Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Jade Golding’s Mind

A flawless makeup application takes at least half an hour.

Cecilia Croft was just getting started.

Walter Abrams was very close to her, so even though his assistant tried his best to lower his voice, Cecilia heard everything clearly.

’Miss Golding?’

The only person who could make Walter Abrams look so annoyed and slightly wary had to be Jade Golding.

After all, Walter Abrams wasn’t exactly a nobody in Karthus.

Anyone who could open a two-story studio and represent luxury clothing brands in a prime location where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold was no simple character.

In Karthus, who didn’t tread carefully around the "Hawthorne," "Qi," "Gu," and "Golding" families?

Walter Abrams guessed from his assistant’s unfinished sentence that he had probably dropped Sebastian Hawthorne’s name, and he immediately shot the assistant a glare.

The assistant lowered his head, not daring to speak again.

Cecilia could see the predicament in Walter’s eyes.

She pressed her lips together lightly and opened her mouth, but ultimately remained silent.

Sebastian Hawthorne was still sitting on the lounge sofa behind them. Seeing the assistant and Walter talking, he spoke, his voice deep and cold.

"What’s wrong?"

As he spoke, he stood up and walked over.

Cecilia saw in the vanity mirror that he had walked up behind her chair and was leaning down to look at her face.

After confirming everything was fine, his cool gaze fell upon Walter.

Walter motioned with his eyes for the assistant to leave, then explained softly.

"It’s nothing. The assistant just mentioned that Miss Golding is coming over, so he was just reporting it."

As he spoke, he cautiously watched Sebastian Hawthorne’s expression.

However, the man standing beside Cecilia showed no discernible change in his expression. He simply pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.

"Continue."

Seeing Sebastian Hawthorne’s attitude gave Walter Abrams a boost of confidence. With Sebastian holding down the fort, he wouldn’t be seen as offending Jade Golding.

By the time Jade Golding arrived, Cecilia’s foundation was complete, and they were working on her eye makeup.

An assistant led her to the adjacent dressing room, but just as they were about to enter the private suite, she pulled a fast one, catching the assistant off guard and pushing open the door to Cecilia’s room directly.

When Walter Abrams saw her, a flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, and his hand, which was applying Cecilia’s makeup, paused for a moment.

When he looked away from the door, he shot Cecilia a complicated glance.

In their social circle, there had long been rumors that Jade Golding and Sebastian Hawthorne were to be joined in marriage.

No one from the Hawthorne family or the Golding family had ever come forward to deny it.

Moreover, the subject of these rumors was Sebastian Hawthorne, a man who was never involved in any gossip.

Everyone unanimously believed that the news of the Golding and Hawthorne families’ alliance was not baseless.

Now, seeing Jade Golding enter, Walter instinctively shielded Cecilia, worried that the two women might suddenly start fighting and that the seated Cecilia would be at a disadvantage.

Jade Golding wore a brilliant smile. After entering, her gaze lingered on Cecilia’s face for only a second before shifting to Sebastian Hawthorne, who was seated next to Cecilia.

"Sebastian, I heard you were here, so I came to see."

Cecilia watched with a complex expression in the vanity mirror, despite trying her best to remind herself not to pay attention to them.

But when she saw Jade Golding walk toward Sebastian Hawthorne, her gaze couldn’t help but follow.

Sebastian Hawthorne’s expression was calm, the sharp coldness in his deep eyes softening slightly as he naturally responded to Jade.

"Hm, you’re here to get styled too? Doesn’t the Golding family have your own personal stylist?"

Jade Golding smiled. "You get tired of the same makeup look after a while. It’s like eating the same dish all the time—eventually, you lose your appetite for it. Same principle."

Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t respond.

Cecilia only saw in the vanity mirror that he had raised an eyebrow slightly, looking effortlessly suave.

She couldn’t help but lower her gaze slightly, not noticing that Walter was applying her mascara.

The mascara wand poked her in the eye, and she flinched instantly.

"Are you alright, Cecilia?"

Walter hadn’t expected her to suddenly close her eyes, and he stopped what he was doing.

The man who had been sitting to the side chatting with Jade Golding suddenly looked grim, his gaze sweeping over like it was dipped in ice, bringing a chilling coldness with it.

Walter quickly put down the mascara wand to check on Cecilia.

Cecilia didn’t want to cause trouble for Walter, so to avoid smudging her freshly applied eye makeup, she resisted the urge to rub her eye when it was poked, forcing herself to endure the pain until it subsided.

Once the sharp pain in her eye faded, leaving only a slight stinging sensation, she looked up again and waved her hand. "I’m fine."

Walter saw that her eye was very red and quickly leaned in to ask.

"Does it hurt? Does it feel like there’s something in it?"

Cecilia blinked, and the unbearable stinging sensation washed over her again.

"I think there is something in it."

Walter leaned closer to take a look and saw that a bristle from the mascara wand had indeed fallen into Cecilia’s eye. He said,

"Okay, hold still for a second. I’ll try to blow it out for you."

As he spoke, he leaned down to get closer.

Sebastian Hawthorne, who was standing nearby, his eyes somewhat cold, raised a hand to stop him.

Walter’s mind worked fast. He immediately gave up his spot and said to Sebastian Hawthorne,

"I can’t see where the object in her eye is. Could you help take a look, Mr. Hawthorne?"

Sebastian Hawthorne frowned, his expression impassive as he moved closer to Cecilia.

With her eyes red-rimmed, Cecilia saw Sebastian Hawthorne’s handsome face magnify before her, and her hands, resting on her lap, couldn’t help but tighten slightly.

He carefully and seriously examined her eye. After spotting the foreign object, he blew gently into her eye, and a cool, light breeze washed over it.

Cecilia’s eye blinked uncontrollably a few times, and the feeling of having something in it lessened considerably.

"It’s better now."

She raised her hand and gave the man’s chest a gentle push.

Sebastian Hawthorne remained very close. He took the cotton swab Walter handed him and gently wiped away the object that had been carried out by her tears. He then glanced sideways at Walter, his expression sharp, and said,

"Can you handle this or not?"

Walter gave an embarrassed smile and could only respond cautiously, "Yes, I can."

Seeing his serious expression, Cecilia softly explained,

"It was my fault. It has nothing to do with Walter’s skill." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

’I had been distracted, captivated by his confidence, composure, and suave demeanor in front of Jade Golding. It was only when I was startled by this different side of him that I lost my focus in a fluster.’

"Since you know it was your fault, make sure you don’t make that mistake again." Sebastian Hawthorne’s eyes darkened. He glanced at her, then looked away and sat back down in his chair.

Cecilia felt a sting in her nose from his sharp retort. Thankfully, her eyes were already red from the earlier ordeal with the foreign object.

Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have been able to hide the aggrieved look on her face.

After composing herself, she finally lifted her gaze to the vanity mirror and said to Walter,

"Walter, let’s continue."

As she said this, she noticed that Jade Golding was watching her with a scrutinizing gaze.

Jade Golding’s eyes held a sense of inquiry, as well as a hint of disdain.

As a woman herself, how could Cecilia not understand the meaning behind that hint of disdain in Jade Golding’s eyes, or the petty thoughts concealed within?