Chapter 94 Fall for You?
Emilia’s POV
Sebastian froze for a fraction of a second. Then he chuckled.
"Fall for you?" He raised an eyebrow. "Do you think that’s possible?"
I shrugged, stirring my yogurt with the little plastic spoon. "I don’t think it’s possible."
"Then why did you ask?"
Good question. Because I was stupid. Because my heart was doing backflips in that elevator and I needed to ground myself. Because I needed him to remind me that this was all just... whatever this was.
"I can’t think of any other reason," I said, keeping my voice flat. "I’m used to you bullying me. You being nice to me out of nowhere? Something’s off."
"Didn’t I tell you before that I’d treat you well?" He kept his eyes on the road, hands relaxed on the wheel. "I haven’t bullied you since then, have I?"
"You literally almost drowned me in the swimming pool last night."
He grinned. "I was just messing with you. If I really wanted you dead, you’d be dead a hundred times by now."
I couldn’t argue with that. Unfortunately, the man was terrifyingly capable.
"By the way," he said, his tone shifting to something almost casual, "why do you have claustrophobia?"
My eyelashes fluttered. I didn’t expect him to circle back to that. "Why are you curious about my stuff? That doesn’t seem like something you’d do."
"Does helping you overcome your fear of elevators seem like something I’d do?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Exactly. You just don’t know me well enough. It’s not about what I’d do or wouldn’t do. It’s about whether I want to do it or not."
I stared at him for a moment. There was something frustratingly logical about that statement.
"I really don’t understand you," I admitted. "I don’t get why you’re nice to me sometimes, and other times you’re a complete ass."
I grabbed a piece of tart from the bag he’d thrown at me and took a bite. The sweetness melted on my tongue.
"Huh. This is actually good. I don’t usually eat stuff like this."
"Why not?"
"I only eat local desserts."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "You haven’t answered my question."
"What question?" I played dumb, taking another bite.
"Why do you have claustrophobia?"
"I was born with it."
He snorted. "Bullshit. No one’s born with something that specific."
"Then what do you think it is? Not everyone has a tragic backstory like yours."
The moment the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back. His jaw tightened. His knuckles went white on the steering wheel. The air in the car turned cold.
Okay. That was a low blow. Even for me.
We drove in silence for a while.
When we were about to reach the toll station, he tossed his wallet into my lap without looking at me.
"Take the money out."
I opened it and pulled out two hundred dollars. My eyes accidentally caught his ID card.
"Hey, when did you take this photo? You look so young."
"Are you saying I look old now?"
"No, you look mature. But in this photo, you look like a student."
I looked at it a little longer and noticed the date. "Hey, your birthday is coming up, isn’t it?"
His face went dark. Like someone had flipped a switch.
"Have you seen enough? Put it away."
I pursed my lips and closed the wallet. But I didn’t back down. "What do you want for your birthday? I’ll buy it for you."
"No need. I don’t celebrate birthdays."
What the hell was wrong with this man? I was trying to be nice. I replayed the conversation in my head. I didn’t think I said anything wrong this time...
We arrived at Silverlake City in the evening. The mansion glowed warm under the golden lights as we walked through the front door.
The welcome we got couldn’t have been more different.
Mila Simons rushed toward me, completely ignoring her son. "Emilia, darling! How was your trip? Was Sebastian a gentleman? Did he take care of you?"
"Mom." Sebastian’s voice was flat. "I’m standing right here."
"Good for you. Emilia, come sit. Tell me everything."
I shot him a look and let his mother pull me toward the living room.
But my mind was still stuck on his reaction to the birthday question. Something was wrong. Why wouldn’t he celebrate his birthday? Was it because of his mother? Maybe Mila wasn’t his real mother. Maybe he was a love child. Maybe he had the same kind of miserable childhood I did.
I spent the rest of the evening piecing together theories while nodding along to conversations I wasn’t really listening to.
After dinner, I was chatting with my in-laws in the living room. Titus Simons was telling me about the history of the Silver Moon Pack’s territory, and Mila was knitting something that looked suspiciously like a baby blanket.
Then the front door slammed open.
Tiffany stormed in, her face red, her fists clenched at her sides. She looked like she was about to commit murder.
"Where’s my brother?!" she shouted, planting her hands on her hips.
I blinked. "Uh... he should be in his study. What’s wrong?"
"I’ll tell you later!"
She stormed up the stairs before I could say another word.
I stood up, worried. "I should go check on her."
"Don’t worry about it." Mila waved her hand dismissively. "Those two fight like cats and dogs all the time. It’ll blow over."
"Really, it’s fine." Titus nodded. "Come, sit. You were telling me about the border patrol system."
But I couldn’t sit still. Something in Tiffany’s eyes told me this wasn’t just a regular sibling squabble.
I couldn’t help it. I followed her upstairs anyway.
"Brother! How could you do this to me?!" Tiffany kicked open the study door.
Sebastian looked up from his laptop, startled. "What did I do now?"
"You left Fynn behind on your business trip! You made him go on a blind date, didn’t you?!"
"Who told you that?"
"You don’t need to know! Just tell me if it’s true!"
Sebastian pressed his fingers against his temples and let out a long sigh. "Yes, but..."
"How could you?!" Tiffany’s voice cracked. "You know I like him! Why would you set him up with someone else?!"
She dropped to the floor, sitting cross-legged like a toddler having a meltdown.
"Let me finish," Sebastian said. "There was a reason. It was for a business deal."
"A business deal?! Are you kidding me? Fynn has worked for you since he was eighteen! He’s never let you down! And now you’re asking him to sacrifice himself for your stupid business? You’re heartless!"