Chapter 128: Chapter 128: What Should and Shouldn’t Happen, Will All Happen

When Cecilia Croft walked out of the bedroom looking utterly frustrated, Sebastian Hawthorne was already sitting at the dining table, waiting for her.

Seeing her, Sebastian Hawthorne called her over. "Come have breakfast first."

Cecilia Croft took a sharp breath, walked over, and sat down.

Sebastian Hawthorne smoothly retrieved the latest model of a phone from the side, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward her.

"My apologies. I was drunk last night."

Cecilia Croft silently gritted her teeth, then spoke.

"The phone isn’t what’s important. It’s the files and data on it."

Sebastian Hawthorne gestured for her to check the phone.

Only then did Cecilia Croft pick up the phone to inspect it.

All the data from her old phone had already been transferred to the new one.

Even the wallpaper was the same. All her files were there, and her SIM card was already inserted.

Cecilia Croft was stunned for a moment. "Did you go pick up my old one this morning?"

Sebastian Hawthorne looked down, cutting the steak in front of him, and said coolly, "Is that something I would need to do myself?"

Cecilia Croft: "..."

’Alright, that tiny spark of warmth I felt deep inside? SNAP. Just like that, it was extinguished.’

She let out an "Oh," and picked up her knife and fork. Just as she was about to start on the breakfast in front of her, Sebastian Hawthorne pushed his plate of pre-cut steak toward her and took the uncut one for himself.

Cecilia Croft’s grip on her utensils tightened as she stared at Sebastian Hawthorne warily.

’He’s being this nice to me?’

’Could it be poisoned?’

Sebastian Hawthorne noticed the suspicion in her eyes. He picked up his glass of milk, took a small sip, and said calmly,

"Not hungry?"

Cecilia Croft: "I’m hungry, but I’m also scared."

Hearing this, Sebastian Hawthorne scoffed. "You didn’t seem scared last night when we were in the same room."

Cecilia Croft answered honestly, "You were completely wasted. You were limp and had no strength at all. You couldn’t have done anything to me."

Of all her words, only one stuck out in Sebastian Hawthorne’s mind: "limp."

His face instantly darkened.

"Don’t you know that drunk men can act?"

Cecilia Croft: "So you were acting last night?"

Sebastian Hawthorne: "..."

’When did she get so good at cutting right to the heart of the matter?’

"I’m just telling you not to blindly trust other drunk men. It’s dangerous."

Cecilia Croft thought of the red mark on her neck from where he’d bitten her and nodded in agreement. "Yes, very dangerous. Like a dog."

Sebastian Hawthorne: "..."

After breakfast, Cecilia Croft volunteered to do the dishes.

Sebastian Hawthorne leaned against the kitchen doorway watching her. He brought up a few topics, but Cecilia Croft’s replies were all perfunctory.

"I have to go to the company in a bit."

Cecilia Croft nodded and replied naturally, "Okay."

Sebastian Hawthorne raised an eyebrow and added,

"I’m returning to Karthus tonight."

It was only then that Cecilia Croft reacted. She turned to look at the man standing in the kitchen doorway and said quickly,

"You said last night that you would take me with you."

"Did I? I seem to have forgotten." Sebastian Hawthorne turned and walked back to the living room.

Cecilia Croft quickly put the clean plates in the cabinet and hurried out of the kitchen after him.

"You did! If you don’t believe me, call Uncle Lloyd and ask."

Sebastian Hawthorne sat on the sofa, finding a comfortable position to lean back.

"I recall I had an additional condition, but you didn’t meet it. How can that be considered me agreeing?"

Cecilia Croft paused, thinking back carefully. Sebastian Hawthorne did seem to have mentioned an additional condition, but the atmosphere at the time had been too... intimate.

Her heart couldn’t quite take it, so when the phone rang, she had immediately gone to answer it, completely missing what his condition was.

Cecilia Croft sat down on the sofa, discouraged, her gaze full of grievance.

"Can’t you take me to the Quillan Family’s engagement party, just for the sake of me taking care of you all night?"

Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t answer.

Cecilia Croft scooted closer to him.

"Taking care of you isn’t part of my job description. That was extra..."

Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t like her distant tone. He immediately raised a hand, cupped the back of her head, pulled her closer, and kissed her on the lips.

This was the additional condition he hadn’t been able to voice last night.

His kiss didn’t last long. It was as light as a dragonfly skimming the water’s surface before he quickly pulled back.

The touch was soft yet searing, impossible to ignore.

Cecilia Croft’s mind went completely blank.

Even when Sebastian Hawthorne said this was his additional condition, her brain was still frozen.

She stared blankly as the man on the sofa stood up, reached out to ruffle her hair, and then said,

"I’m heading to the office. The flight is tonight. I’ll come pick you up after work."

Cecilia Croft didn’t know how she responded. By the time she returned from Sebastian Hawthorne’s place to her own office at Vantage, his kiss was still replaying in her mind.

He hadn’t been drunk. It was a sober kiss.

Cecilia Croft’s thoughts were a mess. She sat in her office chair, unable to calm her turbulent emotions for a long time.

It was at this moment that Jude Sheridan barged into her office.

He ignored Big Mason’s attempts to stop him, acting like a madman.

"Cecilia Croft, who was that man last night? What did you two do?"

"We haven’t broken up! I never agreed to break up! How could you find another man?"

His questioning gave Cecilia Croft a headache. She said impatiently,

"Since when do I need your permission to break up?"

"When you were screwing around with Jessica Keller and knocked her up, did you bother asking for my opinion?"

Jude Sheridan froze, his eyes filled with hurt.

"Cecilia, you’re punishing me, aren’t you? Because I got with Jessica Keller, you found a man to get back at me, right? Tell me nothing happened between you two."

Cecilia Croft couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

"You’ve got some nerve. You think I’d find another man for your sake? Of course it was for my own pleasure."

"Get lost. Stop bothering me."

Jude Sheridan shook his head. "I don’t believe you! You’re not that kind of person."

’She couldn’t possibly have moved on that quickly.’

Seeing his pestering, irrational behavior, Cecilia Croft’s heart hardened. She tugged open her collar, revealing the mark she had carefully hidden.

"Last night, we did everything we should have, and everything we shouldn’t have. Everything that could have happened, happened. Want to see more? There’s more on my body."

The red mark on her pale neck stung Jude Sheridan’s eyes. As if dealt a heavy blow, he stumbled back a few steps.

Cecilia Croft averted her gaze, refusing to look at him. She simply looked down, adjusted her clothes, and hid the red mark once again.

As Jude Sheridan stumbled back, he bumped into someone entering the doorway. Filled with an anger he had nowhere to vent, he was about to lash out, but when he turned, he saw Sebastian Hawthorne standing behind him.

"Mr. Haw... Mr. Hawthorne, what are you doing here?"

Hearing this, Cecilia Croft looked up. Her gaze met Sebastian Hawthorne’s mocking, smiling eyes, and she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.