Chapter 70 I Locked Her In
Sebastian’s POV
I didn’t look back.
I didn’t need to. I knew she was still standing there, frozen by the table, surrounded by those vultures. Jeremy was probably already licking his lips, thinking about how to claim his prize.
Let her see what kind of man she married. Let her understand that I wasn’t worth following.
I walked out of Royal Rose with my hands in my pockets, and the neon lights were shining. The city was still alive. Cars honked. People laughed. Somewhere, a woman was screaming at her boyfriend on the phone.
Normal people living normal lives.
And me? I was running from a woman who wouldn’t leave me alone, feeling like my chest was caving in.
Ryder stirred inside me. Restless. Angry.
"She’s our mate," he growled. "Stop this."
"Shut up."
The old wound was tearing open again. I could feel it — that familiar ache, right where my heart used to be. Three years since Abigail walked away with Damien. Three years since I watched them drive off together, and still, the scar hadn’t healed.
But tonight, something was different.
It wasn’t Abigail’s face that kept flashing in my mind.
It was Emilia’s.
The way she stood there, refusing to back down. The way she bluffed with nothing but a two and a five. The way she looked at me like she could see right through my bullshit.
"The farce is over, isn’t it? Time to leave."
Her voice. Calm. Cold. Like she was the one in control.
I hated it.
I hated that she didn’t cry. I hated that she didn’t beg. I hated that she just... stood there, taking it, like she’d been taking things her whole life.
What kind of woman does that?
I reached my car and pressed the unlock button. I got in, slammed the door, and sat there for a moment, gripping the steering wheel.
This is what I wanted. She’s gone. She’ll call her father tomorrow, pack her things, and leave. Problem solved.
Then why did it feel like I’d just lost something?
I started the engine. I was about to pull out when my eyes caught something in the rearview mirror.
There she was. Walking toward me. Step by step.
Her face completely blank, like nothing had happened. Like she hadn’t just been gambled away by her own husband.
That indifferent look. It made my blood boil.
I got out of the car, slamming the door.
"How did you get out?"
She stopped a few feet away. "I walked out."
"I’m asking why they let you out."
Her lips curved slightly. "I told them you were testing them. That you wanted to see if they’d really take your wife. And that if they did, they weren’t real friends."
I stared at her.
She kept going. "Jeremy almost had a heart attack. Caleb started apologizing. Marcus said you were a genius for coming up with such a loyalty test."
She tilted her head. "You’re welcome, by the way."
I let out a bitter laugh. "Emilia, you’re really something."
"And you’re really predictable."
I stepped closer, my voice dropping. "This is the last time I’m warning you. Stop following me."
She didn’t flinch. Just looked at me with those blue eyes.
I got back in the car, hoping that was the end of it.
The passenger door opened.
She sat down, buckled her seatbelt, and stared straight ahead.
I couldn’t help myself. "Has anyone ever told you you’re really annoying?"
"Yes. You’re telling me right now."
"I don’t think anyone will ever really love a woman like you."
She just shrugged. "Doesn’t matter. I never expected to be loved."
My foot hit the accelerator.
What could I say to a woman like that? She didn’t care if people hated her.
The drive back to the mansion was silent. I could feel Ryder pacing inside me, clawing at the walls of my mind.
"She’s our mate. Why are you doing this?"
"Because I don’t want a mate."
"You’re lying."
"I said shut up."
I pulled into the driveway at eleven. The house was dark. Everyone was asleep. The streetlamps cast long shadows across the lawn.
I killed the engine. Then I turned to her.
"Get out."
She reached for the door handle.
"But after me."
Her hand froze. She looked at me, confused.
I didn’t give her time to react. I got out, slammed my door, and pressed the lock button on my key fob.
The locks engaged.
I could see her through the window. She tried the handle. Once. Twice. Then her eyes went wide.
She started banging on the glass. Her mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear anything through the soundproofing. The car was a cage, and she was trapped inside.
I turned around and walked into the house.
The shower ran hot. Scalding. I stood under the water until my skin turned red, trying to wash away the guilt.
It didn’t work.
I dried off, threw on a shirt, and fell onto the bed. The ceiling stared back at me, white and empty.
I couldn’t sleep.
I never could.
I reached for the bedside drawer and pulled out the bottle of sleeping pills. Familiar. Comforting. I shook a few into my palm and swallowed them dry.
I never worried about taking too many. The year Abigail Tanner left, these pills were the only thing that got him through the night. Every night.
Don’t think about her. Don’t think about the wedding. Don’t think about the way she looked at Damien.
But when you try not to think of one person, your mind finds someone else to fill the space.
Emilia.
Her face appeared behind my eyelids. That steady gaze. That sharp tongue. The way she’d said, "I never expected to be loved."
I hated that I wanted to know why.
I hated that I cared.
The sleeping pills started kicking in. My limbs went heavy. My thoughts blurred at the edges.
And then I was dreaming.
"Don’t sympathize with me. I don’t need it."
It was my voice. Harsh. Defensive.
"I have sympathy," she answered. "But I have sympathy for what happened to you. Not for you as a person."
I saw her standing there. Arms crossed. Chin up.
"I don’t want to be with someone who pities me just because I was abandoned."
"Maybe you think you’re broken," she said. "But I’m not exactly whole either. I have acute claustrophobia."
Claustrophobia.
I woke up gasping, sitting bolt upright in bed.
Claustrophobia.
She was locked in the car.
I jumped out of bed, not bothering with shoes or a coat. I ran down the stairs, through the living room, out the front door.
The car was still there. Dark. Silent.
I pressed the unlock button.
The lights blinked.
The world stopped. My heart stopped.
"Emilia!"