Chapter 85 Where Am I Supposed to Sleep?
Emilia’s POV
Caleb shot him a hard look. "Why do you speak like that? You are too disrespectful toward Miss Taylor."
I didn’t feel embarrassed. After all, being Henry Taylor’s daughter was embarrassing to begin with. That was no secret. Everyone in the circle knew. I was used to it.
So I just admitted it. "Yes, that’s my father. That’s him. You don’t have to save my face. He really is someone who fawns on everyone."
My honesty caught Jeremy off guard. He patted his chest and said, "Since he is your father, we will take care of him as much as we can in the future."
"Thank you." I gave a fake smile.
"By the way, why are you in the city?" Marcus asked curiously.
"I have a classmate who’s getting married. I’m here for the wedding."
"Oh, no wonder the Alpha made a detour. So that’s why. He came to pick you up."
I raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Aren’t you all just passing through? Isn’t it on the way?"
Marcus shook his head. "Of course not. We could have gone straight back to Silverlake City. But the Alpha said he had something to do in this city, so we all came with him."
I froze.
He made a detour just for me?
I opened my mouth. For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. Something in my chest softened, like it had been gently nudged.
I stood up and walked along the pool. The Alpha was still swimming, completely unaware of my presence.
"Hey, come up." I waved at him.
He gave me a quick glance. Then... he ignored me.
I raised an eyebrow. Oh, so he wanted to play it cool?
"Hey, come on up. Come up quickly." I kept waving, my voice getting louder. "Alpha, if you don’t come up now, I’ll jump in and drag you out myself. Do you believe me?"
Sebastian’s scowl deepened as I screamed at him across the pool. He swam over in a rush and snapped, "Were you a cheerleader in high school or what? You’re so damn loud."
I rolled my eyes. "As a matter of fact, I was a cheerleader. Every time I cheered, my team won. No matter the game."
"Yeah, sure. Keep patting yourself on the back. No one’s checking your credentials anyway."
He snorted and started paddling back to the center of the pool. I reached out and grabbed his wet arm before he could escape.
"Hey. Don’t go."
He looked down at my hand on his bicep, then back up at me with that insufferable smirk. "What’s the matter? Haven’t seen enough of my body yet?"
My cheeks burned. I yanked my hand back and shot back, "I’m here to catch you in the act. Adultery. You know, the thing you’re terrible at hiding?"
"Oh, right. I almost forgot." He pointed lazily toward the edge of the pool, where a woman stood next to Caleb. "See that woman over there? The one who answered your call. Go ahead. Fight her. You look like you could use a good scrap."
"Fight her?" I blinked at him.
"Aren’t you here to catch me cheating?" He raised an eyebrow.
"So you’re admitting it? That you’re cheating with her?"
"I’m not admitting anything. I explained everything on the phone. You just didn’t want to hear it."
"If you’d just said you were swimming and hanging out with your... riffraff... I wouldn’t have had to come all the way here."
"Why should I have to explain myself to you? You wanted to come play detective? Fine. Come. Play. Those guys are lonely anyway. By the way, what did you just call them?"
I swallowed hard. "...Nothing."
"Seventh Wife! Don’t just hog your husband. Come chat with us!"
Marcus’s voice boomed across the water. I ignored him and turned back to Sebastian.
"Get out of the pool. I’m tired. Take me to a room."
"If you’re tired, go to sleep. Why do you need me for that? Do you want to sleep with me?"
"I don’t know which room you’re in," I shot back.
His eyes widened theatrically. "Wait... You actually want to sleep with me?"
I wanted to dive headfirst into the water and drown. I forced the words out. "I don’t have my ID. I can’t check into a hotel."
"Where’s your ID?"
"With a... friend." More like stolen by Leighton Lind while I slept on the plane. That sweet, simple boy knew exactly what to swipe to trap me in Lakewood City.
"Then go back to your friend’s house," Sebastian said flatly.
"It’s midnight. I’m not waking them up."
"So if you sleep in my room... where am I supposed to sleep?"
"Oh, I don’t know. Maybe crash with one of your riffraff friends for a night?"
"Easier said than done. I don’t like women, sure, but I also completely don’t like men. So why don’t you..."
I cut him off before he could finish. "If you dare try to pawn me off on someone else tonight, I swear to the Goddess, I will strangle you."
He blinked. "What the hell were you thinking I was going to say? I was going to say, why don’t you ask two of them to share a room, and free up a spare one for you?"
He scoffed and looked me up and down like I was a sale rack item no one wanted. "And honestly? Do you think you’re some kind of treasure? Look at the women around them. Every single one is hotter than you. Curvy. Smooth. Plump like ripe peaches. Not a shriveled little bean like you."
I almost choked on my own rage. How dare he compare my figure to a shriveled bean? "Where can I get a bikini around here?"
He narrowed his eyes. "What for? Planning to embarrass yourself further?"
"The public has eyes. They’ll appreciate what they see. Unlike certain people who are blind to quality."
I lifted my chin and arched my back just a little.
"The public?" He laughed. "I never realized our dear Seventh Madame was so full of herself."
"I’m not full of myself. I’m confident. Learn the difference. Now stop stalling and tell me where to find a swimsuit."
"Forget it. You don’t have much dignity left. Spare yourself the humiliation."
That was it. That was the last straw.
"You." I pointed at him. "Get out of the pool."
"No."
"If you have any balls, come up here."
"I said no. If you have any guts, come down here."