"Do you really think I should back off and return with Cassandra?" Tony asked his brother, already in the kitchen, after a long after-dinner conversation.

"It would be the wise thing to do," Mike replied to the point. "I know it sounds horrible and unfair to Jeannine, but let's face it, Cass is the love of your life, and she was here first. Jeannine came in and took away what was hers. Now she's the wife with four kids, just like Cass was when their marriage ended, it's Jeannine's turn to feel what Cass felt then."

"Talk about poetic justice, huh?"

"Yeah, I don't want to sound cruel, but... Besides, Jeannine knows that you still love Cass right?".

"She doesn't know, but she figures, that's why she didn't want me to make this trip. Right now she must be thinking I'm not coming back."

"Well, don't. Send her a letter apologizing and stay here for a while, go out with Cassandra, talk to her, find out if you can really live without her."

"No, I can't do that to Jeannine." 

"I mean, I'd love to get back with Cassie, and I confess I got all excited and hopeful when we kissed, too, but at the same time I felt anguish because I know it can't be."

"Why not?"

""Because it can't. I can't just send Jeannine a letter to break up with her or tell her I'm staying in Starlight Shores with Cassandra. No, I have to see her, talk to her, be sure I'm doing the right thing." 

"Believe it or not, I’m happy with her. The time alone in France was idyllic, we have a beautiful family. I never felt so sure of anything until..."

"Until Cass broke up with Dean and became available again," Mike cut him off.

"Come on, Tony, this is what you’ve been waiting for. Perhaps such an opportunity will not come again. You know, I put myself in your shoes and I think what I would do if I lost Miranda... Well, I don’t think I could have survived that long without her, for starters, I would simply have died, but anyway, if I were you, I’d want to win back the love of my life at all costs".

"Sorry, Mikey, but I don’t think you can imagine yourself in my place."

Believe me, brother, there is still hope. Cassandra loves you and I'm sure she's waiting for you to find her and start over."

"I admire your optimism, Mike, and I understand it because life has always smiled on you, but I made mistakes that I don't know if I can ever make amends for. I insist, I don't know if Cass called me because she actually wanted to get back together with me or just to vent, or to get revenge. Or if he expected me to run and beat Dean up or something, which would mean she still cares about him."

"I don't think she cares about him anymore, and even if she did, Lothario hasn't made an appearance, which means one of two things: either he's back with his wife to stay, or he's not interested in reconciling with Cass."

"He'd be a fool not to want her back. He must be desperate, calling her over and over again, but knowing Cassie, she sure as hell won't answer the phone even if he calls her a thousand times."

"Better for you, right? Then you'll have a clear path."

 "I won't have any clear path until I go home, see Jeannine and find out if I'm capable of destroying what I've worked so hard to build with her over the last few years."

"Well, go there then, weigh the situation and decide."

Starlight Shores, at Mike and Miranda Langerak’s house...

During his trip to Starlight Shores, after visiting Cassandra at the Steele house following her breakup with Dean, Tony went to see his brother Mike, who invited him to lunch to catch up on recent events.

Tony told Mike how he had almost gone to bed with Cassandra in a moment of weakness. Mike thought it strange that his brother had not taken such an ideal opportunity to win back his beloved ex-wife. Tony explained that he hadn't wanted to go through with it because he couldn't propose anything serious to Cassandra, since he was now married to Jeannine. 

"I don't understand why you did that."

"Why I did what?".

"Marrying Jeannine when everyone knows you're still in love with Cass," Mike replied. 

"True," Tony replied, "But I also have feelings for Jeannine."

"Not what you feel for Cassandra."

"Maybe not, but I love her too, and besides I thought I owed her after so long together. We already have four children, three of them are just babies, they need me." 

"You also have four children with Cassandra."

"But they don't need me anymore. Simon, Daniel and Jessica are all grown up now, they have their own families. Bradley will be leaving for college soon, and they all know I'll always be there for them, plus, it's not like Cassandra wanted to get back together with me. She looked happy with Lothario, she was going to marry him, for God's sake! If she asked to see me it was only because he cheated on her and she wanted to get even."

"Nonsense, I think she really regrets divorcing you, and she doesn't know how to ask you to come back to her. But anyway, it's your decision, bro, just keep in mind that this might be your last chance to get Cass back."

" You think so? How do I know she still loves me, that she's not in love with this Lothario character."

"Of course she's not in love with him, but she's proud and doesn't want to admit she was wrong about that guy. Besides, she called Miranda a while ago, told her what happened between you two. Miranda says she sounded excited, or rather, hopeful."

"Really? Wow, that's...  Anyway, I can't leave Jeannine now, I mean, we're newlyweds, we were honeymooning in France when Antoine called to tell me that Cass needed me."

"And you came running to see her, that must mean something."

Tony was speechless, what could he say, Mike was absolutely right.

University Life Makeovers

Three of my University Life sims makeovers. 

Esther Atkins

Gary Clyde

Eric Grimm

They all live in Starlight Shores now.

Richard Randall's New Look

Richard Randall is another premade sim from the University Life EP, which I made over of course. In my game he married Melissa Langerak, (Mike and Miranda Langerak's daughter). Richard is a Scientist, but he's also an alchemist and a wizard! He lives with Melissa in Starlight Shores. 

More about Richard in this blog post.

Kenneth Langerak

Kenneth, Jason and Reneé Langerak's youngest child.

Merlin Langerak

Este amiguito es Merlin, la mascota de Jason Langerak, ha estado en la familia por años, vio crecer a las hijas de Jason y Reneé, Josie y Katya; fue testigo de su divorcio, y también de su segundo matrimonio. Actualmente vive con ellos y los más pequeños de la familia, Christie, Chelsea y Kenneth. Merlin es un amigo fiel, y Jason no sabe qué haría sin él. Pueden checar un poco más sobre Merlin en este post.

Kurtis, Kamillah, Lillian,Tony and Mike

Kamillah Langerak is Tony Langerak's older sister, they both have a twin each. Kamillah's twin sister's name is Lillian, and Tony's twin brother's name is Michael, best known as Mike. The four of them have yet an older brother, Kurtis. Kamillah has been married twice, first with Bridgeport actor Matthew Hamming, with whom she had three daughters: Dahlia, Matilda and Serena. After Matthew's dead, Kamillah and her daughters moved to Monte Vista, where she met her second husband, Gino Ferrari, with whom she lives today. They have only one son for now, his name is Paolo.

Tony has been married four times, (yeah he's a non-committal sim). His first marriage was to Cassandra Steele, the love of his life.  They had four children. His second marriage was to Scarlet Martinez, from Del Sol Valley, with whom he had only one daughter, Nancy. (That happened in my Sims 4 gameplay. By the way, in that same game, Tony lived in Sulani for a while, where he had a fleeting romance with a mermaid Kalamainu and had a daughter with her too, Kayla). 

Back in Island Paradise (and in The Sims 3) Tony met and married Mia Azul, another mermaid, but they divorced shortly after. Currently he's married to Jeannine Lambert, a girl he had met years ago in Champs Les Sims and with whom he had a child already. Tony and Jeannine have had four children so far. 

Mike is Tony's twin, he's gotten married only once, to his beloved Miranda Cho and he has always been faithful to her. Mike and Miranda have always lived in Starlight Shores and they had three children: Melissa, Marilyn and Mark, all of them young adults already.

Tony and Mike are not identical twins and they live very far from each other, but they are very, very close, alike all the Langeraks. :)

Lillian is Kamillah's twin. Lillian got married once and forever with her darling Lil Bling from Bridgeport. They had four children and they live happily together as of today.

Kamillah and Lillian aren't identical twins either, but they love each other so much, and they adore their three brothers as well.

This is Kurtis, the eldest brother. Kurtis or 'Kurt' lives in Hidden Springs with his wife Amber Neville with whom he had only one daughter, Shantel. He has a son too, from a previous relationship with Becky Lack, a musician from Starlight Shores. Kurtis is a singer, Kamillah is an architectonic designer, Lillian is an actress, Tony is a writer and explorer, and Mike is an alchemist and businessman. 

That's all about the Langerak siblings.  The five of them, as well as their father Milton, are some of my favorite sims, specially Tony, (but you probably already noticed that). ;)

And that's all regarding the Langeraks, Milton's branch (for now).

The Last Goodbye - Part 2 (and Last)

"Sure you're gonna be okay?" Tony asked when he finally calmed down.

"Yeah, don't worry, let's move on and talk about something else, our son, for instance".

"Well, Bradley will stay with me until he leaves for the University, then he'll live on campus, and after graduation he'll decide where to go".

"Sounds good. Can I visit him sometime?"

"Er, well... I'd have to talk to Jeannine".

"Of course. She hates me, doesn't she?"

"She doesn't hate you".

"Sure she does, but I hate her too, so..."

"Cassie..."

"Sorry. Never mind, I'll see Bradley at my house, as usual".

"Now promise me you'll think of me".

"Always. Believe it or not, you are in mi mind all the time", Tony answered.

"Great. So, can I kiss you goodbye?"

Cassandra didn't have to ask twice. They both floated in the clouds for a moment, but this time Tony made sure not to get carried away.  It took all his willpower to stop, though.

"I should go now", he whispered.

"Please, don't forget me", she asked.

"Never", he answered, holding her tighter. "Bye, Cassie", he added, and left the bedroom.

Cassandra's smile faded, along with the strength she had been pretending to have in front of Tony, and she burst into tears. She loved him, desperately, but she had realized it too late and there wasn't anything to do about it. Or was it? Only God knew, but she rather not get her hopes up. It was better to accept that Tony was gone for good. 

Tony went out with his heart broken, literally. What should he do now? Should he be honest and tell Jeannine what had happened, apologize to her and continue with their marriage? Or should he go back on his word, ask her for a divorce and start a new life with Cassandra, the love of his life?  There was a dilemma, and he should solve it quickly. But, how to do it without hurting anyone? It was indeed an impossible situation, however, by the moment he left Starlight Shores, he had made his decision.

(Casa de los Steele: Stone Mountain Manor by pancake101)

The Last Goodbye - Part 1

Fortunately, Tony reacted in time.

"Tony? What happened?", Cassandra asked, as if she woke up from a dream. 

"Cass, forgive me, I..."

"I don't know why I did this, I'm so sorry", Tony answered, pulling back.

"God, no I am sorry", Cassandra said.

"No I am. No offense, but this isn't right".

"I know. And I take no offense, in fact it was all my fault".

"No, it wasn't".

"Yes it was, I provoked you with my talk, all those memories about our wedding night..."

"And I shouldn't have kissed you, but remembering that night and other nights together and how incredibly happy we were, made me lose my head".

"Well, I  kissed you too, so, in any case, we both are guilty".

"Yeah, well, that doesn't make me feel any better".

"Tony, please calm down. Seriously, it's fine".

"No, it's not. I came here to give you my support, and all I did was make you more confused. Heck, I am confused myself.

"Well, I'm not, my feelings are clearer than ever. And I'm not a girl, I'm a grown up woman, I can deal with it. See, when you arrived I was not well, but now I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. So you did give me your support".

"Did I?"

"Yes. Come on, hun, I know you've always liked drama, but..."

"Cause it is a drama for me, you  know? Now I will go back to Island Paradise thinking about you and what happened and feeling guilty for it".

"Is there anything you can do about it?"

"Like what? Divorcing Jeannine and marrying you again, you mean?"

"No, I suppose that's impossible".

"Not impossible, but... it would be complicated".

"I know, and don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm not saying I won't think about you day and night, or that I won't be crossing my fingers that something will change our destiny, but..."

"Cass, believe me, I want to be with you more than anything in this world, but in my circumstances..."

"Say no more, I understand. And I'm not asking you for anything. I wouldn't be that selfish".

(Thanks to @poses-by-bee for the Cuddle Sad Poses).

Second Thoughts

TWO HOURS LATER...

"It's late, your parents must be worried, maybe we should go downstairs and tell them that you're okay now? Plus, we've been here for almost three hours, you must be hungry".

"I couldn't eat now. I rather stay here a little more, if you don't mind".

"I don't. In fact, I'm not leaving until I make sure you're fine".

"Thank you", Cassandra answered. She kept quiet for a while, and then she sighed. "Do you remember our wedding, Tony?"

"How could I forget it, we got married on one of those trips to Egypt". 

"Yeah, you proposed marriage to me just out of the blue".

"And you said yes, which was a surprise for me, I had always thought you hated me".

"Hate you? Please, I was a fool for you, otherwise I would have never agreed to marry like that. I mean, in a vacation home, without a proper party and wearing that cheap wedding gown!"

"Come on, your dress was so pretty and you looked just beautiful".

"Liar. The dress was a trinket and so was your suit".

"But we had wedding cake, and we didn't keep those clothes on for very long anyway, did we?"

"Tony!"

"Sorry", Tony giggled.

"Mom was so furious when she knew I had gotten married without giving her notice".

"She had to forgive me, I was so crazy about you, I just couldn't wait".

"Neither did I".

"You know? Remembering those days makes me feel nostalgic. We were so young, and life seemed so easy", Cassandra pointed out.

"It was easy, until I ruined it", Tony replied.

"It wasn't just you. I did my part, I let pride get on the way". 

"You were hurt. I hurt you".

"True, but I loved you, I still do. I should've forgiven you and stay with you till the end, for 'better or for worse', like I promised in our wedding day".

"Cassie, please..."

"No, I mean it. What happened with Dean made me realize it, now I just wish you weren't married so we could be together again, like that night in Egypt... That was the most exciting, blissful night of my life".

"Was it really?"

"Yeah", Cassandra whispered, getting closer. Tony couldn't resist.

He kissed Cassandra, and she kissed him back. It happened so naturally, as if they had never been apart.

One thing led to another and next thing they knew...

(To be Continued)

Regrets

"And I left my poor baby boy alone in the Island, God, how could I?", Cassandra sobbed.

"Calm down, honey, Brad isn't a baby anymore, and he's not alone. He didn't even have to go with Simon, I picked him up myself and took him home. He was going to move with me anyway, so leave him to me and just try to rest, okay? Now I'll go to make you some tea".

"No. Don't leave, please".

Minutes later...

"Tony, are you mad at me?"

"Of course I'm not, why would I be?"

"For me being a fool. You warned me about Dean and the Lotharios, and I didn't listen to you".

"Ah, I was just jealous, I really thought Dean was a good guy, different from his father. And he must've loved you so much, or he wouldn't have gone that far with his lies. He was fascinated with you, and I can't blame him for that".

"You don't know how much I regret having turned you down. If I had come back to you, you wouldn't have married Jeannine and we will be together now".

"Cass..."

"Forgive me. I know it's silly to say that now, but as I remember how happy we were, I realize how much I still love you", Cassandra wept. 

Tony's heart sank. He still loved her too, with all his soul!

"I love you too, darling. I always will, I told you that".

"So, why can't we be together again?"

"You know wll why. I've made so many mistakes, that I cannot afford to repeat them, but, believe me, if I was single right now I'd stay here with you, forever".

"I know, and I'm sorry, I shouldn't say what I just said. God, what's wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you or with what you said. In fact, I feel exactly the same, but I have to do what's right, you understand, don't you, darling?".

"I understand, just please forgive me".

"No, you forgive me. I was the one who failed to you, and my punishment will be not having you with me you again".

"Oh, Tony, how I wish we could go back in time".

"So do I, Cassie, so do I", Tony whispered. He wouldn't admit it, but he had regrets too.

(Thanks to Bee for the amazing Cuddle Sad Poses).