Stolen Moments

Liora’s POV

It felt like a fairytale. Sebastian Carver actually wanted me; poor Miss Liora Bennett.

Every morning I woke up, I always thought it was a dream. Until he’d take me in his arms and kiss me like it’s been ages since we met.

We spent every night together, our fingers intertwined as we made love, our bodies locked in like opposite sides of magnets.

And I loved the feeling it gave me. I let it get to my head, and I almost forgot about Vivienne.

Until she finally showed up.

‘Babe!’ She squealed as she rushed to hug him. ‘You finally look like your normal self again.’

I could see the hesitant look on Sebastian’s face as she kissed him on his cheek.

‘I’ll be waiting in the car,’ I told him quietly and left.

It was our first day of work since the accident. I couldn’t wait to see how everything had been since our absence.

As I sat in the car waiting, I thought of my father and how I might be letting beautiful thoughts of Sebastian cloud my sense of reasoning.

Maybe everything was happening too fast.

I let that thought sit once Sebastian entered the car. He intertwined his hands with mine all through the drive to work.

There were so many greetings and salutations when we arrived at the office. People smiled, shook Sebastian’s hand, and commented on how good he looked.

I stayed a step behind him, playing the quiet, observant, invisible role I had perfected.

We stepped into the elevator and the door slid shut, making us alone for a few seconds.

Sebastian leaned in, his lips brushing my ear. ‘Meet me on the terrace by ten.’

The doors opened, and just like that, he was all business again.

I spent the morning pretending to work while my mind replayed the way he’d said those words, almost like we were something real.

My heart skipped a beat. Even if we were married, I still wondered if we could actually be something real.

When I finally stepped onto the terrace, the city’s horizon stretched in front, loud and a sight to behold. Sebastian was already there, his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up.

He turned the moment he sensed me.

‘You’re late,’ he said, but he was smiling.

‘You didn’t specify a time zone,’ I teased.

He laughed and pulled me closer by my waist, pressing a quick deep kiss to my lips before I could think better of it.

‘Careful,’ I whispered. ‘Someone might see.’

‘Let them,’ he murmured. ‘I’d deny everything except you.’

We stole moments like that all day: brushing hands under conference tables, shared looks that meant later, it was more than I could have imagined before.

The next day was really occupied, and we barely had time to ourselves. But that night, we didn’t go home together.

I sat at the patio, watching the night sky absentmindedly. It was a full moon and I couldn’t stop looking at it, loving how the silver light bathed me and everything under it.

Just then the patio door slid open, and I was about to jump out of my chair when Sebastian stepped out. He was holding two glasses of wine and he handed me a glass.

I laughed softly as he raised his glass toward me, while I raised mine in return.

‘Can’t sleep?’ He took a seat beside me.

‘Not exactly,’ I took a sip of the wine. It tasted good.

He looked at me. ‘It’s cold out here.’

‘I know,’ I nodded, ‘but I like it. As with the full moon; I just can’t resist…’

‘The soft intensity,’ he added.

‘Looks who’s a young Shakespeare,’ I arched a brow and we both laughed.

It felt like we were teenagers again; that is if teenagers wore silk robes and drank wine under a full moon on their patio.

For the first time in a long while, I let myself believe in us. That maybe- somehow- this wasn’t borrowed happiness, or something temporary.

The next morning, Vivienne arrived unannounced at the office.

She looked flawless as always, and her heels echoed sharply in the office. I couldn’t remember a time she’d stepped out of her bedroom without heels.

‘I missed you,’ she told Sebastian, looping her hands around his.

I felt something twist in my chest, but Sebastian’s gaze flicked to me with reassurance.

I see you, it seemed to say, or maybe I just believed it to be.

She stayed longer than I expected, then she was gone. Finally.

A message popped up a few minutes after Vivienne was gone.

It was from Sebastian.

Meet me in the car in five.

Five minutes felt like ages, and when it was finally time, I walked with excitement to the car like a teenager.

Sebastian was waiting at the driver’s seat with a smug grin on his face.

‘Let’s go somewhere,’ he said to me.

‘Okay…’ I entered the passenger’s seat. ‘Where are we going?’

I had barely completed that sentence before he pulled me closer and stole a deep kiss.

‘You’ll see,’ he bit my lower lip gently before pulling away.

It took me a few minutes before I realized we were heading home. My curiosity spiked but I managed to keep it at bay. Sebastian looked too focused for me to try to distract him now.

When we got home, he led me straight to his study. I noticed a small rectangular box on the table, and that was what he picked up.

He leaned on the table, holding the small box, and gestured for me to sit in the chair close to him. I obeyed, trying to decipher if anything was wrong.

‘Something happened on the day of my accident,’ he began. ‘And ever since, I’ve been feeling guilty about it.’

I didn’t say a word, so as not to interrupt his thoughts. His jaw tightened as if he was trying not to remember, and it seemed to be causing him pain.

‘I was hurrying to close the Forster deal as you know,’ he continued, ‘that was all I could think about. I didn’t see the boy…he was skating, I was in a hurry and he was fast. I didn’t know how it happened. The car just lifted him off, and the last thing I remembered was smashing right into that tree.’

His breathing became ragged that I was afraid he might collapse. So I stood up immediately and held his free hand.

‘Before I got discharged, I made inquiries from the doctors,’ he said, looking at me. ‘The boy was already dead on arrival. My father had to pull some strings to cover up the news from spreading. But I still have nightmares about that day; about the boy; about…’

So there had been someone on the day I rushed to the hospital?

‘Sebastian,’ I stood in front of him, not knowing what to say.

‘I’ve never told anyone this, and my father made me swear not to tell anyone. But you, ever since you’ve been with me, the nightmares dissipate. They don’t come like they used to. And now, talking to you about this, I just feel…’

‘…like a heavyweight off your shoulders?’ I completed his sentence.

He nodded. ‘The doctors said it wasn’t my fault. My father too. But I know, if I had been a bit more careful…maybe, he would have lived…’

I hugged him tightly, my chest beating hard. And he held on for a long time before pulling away.

He opened the box and brought out a necklace. I gasped. It was made of blue sapphire stones that shimmered from the light pouring into the room.

‘To say thank you,’ he said. ‘For being the amazing person you are, Liora. And to say I adore you, terribly.’

I felt a rollercoaster of emotions flood me, and the tears followed immediately after. It took us a while before we pulled ourselves together. By the time we left the study, I had the necklace around my neck and we were laughing.

As we went out the door, Giselle walked past us with a greeting and her eyes met mine, but the chill I felt… it left so quickly that I didn’t take it to heart.

Later that night, as I lay on my bed touching the necklace around my neck, thoughts of Sebastian’s confession made me stay awake. I decided to head down to the kitchen for a warm glass of milk.

On my way down, I heard Vivienne talking to someone in the living room. The voice that replied to her was very familiar.

Without thinking, I rushed into the living room only to see my fears confirmed.

Camille turned and smiled.

‘Hello sister, long time no see.’