Cassandra's POV

New Orleans, Louisiana

"Good morning.Welcome to Totally cute. How can I help you?" I said as two handsome young men walked in. One is fairly tall, dressed in a black tuxedo with black long hair that was properly arranged at the back of his head. Piercing blue eyes stare at me, almost daring me to look away. The other, who seemed like his butler, is a little shorter than his employer. He was dressed in a brown suit and had blonde hair. Both are undoubtedly handsome.

"Lucas, get something you think is perfect for Emelia so I can get out of this place."

Lucas walked up to me with a warm smile displayed on his face.

"Good day, Miss, I would like a ladies’ perfume. Which would you suggest is best?"

"Well, Sir, I'd recommend the “Sparkling Sky.” It is rose-scented and every woman loves it."

"Okay, I would have the sparkling sky. How much is it?"

"It's just five-thousand dollars." I packed the perfume in a small bag and handed it over to Lucas, who brought out his credit card and handed it to me.

"Thanks and I must say: you look dashing," I said with a smile plastered on my face.

"Oh, thanks, Miss." Lucas smiled and I saw his cheeks redden.

"Lucas, stop flirting and go wait for me in the car," The man in the black tuxedo instructed.

Lucas started walking out of the store, but then his employer turned towards me and said, "Let me give you advice, you stupid commoner: you talk too much and it irritates me and I don't think anyone else is going to like that either so do yourself a favor and talk less."

"With due respect, Sir, you have no right to talk to me in that manner." I tried my best to remain calm.

"You middle-class girl, I can talk to you however I want to." He smirked at me.

"Get out, you grumpy man. Rich men like you stink, and has anyone ever told you how egoistic and arrogant you are? " I was really angry now.

"I don't have much time and to waste it on a stupid commoner like you, I'd rather die," he said and walked away.

"Why don't you just die and go to hell?" I yelled from behind him.

I hate rich brats.

"Who were you arguing with?" Martha, my best friend, and colleague asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"It's just one arrogant fool who thinks he's better than everyone else ‘cause he's rich.' He said I talked too much. Can you believe that?"

"Well...I think he is right."

"So you're on his side." I sulked then Martha laughed aloud.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh Cass, you're such a baby. I was just pulling your leg. I just love it when you make that face." She continued laughing at me.

"You better get back to work before Mrs. Smith sees you lazing around."

Mrs. Katherine Smith, a fifty-two-year-old widow, was my employer. She. owns a small boutique in New Orleans, Louisiana, where I work as a sales attendant. She is a very strict woman and very hard to please. Sometimes, when I was newly employed, she always complained about everything I did. But in time, I learned to keep up with her nagging.

"See you later," Martha said and went back to her work post.

Martha is my best friend. We became friends three years ago when I started working at Mrs. Smith's boutique. She helped me a lot when I was newly employed, such as how to stay calm when I attended to snorty customers because I was very short-tempered. She has mud-brown hair, sky-blue eyes, and plump lips. Her face was dotted with freckles which only added to her unique beauty. She was of average height and very curvy in the right places. I've always envied her beauty. Martha is a man-lover; she fawns over any handsome man she sees. She has had a few heartbreaks in the past, but that doesn't seem to bother her. Nevertheless, I still love her.

After closing from work, I took a bus home since I did not have a car yet. Though I plan on buying one, and I have been saving up for my dream car: a blue Audi rs 7. I know it's expensive but I plan on buying it no matter what, I just love the car.

When I got home I knocked on the door since I still lived with my parents and I forgot my keys.

"Come in."

l walked in and was greeted with the aroma of mum's special macaroni, fried chicken, and cheese with cornbread.

"Welcome home, Dear. How was your day?" Mum smiled at me as I walked into the kitchen.

"It was stressful. Where are Dad and Jake?"

"Your dad is upstairs taking a shower and your brother is playing video games," Mum replied.

"I need to take a shower. I'll see you in twenty." I walked up the stairs to my room to take a shower. After taking a shower I changed into my nightdress and went downstairs for dinner.

"So how was work, Cass?" My dad,

Luis Valdez, asked.

"It's been stressful. Since Mrs. Smith seems to find faults in everything I do. She's a frustrated old woman," I huffed out with a mouthful of macaroni.

"Don't say that, Dear," Mum scolded.

"Sorry, mum," I apologized.

"Cassie, would you like to go on a trip to Andalusia for two months."

"Yeah dad, but i didn't plan for one."

"What a bummer." Jake stuck out his tongue at me in mockery.

"Stop that instantly, Jake." Mum scolded Jake. He her an apologetic look then went back to eating in silence.

"No need to worry about anything, i already made arrangements for that." Dad said.

"Oh my goodness, dad are you serious?" I replied.

"Yes, I am. I figured you work too much lately with little time to rest, so why don't you go somewhere far away and loosen up a little bit?"

"Okay, Dad, I would love to. So when am I leaving for Andalusia? " I asked.

"How about next week?"

"Next week is perfect. I have enough time to pack."

"Next week it is."

"Thanks so much, Dad. I love you so much."I stood up from where I sat and hugged dad.

"Love you too."

"Why can't I go on a vacation too?" Jake asked, ruining the moment.

“Because you have to go to school,” Mum swoops in.

The rest of the dinner is mainly filled with silence. While lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, my eyes remain open as they stare up at the ceiling in the darkness. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to close them and I can’t seem to calm down my racing heart. Endless possibilities of Andalusia flood my mind.

***

The next day at work, I decided to tell Martha about the trip to Andalusia. She was so excited.

"Oh my gosh Cass, that's great."

"I know, right?"

"You're going to have lots of fun."

"I wish you were there with me though," I made a sad face.

"It's your trip so enjoy it. Now stop making that sad face." Martha hugged me tightly.

"Okay, that's enough now. " I freed myself from her tight embrace.

"You might meet the famous prince Rodriguez, I heard he's very handsome." she wiggled her eyebrows at me.

"Prince, what makes you think I'll have any chance with the prince and I'm sure he is like other arrogant men who think they can get any woman they want cause they are rich and all that stuff." I rolled my eyes at Martha.

"Whatever, I have to go back to work now. I'll come over to help you pack," Martha said then she sashayed back to her work post.

Later that day Martha came over to my house to help me pack for my trip and I must say she is a pain in the ass when it comes to that.

"You need to take this." Martha shoved a glittering blue dress in my suitcase.

"No, I don't need to."

"Why are you being so unreasonable now Cass?"

"How am I being unreasonable? You are the one shoving irrelevant things in my suitcase, why would I need this? It's not like I'm going for one fancy event." I removed the dress and threw it on the floor with some other clothes I had rejected earlier.

"What's with the yelling, I'm trying to do my homework here. "Jake walked into my room and stared angrily at both of us.

"Sorry Jake, we'll bring down our voices."

"You better do." He stormed off to his room while mum walked into the room carrying two glasses of wine.

"Why are the two of you arguing and acting like babies?"

"Martha was putting irrelevant things in my suitcase. "I collected a glass of wine while Martha did the same.

"I was trying to help Mrs. Valdez."

"Okay, now stop fighting, you are disturbing Jake who is trying his best to be serious for once," Mum joked then we all burst into laughter. She sure knows how to lighten up my mood.

"I heard that," Jake shouted from his room then we all stopped laughing immediately.

"Oops."Mum smiled and walked out of the room.

After Martha and I finished packing we talked for a while before she decided to go home while I went downstairs to eat dinner looking forward to going on the trip to Andalusia, little did I know it was going to change my life forever.