“I mean, what is it that you want to buy—something you’ve never had before?” Sebastian quickly corrected himself, worried that Thea’s sharp mind might interpret his question the wrong way.
“I don’t know. Many things,” Thea replied flatly.
“Name one of them,” Sebastian urged. But Thea remained silent. Were her desires so many that she couldn’t even mention a single one? Sebastian wondered silently.
“Why are you quiet?” he asked, surprised.
“I don’t know,” Thea answered hesitantly. “Every time someone asks me what I want, that’s precisely when I get confused.” She gave a faint, wistful smile that somehow made Sebastian’s chest ache.
“Tell me about your parents,” Sebastian requested, his eyes still fixed on Thea. Yet his gaze went blank as Thea turned to look at him.
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“Where’s Thea?” Sebastian asked, still not seeing Thea appear.“She’s in her room, Sir,” Helen replied, placing the food on the table.“In her room? Why?” Sebastian’s brow furrowed. Did Thea choose to sleep in her own room just because he hadn’t told her they would be sleeping together tonight?“She received a message, Sir. I think tonight you should let her be alone,” Helen suggested, making Sebastian raise an eyebrow and look at the trusted woman with disbelief.“It’s a message from Thea’s friend. It seems there’s an issue in Thea’s family right now. So in my opinion, it’s better to give her time to deal with her personal matters first,” Helen continued frankly.“What kind of issue?” Sebastian asked, curious. “Can’t you ask that person what’s happening in Thea&rs
“What are you all doing?” Sebastian’s voice rang out loudly. Thea, Maxine, and Shareeza simultaneously turned toward him, followed by Pierre.“Papa! Thea is learning to swim,” Shareeza exclaimed cheerfully, pointing at Thea, who was receiving instructions from Maxine.Sebastian forced himself not to glance at Thea. He knew that if he did, Maxine would surely tease him mercilessly, as her previous words had proven true.“Why learn to swim? Can’t she swim?” Sebastian asked, his tone cold but filled with curiosity.“If she could already, why bother learning? Unless she wants to become an athlete, of course, then she needs to practice often,” Maxine replied casually.“Then why must she learn? Her job here doesn’t require her to know how to swim,” Sebastian snapped.“What’s wrong with learning to swim? Besides,
Sebastian wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. The little girl was far too beautiful to ignore.The face that had existed only in dark shadows until now had become real before him. He was at a loss for words.Shareeza. His Shareeza. Finally, he could see his little girl. His eyes burned and nearly welled up, but he struggled to hold back his tears.“Papa!” the little girl cried, making Sebastian smile. He bent down and hugged her tighter than usual.“I missed you so much,” the child whimpered, her pout now clearly visible to Sebastian.“I missed you too,” Sebastian replied, his voice choked.“Papa! That woman said she’s my future mama. Is that true?” Shareeza asked, staring at her father in disbelief.Sebastian clicked his tongue softly and shook his head.“She’s not your future mama. She’s your
“After dinner, prepare a servant’s room for her,” Sebastian ordered Thea, making Maxine’s eyes widen in shock.“A s-servant’s room?!” she exclaimed unhappily, looking back and forth between Sebastian and Thea with her large, beautiful eyes.“What room did you want me to prepare? A king’s chamber?” Sebastian asked sharply.Maxine smiled sweetly and nodded. “If the king is you, of course I’d be willing. No persuasion needed—I’d gladly give you everything,” she said, brushing Sebastian’s hand with her fingertip.Sebastian merely raised an eyebrow and went back to picking up his fork, making Maxine quickly withdraw her hand.“Such a grump,” she muttered, then continued eating casually.Thea had initially thought that dinner would be filled only with Maxine’s antics. But shortly after Seb
“What are you doing?!” Sebastian barked sharply. He immediately shoved the woman’s shoulders with great force, causing her to stagger backward until her waist hit the back of a chair. The loud thud made Thea wince, certain it must have hurt.Yet Thea saw the woman smiling, while Sebastian looked furious. He roughly wiped his lips and even spat on the floor, making the woman burst into loud laughter.“Damn it!” Sebastian cursed. He then turned and strode quickly out of the room, heading somewhere, leaving Thea frozen in place.“Aren’t you going to check on him? Aren’t you afraid he might fall, hit his head, and get seriously hurt?” the woman mocked, making Thea panic and immediately run after Sebastian.Thea found Sebastian’s bedroom door open. She entered and saw him in the bathroom, bent over, rubbing his lips with a fingertip coated in toothpaste.
“Forgive me,” Sebastian murmured softly as he hugged Thea, who was crying silently. His hands reached behind her knees and slowly lifted her body so that Thea was now sitting right on his lap. Sebastian cradled her as if she were a little child. He didn’t know how long she had been crying, until she finally drifted off to sleep.With slow steps, Sebastian carried her to the bedroom. He laid Thea on the bed, took off her rubber shoes, and then covered her small frame with a thick blanket.Damn… Sebastian cursed silently in his mind. Could he change the situation? Could he fix all the mistakes he had made? But how?“For now, even if you tell her that you love her, I don’t think she’ll believe you,” said Aaron, his doctor and friend. “Her trust is already at its lowest point. Considering how her family has treated her all this time, and how you’ve treated her as well, it