There was a trace of melancholy and sadness in her absent-minded eyes as she clenched the bedsheet tightly. There was also a slight redness at the corners of her eyes.Seeing Rosalie's expression, Sebastian had a hunch as to why she was distracted. He lowered his eyes; after a faint dimness flashed in them, he raised his head again, but this time with a smile."Alright." Sebastian stood up and reached out to her. "Come on."Rosalie snapped out of her daze and lifted her head to look at him, puzzled. "What for?""I'll support you. What if you fall?"He spoke naturally, as if he was just talking to a good friend. It was informal and free of any other meaning."Oh." Rosalie reacted, and realized that she had involuntarily thought of Theodore again. She felt annoyed with herself. She tried to banish the words "Theodore Spencer" from her mind, and gave Sebastian her hand.Sebastian helped Rosalie up from the bed, after which he held her arm and led her out of the ward. When the two
"Because I know how you feel. Your whole family despises you, you have no status at home, and no one invites you to any celebrations. You're practically being driven out, so you're clinging onto Theodore for dear life. Marrying him is your only way out, your chance to hold your head high, and perhaps even to get back at the Zellers!"Every single detail of Cynthia’s life was completely exposed before the man.Cynthia gritted her teeth, and said word by word, "Who exactly are you?" The man smiled. "I am your father’s illegitimate child—your brother."Cynthia was thunderstruck."What did you say?!""I said, I'm just like you. I'm not accepted by anyone. Your father had an affair back then, but after my mom gave birth to me, he abandoned me. We're both children of the Zellers, so why should I suffer outside alone? That's why we have the same goal. I'll help you get a heart, and when I need your help, you must help me too. Both of us will benefit from it."Cynthia hadn't fully regi
Meanwhile, Sebastian escorted Rosalie back to her residence. There, Rosalie poured him a glass of water. "Seb, thanks for bringing me back.""You’re welcome. I've already called someone to drive your car back. It should be here soon.""Okay, thank you." Rosalie thanked him again."Don't be so polite with me. I should be the one thanking you." Sebastian stared at her deeply. "If it weren't for you, I might have ended up in the hospital today.""I just did what I could," Rosalie humbly replied."No, what you did wasn't a small favor." Sebastian's gaze warmed even more. "You exerted a lot of effort. Even though you're pregnant, you stayed up late for me. I really feel guilty. I'd rather take a beating."If anything happened to Rosalie because of this, he would never forgive himself."Don't say that." Rosalie's tone was gentle and composed. "We're friends, so let's not be so polite.""What can I do to repay you? You name it, I'll do it." Sebastian was eager to do something for he
Sebastian’s mind went numb upon seeing how enthusiastic Rosalie was at pairing him and Lily.Her excited expression was a rare sight. Yet, he had to witness it in this context.“How about this,” Rosalie suggested, as yet another idea came to mind, “ask Lily out, and all four of us will head out for a meal.”“The four of us?” Sebastian asked. “Which four?”“You, Lily, Vonnie, and me,” Rosalie said. She looked straight at Sebastian, as if questioning the delay in his train of thought.“The four of us together?” Sebastian was confused. “But why?”“If you ask her out for a meal just between you two, it’ll look too much like a date. But if you and some friends ask her out, that makes things different. What’s more, with some ladies around, she’ll feel more relaxed. Didn’t you say that she recently broke up?”Sebastian said hesitatingly, “Yes…but will this really work?”The thing was, Lily didn’t even exist. He had made her up, so how was he going to ask her out? “Why are you so hes
Sebastian saw Rosalie’s eyes dim; he wanted to say more, but his phone rang before he could speak.His father was calling him to deal with that project again. Geoffrey wanted him to come right away, as the personnel involved were already waiting for him.Sebastian didn’t want to leave just yet. However, Rosalie, knowing the situation, urged him to attend to company affairs first.After bidding her goodbye, Sebastian left her house.Not long after his departure, she received a text. There were only two words in it: [I’m sorry.]It was from Theodore.Rosalie furrowed her brows, doubtful. Why did he text her that for no apparent reason? She replied to him with three question marks. Theodore texted back. [The day I took the incoming call, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I just forgot about it. I’m sorry I upset you.]Rosalie shook her head, feeling helpless.She was taken aback by Theodore’s severely delayed reaction, what with his apology coming so belatedly. The last tim
Rosalie thought Theodore would be upset with her text, and that they might end up fighting again. She mentally prepared herself for that to happen. She even prepared many responses to him to retaliate.To her surprise, he replied very quickly.[Alright, I won’t say it anymore if it upsets you. Just tell me in the future if there’s anything you’re not happy with. I’ll change.]Rosalie wondered what the occasion was today. She even checked the calendar. Today wasn’t April Fool’s Day and not any special occasion, either. It was just another ordinary day. Why was Theodore being so yielding? He was acting just like a well-behaved puppy.That’s right… That was the best way to describe him right now. All he needed to do was to whimper for attention.Theodore sent another text that read, [Rose, eat well and sleep well. Please don’t torment your own body. And…thank you.]Rosalie became even more confused. [Thank me…for what?]Theodore sent her a cheeky-looking emoji. [For the things
Before she could send the text, a call came in. It was a foreign-looking number.Rosalie answered the call. “Hello?”A mature-sounding voice of a middle-aged man greeted her. “Ms. Young, it’s me.”The voice sounded very familiar, from someone she just heard today. It was clearly Sebastian’s father, Geoffrey.Rosalie’s mind buzzed. “Mr. Carter?”Geoffrey’s voice sounded peaceful and courteous, a stark contrast from how cold he had sounded when talking to Sebastian.Rosalie thought she must have heard him wrongly. Why did Sebastian’s father sound so calm and kind?Geoffrey seemed to have sensed her surprise over his sudden call, and explained leisurely, “Don’t worry. I’m not calling to reprimand you.”Doubtful, Rosalie asked, “How may I help you, then?”“Is Sebastian still with you?”“He’s left. The moment he received your call, he went off to work.” Then she added, “He’s very hardworking and very outstanding, for that matter.”“It seems you regard him highly,” Geoffrey said l
“You’re not as insignificant as you claim to be. Since you know President Harper, why don’t you introduce us? Skycrest might need to take a loan or two in the future,” said Geoffrey. Rosalie finally understood the reason behind his call today. It was none other than for corporate interest.“To be honest, Mr. Carter, I’m sure an enterprise as outstanding as Skycrest would have many banks fighting to give it a loan. There’s no need for you to look for a bank, not to mention asking someone insignificant like me for help on that,” Rosalie said firmly. For someone like Geoffrey Carter to look her up for an introduction with a bank president, something fishy must be going on. There was clearly an unknown reason behind this—one that Geoffrey would certainly refuse to say.“That’s true,” Geoffrey said, “but the choice always goes both ways. There’s no loss in getting to know the president of a bank. Could you help me out, in light of the fact that I didn’t punish my son on your account t