Chapter 23

Chapter 23

BLAIRE

I didn't sleep a wink last night. I was holding back my urge not to put a

pillow on top of Sebastian's head while he was sleeping. How could he

sleep so soundly after the betrayal he committed last night?

It was six in the morning when I decided to get up and prepare myself.

I'm not really sure how I will be able to look him in the eye without

yelling at him. I soaked myself in a warm bath for at least half an hour

while thinking of ways to avoid him. I'm also planning to check a few

vacant spaces later for the business that I'm planning to put up.

I was thinking that if I have to settle back here, I can't just stay at home

and wait for my husband. I wanted to start doing something for myself. I

already did it in Hawaii. So, I was planning to do it here in New York as

well.

After I'm done taking a shower, I wrap myself in the bathrobe before

coming out of the bathroom. It was past seven in the morning when I

finished taking a bath. When I came out of the bathroom, I immediately

saw Sebastian sitting on the bed with a laptop on his lap. He lifted his

head the moment he heard the door open. A smile broke from her lips

as he greeted me.

“Good morning. You're up early. Want to have breakfast with me?” He

has been busy these past few days, and this is the first time that I have

woken up before him. Entirely because I didn’t get much sleep last

night. “I figure we haven't had much chance to have breakfast together

because of my work. How about we take a stroll and find a good

restaurant? What do you think?" he asked excitedly.

My face remained straight as I watched him speak. Is this guilt? Is he

feeling guilty because of what happened last night? That's why he was

trying to make it up for me.

“I have plans,” I answered coldly before going straight to the closet. I

felt him follow me inside the closet, but I made myself busy choosing

what clothes to wear.

“Are you alright?” I heard him ask.

But I didn’t bother looking at him before I answered. “I'm good,” I

replied as I continued to go through with my clothes.

“Are we okay?" he revised his question.

“Do we have any reason not to?” I asked him. I wanted to see if he's

going to lie about it or if he's going to come clean.

“I couldn't think of any. Is there something that I should be worried

about?” he asked innocently.

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Chapter 23

I shrugged my shoulders as I looked at him. “I don’t know. Is k*ssing my

stepsister in the middle of the night something that I should not be

worried about?” I asked him.

directly.

*H-How did—

“How did I know? Really? That's all you have to say. “I couldn't hold

back my anger anymore. G od knows how long I have been trying to

calm myself down since last night. But now, watching him try to act as if

nothing happened infuriates me.

He took a sharp breath. “I can explain, he started.

“Oh, yeah. Come on, explain to me how you wrapped your arms

around her waist so you could k*ss her properly,” I said sarcastically.

“Blaire, that's not what happened,” he denied.

Of course, no criminal will admit his crime.

“Oh, please. Spare me

nothing you can say with your lies, Sebastian. I saw it with my own

eyes. There's

nothing you can say that will make me believe that it was nothing. This

is different from what happened a year ago. Which makes me

reconsider that maybe you're lying as well when you told me that

nothing happened between the two of you in the hotel.”

“Okay, that's unfair.”

“No! You're the one who's unfair! How can you manage to sleep

soundly beside me after

you

k*ssed my sister?” I screamed in anger.

“Will you please hear me out?” he said in frustration. “Yes, I did k*ss

her last night.”

“Stop right there.” I cut him off. “That's all I need to hear. I don't want to

hear the rest. Now, if you'll excuse me, Please leave; I need to get

dressed,” I said coldly. I turned. around and went back to choosing my

clothes. I can still feel his presence behind me, but I choose to ignore

him. I heard him blow a sharp breath before he decided to leave.

I let out a sigh of relief once he was finally gone. I went back to

preparing myself. I decided to wear denim jeans and a white shirt. I

paired it with white sneakers so I would be comfortable as I walked

along the streets of New York. I scheduled a few viewings today, so I

wanted to be in my most comfortable clothes.

I tie my

hair up in a loose bun and put on a little bit of makeup. Once I'm done, I

look at myself in the mirror one last time before getting out of the closet.

I found Sebastian in the room the moment I stepped out. He was drying

his hair with a white towel, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around

his waist. If we were in different circumstances, I'd definitely jump on

him and pin him to the bed. But I'm too.

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Chapter 23

angry to even fantasize about that. I roll my eyes at him, disregarding

his threat about that specific action.

I headed straight to the door, but I was surprised when he suddenly

blocked his n*ked chest in front of me. I had no idea how he managed

to go there so fast.

“Get out of my way,” I told him, glaring.

“You're going somewhere?" he asked.

“None of your godd amn business,” I responded with a dead look in my

eyes.

“You're my wife, so it's my business to know where you're going,” he

insisted.

“I don't think you've got a say on this after what you did last night,” I

said.

He growled in frustration. I frowned as I watched him, as if he were

losing patience. He doesn’t get to do that. If there's someone here who

should be frustrated, it's me.

“Look, I know it doesn’t sound right. But I'm begging you: please listen

to what I have to say. After that, you can decide whether you still want

to get mad at me,” he pleaded.

I squinted my eyes, weighing the situation. I don’t want to make the

same mistakes that I did before. So this time, I'm going to hear what he

has to say. Then, I'll decide right after.

“Fine, I'm all cars.”

“I went to my office last night to work. I don't want to wake you up, so I

figure it's better for me to go out and work at my office. Even though I'd

rather spend my night sleeping than working, I have an important email

I need to attend to. And while I'm working, I receive a text from

Catherine. She threatened to hurt herself if I didn’t come and meet her.”

“I heard a lot of boo-h 00s, but nothing about the k*ss,” I said upon

hearing his explanation.

He took a sharp breath before explaining again. “She tried to k*ss me

to prove that I still have feelings for her.”

“And you end up k*ssing her instead. Great! I heard everything that I

needed to hear, I said sarcastically as I tried to leave by shoving him to

the side, but he was quick to hold both of my shoulders to stop me from

moving.

“Yes, I did k*ss her back because I wanted to know if my feelings for

her were all gone as well. I quickly realized that it was. I have no

feelings for her anymore. My heart fully belongs to you now,” he said

excitedly.

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“So you're telling me that until last night, you still had doubts about your

feelings for me?” I asked, arching my eyebrow. He tried to open his

mouth, but he remained silent. I can see the confusion in his eyes. He

probably hasn't thought about it until now. I sneered, “I thought so. “I

pushed him to the side so he would not block the door anymore. This

time, he didn’t resist.

I went straight downstairs only to find my father, Stacy, and Catherine

were all waiting in the living room. I looked at Catherine, and she was

looking at me, smiling. As if she were bluntly gloating about what

happened last night. My eyes twitched while I was biting my lower lip,

hardly just to calm myself down. I shouldn't let her off the h vook easily

the first time she tried to ruin my marriage.

“Oh, you're here. Where's Sebastian? Let's have breakfast together,”

my father said as he slowly folded the newspaper that he was reading

before I came.

“Sebastian is still getting ready. You can go ahead without me. I have

no plans on having breakfast here,” I responded coldly. I hate where I-

am now. My father is so sick that he can't handle any stress. That

means I also couldn't let him be aware of the conflict surrounding the

three of us. Despite my eagerness to rip that smile off Catherine's face

right now, I need to calm down..

“That's nonsense, Blaire. It's been a while since the last time we shared

a meal at the table. Come on, Stacy and Catherine have been busy

preparing this meal for us,” my father insisted.

“Dad—"

“Come on, let's go.” He didn’t give me a chance to decline. My father

immediately grabbed my hand and led me to the dining area.

The table was set the moment we stepped inside the dining area. I

couldn't help but arch my eyebrow upon seeing how much food was on

the table.

“Are we having our last meal? This looks like a meal enough for a

month,” I commented.

“Blaire...” my dad called my name with a warning tone.

“I'm just stating a fact, dad,” I said, shrugging my shoulders as I took a

seat on the passenger side of the power seat.

“Good morning, everyone.” Sebastian was greeted upon entering the

dining hall.

I didn’t bother lifting my head to greet him. I keep myself busy by

starting to put food on my plate. So, I was completely taken by surprise

when he suddenly k*ssed me on the lips in front of everyone.

“Good morning, love,” he said while his face remained inches away

from mine.

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I squinted my eyes at him as a warning, but he just smiled and planted

another k*ss on my lips before taking his seat.

“Let’s eat everyone,” Sebastian announced.

We were just starting to eat when Catherine quickly picked up the

coffee pot and poured some into Sebastian's cup.

“You don't have to do that,” Sebastian whispered to Catherine, but it

was loud enough for me to hear. He looked at me nervously, as if he

were hoping that I wouldn't make this a big deal.

Instead of making a scene, I smirked before lifting up my cup and

handing it to Catherine, gesturing to her to pour coffee on my cup as

well. Catherine glanced at the other people around the table who had

no idea what was happening between us. She then posed a fake smile

before pouring it into my cup.

I'm not sure if she’s doing it on purpose, but she deliberately filled my

cup too much, causing it to overflow. “Oh, my! I'm sorry,” she said as

the excess coffee from my cup. continued to flow. I was about to put it

down when she suddenly hit my arm, resulting in the hot coffee spilling

on her hand.

She shouted in pain as she immediately clutched her arm to her chest.

“Why did you do that, Blaire?" she said.

I frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about? I didn't do

anything.” I responded in surprise. I was shocked by her accusation.

Sebastian was switching his gaze between us. It was as if he was

weighing who's lying.

In the midst of intense scrutiny, I stood my ground, firmly declaring, “I

swear I didn’t do anything!” The weight of judgment pressed upon me,

but I refused to yield.

Stacy, the ever-concerned mother, sought to understand the situation.

“Catherine, what happened?” she inquired, hoping to unravel the

events.

Catherine explained, her voice tinged with victimhood, “I was just trying

to be nice, pouring some coffee for Sebastian. It seems Blaire got

jealous and poured hot coffee on my hand.”

“I did not!” I interjected, my frustration and disbelief driving my words. I

needed to set the record straight.

Seeking an impartial account, my father turned to Sebastian and asked,

“Did what happened?”

you see

Sebastian's gaze met mine-a mix of discomfort and reluctance. With an

audible sigh,

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he admitted, “I did not,” lowering his head as if burdened by the weight

of the situation.

“But that doesn’t mean I did what she accused me of!” I retorted, my

frustration. intensifying.

Catherine, attempting to diffuse the tension, interjected, “It's okay. It

wasn't a big deal, guys. I forgive her. I know she didn’t mean it. Maybe

she’s just mad. I understand.”

My incredulous response hung in the air, a blend of astonishment and

disbelief. Catherine's forgiveness felt like an unexpected twist in a

narrative I couldn't fully comprehend. The room brimmed with

unresolved tension, leaving me grappling with the aftermath of an

accusation that lingered around the dining hall.

Let's all take a deep breath. I'm sure it was just an accident,” Sebastian

suggested, trying to control the situation.

"Of course, it wasn't an accident! She did it to herself to make me look

bad!” I exclaim.

“Are you saying that I deliberately poured hot coffee on my hand? Why

would I do that?" Catherine denied it as she clutched her hand..

“Let me see that,” Sebastian said before grabbing Catherine’s hand.

“It's fine, Sebastian,” she said while trying to hide her arm behind her

back. “I don't want to get Blaire in trouble. It's really fine,” she added,

acting as if she were saving my ass. But she can fool everyone but me.

When Sebastian pulled her arm, we all saw how red her skin was

because of the burn. He looked at me, and his eyes were dark. “If

you're mad, place your anger on me,” he said coldly. “Let's put some

cream on your burn,” he said before pulling Catherine out of the dining

hall.

I found myself wrestling with a mix of emotions-frustration, confusion,

and a lingering sense of injustice.

J