Chapter 147: Chapter 147: The Fiancée Who Insists on Breaking the Engagement

’She works for the Hawthorne Group, and she came here with him today. Isn’t it obvious she’s his woman?’

Sebastian Hawthorne’s deep, dark eyes narrowed slightly. He watched as she spoke to him through gritted teeth while simultaneously putting on a coquettish air. The corner of his lips curved up, and he decided to play along.

"Alright."

Hearing the man’s reply, the smile on Cecilia Croft’s face deepened. She pulled Sebastian Hawthorne over to the mahjong table.

Wendy Rhodes bit down so hard she felt like her teeth would shatter.

Cecilia Croft had a servant from the Quillan Family bring over a backless stool for herself, giving the chair with a back to Sebastian Hawthorne so he could more easily coach her from behind.

Jade Golding watched as Sebastian Hawthorne sat down right behind Cecilia Croft.

His long legs were spread on either side of Cecilia’s stool. From the side, the visual effect was that of Cecilia sitting in his lap.

Jade Golding’s expression darkened, and a flash of displeasure crossed her eyes, but with Sebastian Hawthorne present, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

The game began.

"None of us brought that much cash. Let’s use chips for now and settle up with bank transfers after," Giselle Grant said as she took out the chips, sorted them, and began to distribute them.

"What are the stakes?"

Jade Golding chimed in nonchalantly.

"Since Miss Croft is a beginner, let’s play for smaller stakes. How about a base of fifty thousand, with doubles? We can play to the bitter end."

Giselle Grant raised an eyebrow slightly. She saw Jade Golding’s intention but said nothing.

Jasmine Vance frowned and murmured,

"Isn’t that a bit high?"

A smile on her face, Jade Golding said softly, "You call this high? The worst that can happen is you lose the price of a designer bag to me. Right, Miss Croft?"

Cecilia Croft smiled, her lips pursed, and answered without batting an eye, "I don’t really know the norms. I’ll go with whatever everyone else decides."

Seeing this, Jade Golding’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Then it’s settled."

Giselle Grant: "I’m fine with it."

Jasmine Vance shrugged. "Alright then. My brother’s here anyway. If I lose, he can foot the bill."

Hearing this, Finn Vance, who had been sitting on a sofa nearby, immediately got up, walked over, and pulled up a stool to sit behind her.

"Don’t you dare lose too much on my dime."

Jasmine Vance waved a dismissive hand. "Relax, relax."

Giselle Grant pressed the button to roll the dice. "Then let’s begin."

As they were drawing tiles, Cecilia Croft glanced to the side at Sebastian Hawthorne, saw him sitting behind her, and gave him a smile.

To get a better look at her tiles, Sebastian Hawthorne leaned in closer.

Cecilia Croft put on the perfect act of a novice, not even knowing how to arrange her tiles. Occasionally, Sebastian Hawthorne would reach out to help her organize them.

His long arm wrapped around her side, pulling her entire body into his embrace.

At first, Jade Golding could still maintain a polite smile, but after two rounds, the smile gradually vanished from her face.

It wasn’t because she was losing chips, but because of the interaction between Sebastian Hawthorne and Cecilia Croft. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

After Cecilia Croft won yet another hand, Jade Golding was once again left paying the most. She slammed her tiles down, her expression sinking.

Realizing she was letting her emotions show, she quickly composed herself, counted out her chips, and said with a smile,

"I wonder what Zach and his brother are so busy with. They still aren’t here, leaving Sebastian and Finn hanging around. How boring for you two."

Giselle Grant didn’t respond.

She was sitting directly opposite Cecilia Croft and Sebastian Hawthorne, so she had a clear view of the emotions in Sebastian’s eyes.

He was clearly enjoying himself immensely while coaching Cecilia Croft.

Whenever Cecilia asked him which tile to discard, he would lean close to her, and the look in his eyes was so syrupy sweet you could practically pull sugar strings from it.

’How could he possibly be bored? He’s having the time of his life.’

Giselle Grant felt it had been a long time since she’d played such an interesting game of mahjong. She never thought she’d get a chance to glimpse Sebastian Hawthorne’s true feelings one day.

In this game, the only ones who were truly bored were probably Jade Golding and Wendy Rhodes, who sat beside her.

Ever since she sat down at the mahjong table, Jade Golding hadn’t won a single hand. Every time she was just about to declare a ready hand, Cecilia would win.

When Zachary Grant and his brother finally arrived, a smile returned to Jade Golding’s face.

"Zach, what took you so long? Finn and Sebastian have been waiting for you for a while."

Zachary Grant smiled apologetically. "Something came up at the office, so I couldn’t get here sooner."

At this moment, Wendy Rhodes rose from her seat and said hurriedly,

"I’ve already reserved the private room next door for you. Follow me."

Sebastian Hawthorne was still helping Cecilia Croft with her game and had no intention of getting up.

Jade Golding smiled at Sebastian Hawthorne and said,

"Sebastian, Zach and the others are here."

Sebastian Hawthorne nodded, looked up at the two Grant brothers, and said softly,

"You guys go ahead. I’ll come over after this round is finished."

When Zachary Grant had walked in, he’d noticed Sebastian Hawthorne sitting behind a woman, coaching her game.

He knew Sebastian Hawthorne wasn’t exactly the warm and helpful type.

A woman who could make him reluctant to leave must be someone special.

"Is it that intense? Let us have a look too."

Curious, Zachary Grant walked over.

Cecilia Croft already had a ready hand. If she drew the right tile, she would have a limit hand, winning over a million.

When it was her turn to draw, she gently nudged the man sitting behind her with her elbow.

"Sebastian, you draw for me."

Always one to grant her requests, Sebastian Hawthorne stood up to draw the tile for Cecilia Croft. He picked up the tile, felt its surface with his fingertip, and then said softly to Cecilia,

"You won."

As Sebastian Hawthorne stood, his body almost completely enveloped Cecilia Croft, caging her in his arms.

Hearing this, her eyes lit up.

"Really?"

As she turned to the side, Sebastian Hawthorne was just about to sit back down.

Her lips brushed against his neck, and the hand Sebastian used to place the tile froze for a moment.

Cecilia Croft’s mind was entirely on the game. Seeing that Sebastian had placed down the exact tile she needed to win, she beamed and asked him,

"With this tile, it’s a limit hand, right?"

Sebastian Hawthorne looked into her bright eyes, and the corners of his lips curved up as well. "Mhm, it’s a limit hand."

His voice was low and husky, and he quickly concealed the emotion in his eyes.

Jasmine Vance had also completed her hand. She leaned over to look at Cecilia’s tiles and said with a laugh,

"I managed to win against two others, so I broke even."

Giselle Grant also won soon after. As she laid her tiles down, she said with a smile,

"I got a great hand too. Miss Vance and Miss Croft sure won fast."

Jasmine Vance patted her chest and said hurriedly, "Thank goodness I was lucky."

The unlucky Jade Golding, on the other hand, had to pay all three winners. Frustrated, she pushed her tiles forward while saying to the Grant brothers standing behind Cecilia Croft,

"Hurry up and go play your own games."

Zachary Grant was standing right behind Sebastian Hawthorne. He had a clear view of Sebastian’s back stiffening and the tips of his ears turning red the moment Cecilia’s lips brushed against his neck.

As the group was leaving, Zachary Grant couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at Cecilia Croft’s face.

’She’s beautiful, and she looks a little familiar.’ Just as Zachary Grant was trying to recall where he had seen Cecilia Croft before, she looked up at him and offered a faint smile.

It was then that it hit Zachary Grant. "She... she’s the one who..."

She was the young fiancée who had insisted on breaking off her engagement with Sebastian Hawthorne.

Before he could finish his sentence, Finn Vance clamped a hand over his mouth.

Sebastian Hawthorne was in a good mood today. It was best not to bring up something that would upset him.