Chapter 229: Kya! Elder Sister Is in Love!
Later that evening, Annie arrived at Cassandra’s penthouse.
Talking about her elder sister’s love life through a screen clearly had not been enough. Annie had sent a message saying she was on her way, followed by three excited stickers and no actual question. Cassandra had replied with the entry code rather than waste time pretending she could stop her.
Cassandra was already sitting near the floor-to-ceiling windows when Annie entered the living room. A tablet rested on her lap, and thousands of city lights stretched out below. She had been looking at the same guild report for several minutes without scrolling.
Annie set her bag beside the couch and tried not to stare. She lasted less than a minute before leaning over the backrest and resting her chin on her folded arms.
"Elder Sister."
Cassandra kept her eyes on the tablet. "Yes?"
"You’re smiling."
"I’m reading."
"You can do both!"
"I am aware."
Cassandra looked perfectly calm, but the corner of her mouth had been slightly raised ever since they logged out. Annie narrowed her eyes and waited until she saw it happen again.
She gasped and pointed. "You did it!"
Cassandra finally looked up. "Did what?"
"That little smile. You’ve been making it this whole time."
"I had a productive evening."
"You called Night Espresso your baby with Martin!"
Cassandra’s smile deepened just enough to confirm it.
Annie slapped both hands over her mouth, but the squeal escaped anyway.
"Kyaaaaa!"
She dropped onto the couch, hugged a cushion to her chest, and kicked her feet behind her. Cassandra watched without interrupting. If anything, she seemed content to let Annie tire herself out.
Once Annie stopped wriggling, she lifted her face from the cushion. "You were so bold, Elder Sister!"
"I was restrained."
"You told him you wanted to be alone with him!"
"That was also restrained."
Annie slowly lowered the cushion. "That was you holding back?"
"Considerably."
"Kya!"
She screamed into the cushion again, then rolled onto her back and stared at Cassandra with bright eyes.
"What would you have done if you weren’t holding back?"
"That depends on how much restraint you expect me to remove."
"All of it."
"That would have been inappropriate."
"Elder Sister!"
"You asked."
Annie scrambled upright and tucked her legs beneath herself. "Tell me. Please."
Cassandra let her wait until she leaned so far forward that she nearly slid off the couch.
"I considered pulling him away from the others instead of merely taking his wrist," she said. "I also considered telling Alexandra to let go of him."
"Only considered?"
"She looked comfortable."
Annie blinked before breaking into giggles.
"I wanted to get him away from everyone, invite him here, and speak without an audience," Cassandra continued. "I also thought about telling him that the guest bedroom would be available whenever his work kept him too late to travel home."
Annie’s eyes widened with every sentence. "And?"
"And what?"
"You said you were holding back as much as you could. There has to be more."
"There was."
Cassandra placed the tablet on the side table. Annie’s hands flew to her cheeks.
"When he promised not to treat my trust lightly and then accepted the vice-leader position, I considered kissing him."
Annie toppled sideways into the cushions.
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
Her heels pounded against the couch while Cassandra picked up her glass and took a slow drink. The smile above the rim made it obvious that she was enjoying this.
"You wanted to kiss him!" Annie cried.
"Yes."
"On the cheek?"
Cassandra looked at her and said nothing. Color rushed into Annie’s face.
"Elder Sister!"
"You requested details."
"I didn’t think you would actually give them!"
"Then you miscalculated."
Annie buried her face again, but she could never stay quiet for long. A few seconds later, she crawled across the couch until she reached the end closest to Cassandra.
"You were beautiful today," she said.
"I am usually beautiful."
"I know! You’re always beautiful." Annie nodded so hard she nearly lost her balance. "But you were even more beautiful around Martin."
Cassandra set her glass down. "Was I?"
"Yes!" Annie shifted closer. "It wasn’t your avatar or the hairstyle I prepared for you, even though both looked perfect. It was your face. Your eyes changed whenever you looked at him. You kept trying to act calm, but you looked happy. Really happy."
Cassandra’s fingers rested against the edge of the side table.
"You looked less lonely," Annie added more quietly.
Even while Cassandra kept the family at a distance, Annie had spent years worrying about how much her elder sister handled alone. Cassandra made decisions for everyone, protected everyone, and rarely let anyone notice when she was tired.
Earlier that evening, she had asked Martin to stand beside her. Annie had heard the confidence in her voice, but she had also noticed how closely Cassandra watched him afterward, waiting for his answer even though she acted certain he would accept.
Annie’s smile softened. Her eyes began to sting, but she kept looking at Cassandra.
"You looked like a woman in love."
Cassandra stayed quiet for a few seconds.
"I see no reason to deny that to you," she said.
Annie made a tiny, breathless sound, then rushed across the living room.
"Kyaaaaa!"
Cassandra moved her glass aside just before Annie dropped to her knees beside the chair and wrapped both arms around her waist.
"You love him!"
"Yes."
"My elder sister is in love!"
Her voice filled the penthouse. Cassandra placed one hand on the back of Annie’s head, and the smile she had been hiding finally widened.
Annie squeezed her tighter. "You’re really in love."
"So it would seem."
"And he likes you too!"
"That still needs to be established."
"He stared at you!"
"He was surrounded by several women. His attention was divided."
"But he stared at you differently."
Cassandra smoothed Annie’s hair back into place. "How differently?"
Annie pulled away enough to look up at her. "He looked nervous, but he didn’t look like he wanted to escape."
"A low standard."
"For Martin, that’s progress."
Cassandra laughed before she could stop herself.
Annie’s whole face lit up. "You laughed! Kya, you’re so cute!"