He wasn’t dressed in a suit that day. Beneath a dark gray overcoat was a simple light-gray shirt, the collar casually undone to reveal the sharp line of his collarbones. Below that, the faint outline of defined abs was just visible, lending Sebastian an air of relaxed, almost reckless charm.
“Mr. Sebastian?”
Sebastian moseyed up, every step calm and unhurried. “I just returned to the country a few days ago, Old Mrs. Steele, and thought I’d come by to see you today.”
Sebastian was June’s child in her later years. Because she’d given birth at an advanced age, her health had suffered, and she passed away early. When June died, she wasn’t even fifty.
When Sebastian was born, Judith had even held him in her arms.
“Well now, if it isn’t Seb,” Judith said with a chuckle. “I can’t believe you’ve grown this much. If June were still around, she’d be so happy to see you.”
Sebastian raised his brows slightly. “Yes. When my mother was alive, she was closest to you. I came on her behalf to visit you.”
Judith studied Sebastian, growing more and more satisfied the longer she looked. If her son had even half of Sebastian’s capability, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.
“Rena, are you upset because of what happened with the car last time?”
Serena’s face flushed. “No, no. It’s not that. I thought you were someone else.”
She had simply mistaken him for Trevor.
Seeing how flustered her granddaughter looked, Judith quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “She wouldn’t dare. She merely assumed it was Trevor.”
The corner of Sebastian’s mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. “I see.”
They chatted for a while longer before Judith grew tired. She patted Serena’s hand, signaling for her to leave with Sebastian.
“I’ll come see you again in a couple of days, Grandma,” Serena said reluctantly.
“Good girl. Go on back. You don’t need to come so often. I know you’re devoted-just make sure you take good care of yourself.”
Serena walked Sebastian to the door, then excused herself, saying she needed to speak with the dean before leaving.
Sebastian lowered his gaze and let out a soft laugh. She runs pretty fast.
…
She added the vice dean’s contact information and changed her grandmother’s primary emergency contact to her own number.
When she reached the parking lot, she froze. The man who was supposed to have left was leaning casually against her car. Her heart skipped. She walked over, puzzled. “Mr. Sebastian, you haven’t left yet?”
“My car broke down. Would you mind giving me a ride?”
Serena glanced at his Maybach and thought to herself, Do luxury cars break down this easily too?
But she didn’t let it show and smiled instead. “Sure. Where are you headed?”
But the moment she got into the car, Serena received a call from Dakota Corwin, the secretary at Levine Studios. “Right now? I’m not sure I can make it in time. If it’s urgent, I can have a colleague go over to coordinate instead. Would that work?”
The contract with Levine Studios had been signed by Beaumont Legal-the firm’s team, not Serena personally. Even if she sent Shawn over to handle it, no one could fault that decision.
Dakota sounded hesitant. “Ms. Steele, could you come in person instead?”
“I really can’t today,” Serena replied. “I’m tied up.”
The service contract was only a little over ten days from expiring. Serena had already decided that if she could avoid Levine Studios, she would-so long as it didn’t cause them any financial loss.
“Alright then. Have Mr. Yonge come over instead.”
After hanging up, Serena immediately called Shawn to explain the situation. Only then did she remember there was still someone else in the car.
“Mr. Sebastian, where are you headed?”
Sebastian gave her an address. “Rena, did you have a fight with Trevor recently?”
“Yeah. More or less,” Serena replied evenly.
Sebastian was a Levine. She couldn’t exactly complain about Trevor’s faults right in front of him.
More or less? Sebastian studied her expression without giving anything away. No cracks at all.
Not wanting to continue the topic, she changed the subject. “So, how long are you planning to stay this time?”
“Probably… not leaving.”
Serena was a little startled. “Not leaving?”
He let out a soft chuckle. “What’s wrong? You don’t seem too happy about it.”
“No… I’m thrilled!”
…
That day turned out to be the fastest Serena had ever driven. She practically rode the speed limit the entire way, and still managed to drop off the man in the passenger seat in just half an hour.
“We’re here, Mr. Sebastian.”
Sebastian unhurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt and took out his phone, typing as he spoke. “Thanks, Rena. I’ll treat you to a meal another day.”
Serena forced a stiff smile. “Don’t worry about it.”
Only after watching him walk away did she finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Ding!
Serena unlocked her phone, and a notification immediately popped up. ‘SL transferred you 520. Please accept. Note: Thanks for the ride.’
Is it me, or does Mr. Sebastian like sending these weird, vaguely suggestive amounts?
This time, she didn’t accept the transfer.
Still, Sebastian’s chat stayed pinned at the top of her messages for the rest of the day.
…
After hearing Dakota’s report, Trevor’s expression darkened even further. He grabbed his suit jacket and stood up abruptly.
She won’t come, huh? Fine. I’ll go to Beaumont Legal myself.
…
Serena checked the time and decided to send her car in for maintenance, fixing up the spot that had been scraped earlier as well. She had barely arrived at the dealership when her phone rang.
“Serena, could you come to the hospital? Trevor got into a minor car accident while driving just now. I thought… at a time like this, he’d probably want to see you. Could you come over?”
The careful, hesitant tone instantly irritated Serena. “Amber, if he were in a car accident, the first person he should want to see is you. We already broke up. I won’t be going.”
With that, she hung up cleanly.
Amber stood in the hallway outside the hospital room, her heart racing.
Trevor broke up with her? She couldn’t suppress the curve of her smile. Does this mean I have a chance now?
…
Trevor had only failed to notice an electric scooter and hit the guardrail. He wasn’t seriously hurt-just a few scrapes and bruises. Amber happened to call at the time and insisted on accompanying him to the hospital, even alarming Bryce in the process.
“Trevor, what’s been going on with you lately? You need to be more careful when driving. Maybe you should let the chauffeur handle it from now on,” Nathan suggested.
Deanna, feeling sorry for her son, shot her husband a glare. “Staying overnight for observation is a good thing. They should run a few more checks-missing an injury could cause trouble later. Did you notify Rena, Trevor? This is a pretty big deal. You should have Rena come by too.”
Amber tightened her grip on her phone and walked into the room. “Mom, I already called Serena. But…” She glanced at the man on the hospital bed. “She said she had something to do and couldn’t make it.”
“What’s going on?” Deanna asked in confusion. “Trevor, did you have a fight with Rena?”
Nathan glanced at his son’s expression, then at the way his adopted daughter’s gaze lingered far too intently. “Honey, take Amber downstairs and help pay the hospitalization fees.”
She paused, then understood. She took Amber’s hand. “Come on, Amber. Follow me.”
…
Once only father and son were left in the room, he finally spoke in a serious tone. “Alright. Tell me-what exactly happened?”
Trevor pressed his lips together. “It’s nothing. She’s just in a bad mood. I’ll talk to her once I get home.”
“It’d better be exactly like you say.” Nathan looked at his son with a complicated expression. “You know your grandfather is very fond of Rena. Get the marriage license sooner rather than later so he can finally relax.”
Then, as if making a deliberate point, he added, “I’ll also arrange blind dates for Amber. Whatever thoughts shouldn’t exist, I suggest you give them up now. I don’t want any scandals coming out of this family.”
Trevor clenched his fist, then slowly loosened it. “Dad, that won’t happen.”
…
Serena hadn’t expected Amber to come looking for her in person.
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