Chapter 113: Chapter 113: His Heart Softened Too

An unfamiliar emotion welled up inside him, stirring a tangled, bittersweet feeling.

Sebastian Hawthorne averted his gaze, suppressing the chaotic thoughts.

As he moved, the trash bag tightened, and oil from the leftovers dripped onto the floor.

"Ah..."

Cecilia Croft let out a sound of displeasure.

Only then did Sebastian Hawthorne look back and see the oil stain on the floor and the reproach in the eyes of the woman before him, who had been so gentle just a moment ago.

"Oil stains are hard to clean off the floor."

"Sorry," Sebastian Hawthorne apologized. "I’ll take care of it right away."

He said as he pulled out a few paper towels and went to wipe the floor.

Cecilia Croft froze for a moment, then spoke.

"I’ll wipe it up with some dish soap after I finish the dishes. You should go out for now, so you don’t get oil on your slippers and track it everywhere."

Sebastian Hawthorne stood up and raised an eyebrow.

’It feels like she’s annoyed with me.’

The trash bag filled with leftovers still in his hand, he said softly as he walked out of the kitchen.

"I’ll go take out the trash then."

Cecilia Croft nodded. "Okay."

Upon getting her response, the corners of Sebastian Hawthorne’s lips curved up slightly. ’This kind of life... it’s not so bad,’ he thought.

Cecilia Croft continued to focus on washing the dishes, not noticing anything amiss.

After she finished the dishes and wiped the table, she returned to the kitchen to deal with the oil stain on the floor.

Just then, a call came in from Ruby Croft.

Cecilia Croft answered the phone and continued wiping the floor while talking with Ruby about work.

Even though Ruby was the one who had called her, she remained mostly silent, leaving Cecilia to carry the conversation.

"Ruby, did the Quillan Family send an invitation to the Croft family?"

Cecilia had been bottling it up, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

"They did. All the moderately well-known families in Karthus received an invitation from the Quillan Family."

Just the engagement party alone was this grand; it was clear how much importance the Quillan Family placed on this marriage alliance.

"Are you going?"

The moment the question left her lips, Cecilia wanted to bite her tongue.

’I shouldn’t have asked.’

But Ruby’s reply was surprisingly prompt, without a hint of hesitation.

"Of course. Why wouldn’t I go?"

Cecilia’s hand holding the phone tightened.

"You don’t have to go if you don’t want to."

Her health was already poor, and Cecilia didn’t want her to go through any emotional distress.

Ruby’s voice was calm and elegant. "I have to. The ripples from selling you to Sebastian Hawthorne have been quite positive. The Quillan Family event is a good opportunity to make an appearance. We have to let those people know that our Croft family will make a comeback, sooner or later."

Her voice was light and composed, carrying the air of someone who could laugh off years of hardship as if they were nothing more than a light dusting of snow.

But Cecilia knew that deep down, her sister was not that calm.

"If you’re going, then I’m going too."

Ruby replied coolly, "You can’t. The invitation from the Quillan Family only has my name on it. The Croft family has no standing in Karthus. They only invited me. If I brought you along, they’d probably think our family can’t even afford to eat anymore and we’re just there to freeload."

Hearing her sister’s nonchalant tone, Cecilia just wanted to cry.

Ruby heard her choked sobs and tried to comfort her.

"Cecilia, I’ve already let it go, so don’t worry. Just focus on learning from Sebastian Hawthorne. We were classmates for years; there’s nothing wrong with his character."

If it weren’t for Sebastian Hawthorne’s secret help over the years, the Croft family would have collapsed long ago.

Cecilia started crying outright. "I’ll definitely study hard under Mr. Hawthorne, and then I’ll come back and lead the Croft Group to break through this siege."

Ruby gave a low laugh, offered a few perfunctory words to Cecilia, and hung up.

Cecilia was so worried about her that she had no choice but to message both Auntie Zane and Assistant Keller, asking them to help keep an extra eye on Ruby.

Only after receiving their replies did Cecilia finally put her phone away.

She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand and composed herself. She couldn’t let Sebastian Hawthorne see her crying.

After wiping the floor clean, Cecilia washed her hands and turned to leave the kitchen.

However, there was still some water on the floor. Her foot slipped, and with a cry of alarm, her waist slammed into the sink behind her.

Hearing the commotion, Sebastian rushed in and scooped her up. Before Cecilia could even get her footing, his own feet slipped.

Sebastian Hawthorne fell hard, his back hitting the floor. As he went down, he held Cecilia tightly.

Cecilia only heard the man’s muffled grunt as he cushioned her fall with his body.

Sebastian’s fierce heartbeat and her own frantic one seemed to merge together.

She blinked, recovering from the sudden incident, and struggled to get up.

"Mr. Hawthorne, are you all right?"

Sebastian Hawthorne took a few deep breaths to recover.

"I’ll live."

"But if you keep pressing down on me for another moment, I just might not."

As Sebastian spoke, his gaze drifted downward.

Cecilia froze, following his gaze down. She saw that in her panic, her knee was pressed against the top of his thigh.

She scrambled to push herself up with her hands.

"S-Sorry."

Just as she managed to push herself up a little, her hand slipped, and she fell back into his arms.

"Ngh..." The man’s voice was deep and hoarse.

Cecilia’s ears instantly burned hot, and she scrambled with her hands and feet to get off him.

But just then, the man lying on the floor grabbed her by the waist.

"Don’t move. Trying to take advantage of me?"

"N-No."

Cecilia shook her head, her face crimson.

’Even if I had ten times the nerve, I still wouldn’t dare.’

"There’s still oil on the floor; it’s too slippery. I didn’t clean it properly. I’ll clean it again right away."

She explained frantically, shifting her body slightly to the side so she wasn’t pressing down on him.

Sebastian Hawthorne released his grip at the right moment.

Once she was up, Cecilia quickly reached out to help him up.

"Are you okay, Mr. Hawthorne?"

Sebastian had just slammed his entire back onto the floor. She worriedly went to check the back of his head, afraid he might have damaged his brain.

’He’s already difficult enough to deal with when his brain is fine. If he’s actually hurt his head, his temper will probably be even worse.’

Sebastian Hawthorne let her check, not stopping her.

Watching her expression change from tense to relieved, and then seeing her sink limply to the floor beside him, his own heart softened.

"Are you hurt?"

he asked.

Cecilia waved her hand. "I’m fine. I think I just twisted my ankle a little."

Sebastian Hawthorne’s gaze fell to her ankle, and he reached out a hand.

The moment his hand touched her ankle, she sucked in a sharp breath.

’The injury isn’t as minor as she’s making it out to be.’

Sebastian Hawthorne let go of her foot and stood up.

Seeing the tall figure suddenly lean down in front of her, Cecilia’s heart jumped.

The next second, the man lifted her straight into his arms and started walking toward the living room.

Cecilia felt as if her heart had been taken over by two mischievous children, tossing it back and forth and not giving her a moment of peace.

Sebastian Hawthorne placed her on the sofa and crouched down to examine her ankle.

Cecilia quickly pulled her foot back.

"Mr. Hawthorne, I’m really fine."

Sebastian instinctively wanted to grab it, but worried he might hurt her, he quickly let go.

"Let me see if you’ve broken anything."

Cecilia froze for a second, covering her foot with her hands and blurting out, "It can’t be broken, right? I didn’t even hear a SNAP."

A muscle in Sebastian Hawthorne’s brow twitched.