Chapter 130: Chapter 130: If She Just Takes One Step, He Can Walk 99 Steps

Once the office grew quiet, Cecilia Croft sat stunned in her chair. The document in her hands was a complete blur.

Usually, she could immediately dive into her work, but right now, she couldn’t make out a single word.

She was staring blankly at the document, so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice Sebastian Hawthorne approach.

It wasn’t until a handsome face loomed large in her vision that she snapped out of it and quickly pulled back.

"You... weren’t you downstairs negotiating the price?"

Watching her flustered state, Sebastian Hawthorne casually pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down.

"The price was settled a while ago. Lawyer Gordon will handle the rest."

In truth, he didn’t need to be here at all today. He was just on his way to inspect a project site and had followed Lawyer Gordon up without a second thought.

For some reason, ever since she had rejected his offer to drive her to the office this morning and they had parted ways in the parking garage, he’d felt an unusually strong urge to see her again.

Under the man’s scorching gaze, Cecilia Croft managed a soft, "Oh." She felt like the office was suddenly warmer than usual, making her feel inexplicably hot and bothered, completely at a loss.

Seeing how utterly lost she looked, Sebastian Hawthorne’s lips curved into a smile. He spoke in a slow, suggestive tone.

"I drank too much last night and my memory’s a little hazy. But I’m not the kind of man who shirks his responsibilities. Since we’ve already done everything—both what we should and shouldn’t have—then..."

Cecilia Croft’s face flushed crimson as she hastily cut him off.

"I was just making things up! Nothing happened between us. Mr. Hawthorne, you hold your liquor very well. You didn’t do anything out of line."

’Other than that one bite on my neck, he really hadn’t done anything else too outrageous.’

The light in the man’s eyes seemed to dim slightly at being cut off.

"So you don’t need me to take responsibility?"

Cecilia Croft nodded furiously. "Since nothing happened, how could I ask you to be responsible? Besides, you were drunk and I was sober. If anything *had* happened, it would have been consensual. The question of responsibility wouldn’t even come up."

Sebastian Hawthorne: "..."

The light in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by his usual profound, inscrutable darkness.

Of course, Cecilia Croft noticed the shift in his mood. She simply lowered her head and played dumb.

When people feel awkward, they tend to feign being busy. She began randomly flipping through the stack of documents on her desk.

Sebastian Hawthorne watched her with a detached gaze, leaning back in his chair and mulling over her words.

"Consensual?"

’Alarms blared in Cecilia Croft’s mind.’

Sure enough, a moment later, Sebastian Hawthorne spoke again, his voice unhurried.

"In that case, regarding the kiss this morning... President Croft didn’t refuse. That means it was also consensual, so it shouldn’t come with any strings attached."

Cecilia Croft immediately objected. "I did not consent to that kiss this morning."

Sebastian Hawthorne: "You didn’t refuse, either."

Cecilia Croft: "..."

’Damn it!’

’Shameless bastard.’

’He kisses me and then goes back on his word.’

Cecilia Croft: "You were the one who added the conditions."

Sebastian Hawthorne nodded, speaking nonchalantly. "So, are you saying that even if I hadn’t added any conditions, you still wouldn’t have refused?"

Cecilia Croft gritted her teeth. "..."

’Of course I would have refused! I would have given him a big slap across the face!’

Sebastian Hawthorne saw the agitated look on her face and scoffed.

"Thinking about it, I seem to be at a major disadvantage here. I threw in a favor for you *and* gave you my first kiss. You, on the other hand, have offered nothing in return and still want to use me. By any metric, this is a bad deal." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Cecilia Croft forced an awkward smile.

"Doesn’t a ’first kiss’ just reset automatically after midnight?"

The moment she spoke, the office fell silent.

It was as if her absurd statement had completely dumbfounded him. Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t argue further. With a cold expression, he stood up and walked straight out.

Cecilia Croft sat in a daze for a few minutes, then lightly tapped herself on the mouth, unable to bring herself to do it with any real force.

’He’s not actually mad, is he?’

The thought that Sebastian Hawthorne could unilaterally break their agreement and not take her to the Quillan family’s engagement party filled Cecilia Croft with regret.

’I shouldn’t have run my mouth off.’

By afternoon, Cecilia Croft still hadn’t received a call from Sebastian Hawthorne about heading to the airport. After agonizing over it, she had no choice but to call his driver, Uncle Lloyd.

Uncle Lloyd had promised he would make sure she got on the same flight back to Karthus as Sebastian Hawthorne.

When Cecilia Croft called, Uncle Lloyd picked up almost immediately.

"Uncle Lloyd, about that thing you promised me last night... do you remember? The matter of returning to Karthus."

She was too embarrassed to admit that she might have angered Sebastian Hawthorne.

Uncle Lloyd was quick to respond.

"Of course, I remember! Don’t you worry, Miss Croft. Mr. Hawthorne had me book your ticket the day before yesterday. His meeting is wrapping up in a few minutes. I’ll bring him over to pick you up as soon as it’s over."

Cecilia Croft: "The day before yesterday?"

’So last night, Uncle Lloyd just didn’t want to deal with a drunk Sebastian Hawthorne, and that’s why he tricked me?’

Uncle Lloyd paused, realizing he had let it slip, and gave an awkward chuckle.

"Well, I just wanted to give you and Mr. Hawthorne a chance to grow closer, you know? Miss Croft, I’m sure you’ve noticed by now... Mr. Hawthorne, toward you, he’s..."

Cecilia Croft cut Uncle Lloyd off before he could finish.

"Yes, Mr. Hawthorne’s kindness to me is as vast as the mountains and seas, a debt of gratitude I shall never forget. Uncle Lloyd, I have a few things to wrap up here, so I’ll let you go."

She quickly hung up, took several deep breaths to calm herself, and then, in an attempt to clear her head, grabbed a file from her desk and lightly bonked herself on the head with it a few times.

Once she’d calmed down, she let out a long sigh, rose from her chair, and walked out of her office into the main work area to delegate tasks.

She would be in Karthus for at least three days, so she had to make sure all her work was properly arranged before she left.

She had just finished arranging everything when Sebastian Hawthorne called.

Seeing his name on the screen, she took a quiet, deep breath before answering.

"Mr. Haw—"

She had barely gotten the word out when the man’s deep voice cut her off.

"Downstairs."

One curt word, followed by the click of the call ending. The entire exchange couldn’t have lasted more than two seconds.

Cecilia Croft stared at the "Call Ended" screen, an indescribable feeling churning within her.

But she quickly composed herself and headed downstairs.

Uncle Lloyd had parked the car right at the entrance to Vantage.

Seeing Cecilia Croft come downstairs, he smiled and opened the rear passenger door, completely dashing any thought she might have had of sitting in the front.

’I’ve already annoyed Sebastian Hawthorne. If I push my luck now, he might just be tempted to throw me out of the car midway through the trip.’

"Thank you, Uncle Lloyd."

She thanked him softly, bent down to get into the car, and forced a small smile, proactively greeting Sebastian Hawthorne and trying her best to pretend that nothing had happened.

"Mr. Hawthorne, is the project progressing smoothly?"

She had never inquired about the Hawthorne Group’s projects before, so the sudden question was particularly abrupt, and the atmosphere seemed to grow even more awkward.

’Stupid mouth. Can’t even think of a decent topic at a critical moment.’

Cecilia Croft’s face grew stiff from holding her awkward smile, yet she received no response from the man.

A moment later, Uncle Lloyd got back into the driver’s seat and started the car.

Cecilia Croft took the opportunity to shift her gaze out the window.

Sebastian Hawthorne glanced at her. His chest rose and fell slightly before he let out a soft breath, seemingly composing himself. His voice was faint as he finally responded.

"It’s going well enough."

’What was the point of being angry with her? He had taken one step forward; he couldn’t expect her to take the other ninety-nine.’

’He was just annoyed that she wasn’t willing to take even a single step.’