Mr Black

6. Cassidy Amor

Five Years Later

Tuesday 16th July

Waking up first thing in the morning was the one thing Cassidy hated most in life. She would rather stay snuggled up under the warmth of her covers than risk the cold rain outside, which rattled against her bedroom window. Cassidy groaned and buried her head in her pillow, trying to hide her existence from the rest of the world.

Downsizing from Guy's luxurious penthouse apartment in London to a small, one-bedroom flat in Birmingham took some getting used to, and still to this day, Cassidy walked into her bedside table and stubbed her toe every single morning. But it was all she could afford during her five years at the University of Birmingham's Medical School.

After visiting Guy in the hospital five years ago, beaten, bruised, and on the verge of dying, she'd made the conscious choice to resume medical school and complete her degree. In case she ever came across a loved one in mortal danger, she would be able to save them. With the help of her father, Cassidy had hired a manager for her art gallery while she continued her studies in Birmingham. It wasn't London, like she had hoped, but it was the only university that had approved her spot on the course. Having graduated this summer as a junior doctor, Cassidy now wanted to move back to the capital and had applied for her foundation programme at St. Thomas' Hospital in London that was starting in September. Hopefully, if luck was on her side, she would be accepted into the programme. Her letter of confirmation would arrive any day now, and her heart jolted, worried that she would be rejected.

Cassidy's stomach lurched when Cubby padded his paws against her body, wanting his breakfast and a morning walk. She shooed him away, but he insisted and nuzzled his wet nose against her cheek and licked her face. She rolled over, ignoring his persistent cries for attention, but it didn't stop him from jumping up and down on her arm. He was never going to give up.

"Fine!" Cassidy huffed and swooped Cubby into her arms. "You win!"

Cubby wagged his tail as he wriggled within her arms and yapped as he played with her. He was an adorable fifteen-week-old black Labrador, and the best decision Cassidy had ever made was adopting him. She loved taking him for walks, he would help her to relax in the evenings, and altogether he was fun to be around and brought a smile to her face.

Cassidy dragged herself out of bed, hissing as she stubbed her toe on her bedside table. She fed Cubby and started getting ready for the day ahead of her. Ever since restarting medical school, she hadn't had a second to herself, and this was the first time she would have a break from the buzzing life of the hospital. It would be the last summer break she would have before starting her foundation year in September, and she'd decided she would make the most of it. Cassidy turned the radio on full blast and danced around the tiny kitchen as she made breakfast. Halfway through an extravagant hair flip that knocked the lampshade over, the song changed to Cherry Bomb's latest single. Cassidy dove across the room, crashing into the worktop, and slammed the radio off and pulled it out of the socket as a precaution. Her chest heaved, and Cubby pricked his ears up at her dramatic behaviour.

"Don't mind me." She patted Cubby on the head, and he continued eating. "I just don't want to listen to my ex-boyfriend's amazing singing voice."

Her heart struck a sharp chord, thinking about him, and she wondered what her life would have been like if she hadn't broken up with Guy. Her hands hugged the radio to her chest. She missed him so much it broke her heart. She couldn't even bear to listen to any of his music, knowing she would burst out crying. She bet Guy didn't even remember her. With fame and fortune wherever Guy went, he wouldn't have the time of day to think about his life before he became a rockstar. She was now nothing more than an insignificant part of his past. Why would he care about her? Cassidy let out a long sigh as she ate her breakfast, which consisted of burnt toast. Her relationship with Guy ended five years ago, so she shouldn't even care about him anymore. She'd even moved on and dated other men, although they'd never seemed to last longer than a couple of months. It annoyed her that Guy kept popping up in her head every waking second.

Cassidy cleared her plate and collected the morning post, shuffling the envelopes like a deck of cards. She stopped when she spotted the logo for St Thomas's Hospital. Her stomach churned, and she all of sudden felt sick. The letter felt too light. Did that mean she wasn't accepted? Dread overwhelmed her as she turned the trembling letter around, fearing the worst outcome as she pried it open.

Knock, knock!

Cassidy jumped, dropping the letters. She placed her hand against her fast-beating heart and steadied her rapid breathing. Who could that possibly be at this time in the morning? Cassidy swung the door open just as she yawned - not any ordinary yawn, but a big fat yawn where the entire world could see inside of her mouth. Her eyes shot open at the sight of a handsome man in his mid-twenties, dressed in an expensive designer suit, looking very unimpressed by her rude welcoming. Cassidy groaned. Fat chance of getting his number after letting him breathe in all of her morning glory. She hadn't even brushed her teeth yet. Gross.

"Can I help you?" Cassidy's face flushed red, and her hands began to sweat, feeling nervous around the smoking hot stranger. He had her swooning.

"Miss Cassidy Rosa Amor, I hereby formally invite you to attend the Darlington Ball this Friday on the 19th of July, hosted this year at the British Museum in London. Canapés will be served at seven o'clock." He spoke with a posh, pompous accent.

The man handed her a black envelope fashioned with a white bow. Without hesitation Cassidy snatched the invitation and ripped it open, skimming over the italic writing. Why would she of all people be invited to the Darlington Ball? It was like UK's equivalent of the Met Gala, and it was incredibly hard to get an invite unless you were associated with the royal family or an A-list celebrity, both of which she wasn't.

"Dress code is black tie, and don't forget to brush your teeth." He stuck his nose up at her with a snobbish tone of voice.

Well, if you didn't knock on my door so early, you wouldn't have been met with my morning breath, arsehole.

Anything remotely good-looking about him vanished down the ugly drain.

"There must be a mistake–"

"No mistake." He cut her off with the wave of his white glove. "This year's sponsor insisted on your attendance, hence the late invitation delivered in person."

"And who is this year's sponsor?"

"Ms Kingsley." The man promptly left before Cassidy could utter a word. The portentous dickhead mumbled under his breath about the vileness of the flat she lived in.

"Well, screw you too!" Cassidy slammed the door.

Ms Kingsley? Who the hell was Ms Kingsley? The name rang a bell, but the only connection Cassidy could think of was Annabel Darlington, the young woman who'd visited her art gallery on opening night. However, that night had ended in tragedy for Lady Darlington. Annabel had disappeared that same night, and to date, she still hadn't been found. Cassidy suspected the creepy fiancé Annabel was with had killed her when he found out about the love affair with the bodyguard.

The phone rang, and Cassidy picked up the letters she'd dropped earlier when the unusual snob knocked on her door. She frowned when her phone couldn't find an identification for the caller and wondered who it could be. She didn't recognise the number.

"Cassidy speaking."

There was a moment's pause.

"Cassidy, it's Mikey."

"Mikey?" Cassidy was breathless. He was her best friend, whom she hadn't spoken to since she broke up with Guy. It felt awkward being friends with him when she dated his brother, but boy did she miss him.

"How are you?" They exchanged pleasantries and caught up, reminiscing about past times.

Cassidy felt bad now that she had excluded Mikey from her life. He wasn't doing well at the moment. His current relationship with Noah was on the rocks because Mikey couldn't commit. In all fairness, Cassidy had to take Noah's side, since from his point of view, Mikey had been screwing around with his emotions and had broken his heart. Mikey's behaviour didn't help with Guy's spiralling down the rabbit hole, having relapsed on drugs and alcohol and refused to go to rehab. Even though their band was famous, it didn't have an excellent impact on their mentality. Cassidy felt guilty for leaving Guy. Would he have resorted to drugs if she hadn't left him? She couldn't think such thoughts. She'd left him for a reason. He'd lied to her, and from his recent behaviour, it seemed she'd been right about him being a part of an organisation that dealt with drugs and definitely not the Bank of England.

"As much as I love the catch-up, Mikey, what's really going on?" Cassidy's voice trembled. Why did she get the feeling it was about Guy?

"I'll keep it short," Mikey started. "Guy got caught driving while under the influence and had his license taken from him."

She'd hit the nail on the head. She knew Mikey's impromptu call out of the blue would come down to Guy.

"And how is this my problem?" She leaned against the wall and stared down at Cubby by her feet, who was waiting for his morning walk.

"Well, Cherry Bomb's been invited to the Darlington Ball this year. You would be doing me a huge favour if you could drive him down to London."

Cassidy blinked, perplexed by his request. She also found it odd that they too had been invited to the ball, but then again, the band was now world-famous, so it wasn't too shocking that they'd gotten an invite.

"But I live in Birmingham now–"

"That's the point. Guy's in Birmingham. He's meeting old friends."

Cassidy's heart leapt. Guy was in Birmingham. She didn't know he had friends in England's second city. She didn't know whether to be excited to see him again or nervous. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, she didn't want to see him again.

"Hell no!" A vein burst in her head.

"Please. We really need him at the ball. It looks good in front of the press. Otherwise, they will make up s**t about him relapsing."

"But he is relapsing!"

"Cassidy, please. I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't desperate." He sounded like he was crying for help. Maybe this was more than just taking Guy down to London. Mikey's soft tone made her realise that deep down in her heart, she needed to do this. She'd never said a proper goodbye to Guy. Maybe then she would be able to move on with her life. "At least meet with him before you make your mind up."

Cassidy weighed over the pros and cons of meeting up with Guy, and it all pointed to it ending badly.

"Fine, I'll meet with him," she sighed.

"Thank you so much! Guy said he would meet you at that little small café south of Birmingham Grand Central at nine o'clock this morning."

Cassidy frowned. Great help there, Mikey. There are loads of small cafés south of Grand Central.

"A name would help."

"Err... I think it's called Elle's Café."

Thankfully, Cassidy knew which café he was talking about. She went to that café often on the way to the Bullring Shopping Centre.

"Cassidy." Mikey's tone lowered. "You don't know my brother as well as you think you do. He's changed a lot since you last saw him," he warned. "Guy can be unpredictable at times."

Cassidy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He's more irrational than ever before, especially since you left him. So, be careful, okay?"

Mikey's warning of his brother did nothing but make Cassidy feel anxious. What had changed in the past five years since their split that Mikey had to warn her about him? Could Guy Black really be that bad?

"Okay, I'll keep my guard up."

He sighed. "Good. I'll see you when you arrive. What time do you think you will be leaving?"

"I had some things to do today, so probably one o'clock this afternoon. I'll see you later this evening."

They said their farewells, and Cassidy placed the phone in her pocket and fell down against the wall. What was she thinking? The last thing she needed to do was get caught up in Guy's drama. This would end on bad terms. She could already feel it. Cubby came padding over to her with his tail wagging at a hundred miles an hour and nuzzled up to her, wanting his walk. Cassidy smiled at her favourite boy, and all her worries disappeared. He was the ultimate therapist.

"Do you want to go on a walk?" He pricked his ears and began jumping around the room in circles and ended up chasing his tail.

"Come on, then. Let's go and meet Guy Black."