that they were driving in, whereas mine and Harry's was packed into his. I waited up against our car as Jean nodded and stuffed the last box into the trunk.
"That's it," Jean announced, giving a sigh of exhaustion. "Next time, I'm packing less equipment. I did not even need the deep fryer or the second sauté pan."
Harry merely smiled while Giselle rolled her eyes and murmured something in French. Then, turning to me, Harry walked up to me and eyed me up. "How about you? Got everything?"
"Almost," I whispered, before standing up on my toes and stealing a quick kiss from his lips. "There. Got everything."
Harry chuckled and leaned down, planting a better kiss on my lips. He cupped my chin and lifted it up, before moving his mouth against mine, taking his time to melt me into his embrace. I folded completely and moaned back quietly, truly feeling the happiness begin to come back into my fingers and toes—the stress of the past few weeks leaving.
"Ready to go home?" He then whispered softly against my lips.
Fighting a smile, I lost wholly and surrendered. A grin the size of Texas lifted on my lips, and with a small nod, I gave him my answer.
Home.
Funny thing was, however... as Harry opened the door for me and allowed me to slide into the passenger seat, I couldn't help but think.
I already am home, I smiled to myself as Harry walked around the car, sliding into the driver's seat.
I was home, and I was never going to be lost ever again.
• • •
There. Happy now? Am I excused from the last book's ending?