Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Heart Shattered to Pieces

Jasmine Vance had no intention of letting Jade Golding go up and ruin things between Sebastian Hawthorne and Cecilia Croft.

She immediately reached out and grabbed Jade.

"Jade, my brother and I can take you home. Sebastian probably isn’t going back to the Hawthorne Estate."

Jade wanted to shake off Jasmine’s hand, but Jasmine latched right onto her, linking her arm through Jade’s.

Finn Vance also spoke up at that moment.

"We’ll take you."

Jasmine nodded. "What’s the difference who takes you? Besides, Sebastian is in a real hurry right now and probably doesn’t have time. See? He didn’t even hear you."

Jade: "..."

’How had she never noticed before how annoying Jasmine was!’

When the driver saw Sebastian Hawthorne walk out of the winery carrying Cecilia Croft, he quickly opened the rear car door.

Sebastian bent down, and just as he was about to place Cecilia on the seat, she opened her eyes and nuzzled her head against his chest.

Her affectionate gesture stunned Sebastian for a moment. It felt as if a feather had tickled his heart, and the arms holding her trembled slightly.

Cecilia had been dreaming that she and Sebastian were married and that their life together was perfectly harmonious.

The man in her dream was completely devoted to her, lavishing her with meticulous care.

So when she opened her eyes and saw the man before her, she thought she was still dreaming and murmured softly.

"Hubby."

Sebastian froze for several seconds. The flutter of warmth he’d just felt instantly vanished.

’Hubby?’

He scoffed, his face grim as he unceremoniously placed her on the seat.

The jolt shocked Cecilia into full awareness.

A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes, her head was spinning violently. But seeing that she was in Sebastian’s car, she felt a sense of security and closed her eyes again.

Sebastian: "..."

He got back into the car, his face cold and sullen.

Cecilia, however, acted as if nothing had happened and continued to sleep soundly. Finding it uncomfortable to lean against the seat, she simply slumped down and used his leg as a pillow.

Sebastian’s face turned livid, but he was utterly helpless to do anything about her.

Seeing Mr. Hawthorne’s gloomy expression, the driver asked quietly.

"Mr. Hawthorne, should we take Miss Croft home first?"

Sebastian grunted in affirmation.

The car started and pulled away from the estate.

The entire ride, Sebastian kept his eyes fixed on the woman lying on his lap, his expression grim.

’It was painfully obvious who she had been calling "hubby" just now.’

He felt a tightness in his chest and forced himself to look away.

After they had driven for a while, Cecilia’s eyes shot open in discomfort.

Sebastian felt Cecilia squirm and looked down at her, just as she let out a groan.

The color drained from his face. He tried to stop her, but it was too late—Cecilia had already thrown up.

Sebastian: "..."

The driver: "..."

He cautiously glanced in the rearview mirror. Seeing the mess on Mr. Hawthorne’s trousers, he immediately looked away, ’praying for Miss Croft’s soul.’

"Stop the car."

Sebastian commanded in an icy tone, his face dark.

The driver quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road.

’Is Mr. Hawthorne really going to throw Miss Croft out of the car?’

"Mr. Hawthorne..."

The driver was about to plead with him to calm down, even at the risk of being fired, when he saw Sebastian open the car door, lift Cecilia into his arms, and get out.

’He really is going to just dump her on the street.’

The driver scrambled out of the car. Before he could even begin to dissuade him, he saw Sebastian carrying Cecilia toward a hotel.

He looked up and only then realized they were at a hotel owned by the Hawthorne Group.

Sebastian Hawthorne kept a personal suite at the hotel, which was not available to the public.

The receptionist at the hotel entrance saw Mr. Hawthorne walk in carrying a woman and hurried forward to greet him.

"Good evening, Mr. Hawthorne."

Sebastian’s face was grim; he just kept walking.

The receptionist quickly pressed the elevator button for him.

When the elevator reached Sebastian’s floor, the floor manager was already waiting to open the suite door for him.

After Sebastian and Cecilia were inside, the manager thoughtfully closed the door behind them.

Sebastian placed Cecilia on the bed, then pulled out his phone and called the hotel manager.

"Find me a straight female attendant and send her in."

The hotel manager paused, not quite understanding what Mr. Hawthorne meant.

"A straight female attendant?"

Sebastian: "A woman who doesn’t like other women."

The hotel manager heard the impatience in Mr. Hawthorne’s voice and quickly agreed.

"Of course, Mr. Hawthorne. I’ll bring someone up right away."

"Fine."

Sebastian hung up, glanced at the woman on the bed, and walked into the bathroom with a grim expression.

Soon, the hotel manager was hurrying to Mr. Hawthorne’s floor with a waitress in tow.

The waitress following the manager had eyes full of eagerness and excitement.

When they reached the door to Mr. Hawthorne’s room, the manager glanced back at the waitress and whispered.

"If you make it big after tonight, don’t you forget who gave you this opportunity."

’As a man, he knew exactly what it meant for Mr. Hawthorne to summon a "straight" woman to his room in the middle of the night.’

The waitress nodded and whispered, "Don’t you worry, Manager. I’ll never forget this kindness. If I become Mr. Hawthorne’s woman, I’ll be sure to reward you handsomely."

Only then did the hotel manager nod in satisfaction. He raised his hand to knock, but seeing the door was ajar, he pushed it open instead.

"Mr. Hawthorne, I’ve brought the person you asked for."

There was no response from inside.

A flicker of confusion crossed the manager’s eyes. He gave the waitress a little push. "Hurry and get in there. And don’t forget what you promised."

The waitress nodded shyly and stepped into the suite.

She walked to the bedroom door, looked down to smooth her skirt and adjust her clothes, undid the top two buttons of her blouse, and then stepped inside.

Seeing how cooperative she was, the hotel manager closed the door.

Only after entering the bedroom did the waitress discover a woman lying on the bed.

A look of confusion crossed her face.

’Mr. Hawthorne already had a woman in his room, so why did he call for her?’

’Unless...’

’Rich people really are into some wild stuff.’

’It was never normal for a man like Sebastian Hawthorne to have zero romantic scandals after all these years.’

’It seems he was just good at hiding it.’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The waitress was finding the idea a little hard to stomach, but then she heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. The thought of Sebastian’s face, combined with his immense fortune, made her heart begin to pound.

「A few minutes later.」

Sebastian emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a bathrobe, toweling his hair dry as he walked.

Seeing the waitress standing by the bed and looking at him with a bashful expression, Sebastian’s gaze instantly turned cold. He snapped,

"Clean her up and change her clothes."

The waitress froze. ’That wasn’t quite the line she had been expecting.’

She awkwardly shifted her gaze to Cecilia, only then noticing a woman’s nightgown laid out by the bed.

’So, Mr. Hawthorne had the manager bring her up here... to take care of the woman on the bed?’

’Her heart shattered into a million pieces.’