Chapter 31

Chapter 31

BLAIRE

I keep on glancing at the wall clock, hoping that time will pass quickly. I

was supposed to meet some of my prospective suppliers for my

business, but I decided to cancel everything and stay at home to wait

for Sebastian. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to focus my whole attention

on our meeting when I was perfectly aware that my mind was glued

elsewhere.

I haven't consumed anything since this morning. I feel so sick to my

stomach that I can't hold back any food that I try to taste. My mind is

filled with anxiety, knowing that Sebastian is spending time with

Catherine right now. I'm afraid of its effect on our relationship.

I

It was already five in the afternoon when I saw Sebastian's car coming

down the

gate. was so excited to see him that I practically ran from our room to

the front door. But all my excitement quickly vanished when I saw him

entering the door as he pushed Catherine as she sat in her wheelchair.

My dad and Stacey were already in the living room, waiting for them.

“Welcome home, my dear!”

As they entered the door, Stacey's warm welcome filled the air. The

excitement surrounding Catherine's return was palpable, and the

atmosphere buzzed with joy. However, amidst the celebration, an

unexpected wave of isolation enveloped me. The contrast between

their shared enthusiasm and my sense of being an outsider cast a

shadow over my emotions.

Standing on the stairs, I observed the family reunion with a mix of

loneliness and longing. Their smiles and laughter seemed to create a

bubble of togetherness, leaving me on the periphery of the scene.

Despite my silent presence, it became evident that I was overlooked, a

feeling that intensified the sense of estrangement within my own family.

The distance between us, both physical and emotional, stretched like

an invisible barrier. I yearned for acknowledgment, a simple glance, or

a word of recognition, but their focus remained entirely on each other.

The stairs became a silent witness to my growing sense of isolation, a

space where I grappled with the unfamiliar feeling of being an outsider

in a place that was meant to be home.

The air between us hung heavy with unspoken tension as Sebastian's

eyes met mine. In that moment, a gasp escaped me, the realization of

something amiss settling in the charged atmosphere. His gaze, once

warm, now held a flicker of guilt that he couldn't conceal.

Chapter 31

The smile that had graced his face just moments ago vanished,

replaced by a subtle tightness around his lips. I watched as Adam's

apple bobbed, a visible sign of discomfort, as if a sudden dryness had

taken residence in his throat. The shift in his demeanor spoke volumes,

and the silence that followed echoed with unsaid words.

As Sebastian briskly withdrew his hands from the wheelchair, it was

almost as if he'd been caught in the act, his movements revealing a

sudden awareness of the perceived intrusion. A fleeting moment of

unease played across his features before he decisively stepped

forward, closing the distance between us.

“Hi,” he greeted me, his tone carrying a hint of awkwardness that

mirrored the tension. in the room.

“Hi,” I responded, my own greeting devoid of the usual warmth. The air

between us seemed charged with unspoken tension, the recent events

hanging in the silence like a heavy cloud. The space around us felt like

a battleground of emotions, with cach word carrying the weight of the

revelations that had unfolded.

As Sebastian stood before me, his explanation hung in the air like a

fragile bridge, trying to span the growing distance between us. The

revelation that Catherine had asked him to drive her home, despite my

silent observation, stirred a c ocktail of emotions within me.

“I noticed,” I responded, the words carrying a weight beyond their literal

meaning.

“You're acting a little bit cold; are you mad?” he inquired, curiosity

tinging his words. The question, innocent as it sounded, bore the

weight of unspoken tensions and the subtle shifts in our relationship.

“Do I have a reason to be mad?” I countered, throwing the question

back at him. The room seemed to hold its breath, awaiting the

unspoken truths to surface.

“Please don't make this a big deal. I was just trying to help,” he said.

Sebastian's plea hung in the air, a plea to defuse the tension that had

woven itself into our conversation. Despite his attempt to downplay the

situation, the room remained charged with unspoken emotions.

“I'm not making it a big deal,” I replied, my tone revealing the underlying

complexity of my feelings. The line between gratitude for his help and

the discomfort of witnessing a shared moment with Catherine blurred.

He sighed, a sound that seemed to carry the weight of the day's

events. “Catherine's been through a lot. She needed someone there.”

“And you needed to be that someone?” The question slipped out, laced

with a mixture of jealousy and a tinge of vulnerability. The room held a

palpable energy, as if bracing

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Chapter 31

for the unmasking of truths that lingered beneath the surface.

Sebastian's eyes met mine, and for a moment, the unspoken

exchanged a silent dialogue. “I didn’t want to leave her stranded. She's

your sister, for Pete's sake! Aren't you supposed to be the one who

should understand this better?”

His words resonated, yet the nuances within them stirred a whirlwind of

emotions within me. The invisible threads that bound us seemed to

stretch and strain, revealing the fragility of the connection we had built.

“I understand.” I reluctantly admitted, recognizing that there's no point

in arguing. It seems like Sebastian was just genuinely concerned about

Catherine as someone who has been a part of his past, but an uneasy

feeling lingered, signaling that our relationship had entered unfamiliar

territory after the day's complexities.

The room, observing our emotions, felt tense, longing for a solution.

Sebastian tried to clarify, but it felt like sorting through a maze of

unspoken truths and emotions. The night ahead seemed like a canvas

where our connection awaited reshaping based on understanding and

the choices we would make after the day's revelations.

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