Chapter 3

When Sebastian came down from the third floor of Nocturne, he saw Eleanor at the bar, already drunk and a little unsteady.

He narrowed his eyes, hiding his confusion.

Hadn't this woman said she was going home when she got out of his car? How had she ended up at a bar such a short time later, drinking so heavily and without her guard up?

Didn't she know that bars were hunting grounds for many men? A drunk girl was in danger. A drunk, pretty girl was in double the danger. Someone looking like her was in a hundred times more danger!

Sebastian could clearly see two men staring at Eleanor and her friend, their eyes flushed and full of dirty desires. And, just as he suspected, they were already making their move.

"Hello gorgeous, it's boring for just the two of you to drink alone. My mate and I have a table over there, let's have a drink together," the tall, thin man who had been eyeing them for a while came over and offered.

Eleanor ignored him and continued drinking.

Beatrice rolled her eyes at the man, curled her lip in disgust, and ignored him as well.

"Ha..." The other man, who was watching from afar, laughed mockingly.

The tall, thin man couldn't handle the loss of face, and his expression turned ugly. However, looking at Eleanor's face, which looked even more stunning now that she was slightly flushed from the alcohol, he suppressed his temper and turned to single out Beatrice.

"Looking the way you do, you still have the nerve to give me attitude? I was doing you a favour inviting you to join us. Tsk, ugly people are always causing trouble!"

Beatrice had long developed an immunity to hearing such things, and she completely ignored him.

However, Eleanor exploded.

She was fiercely protective of her friends; anyone she cared about fell immediately under her shield. Normally, she would have at most turned a blind eye to the tall, thin man. But at this moment, the alcohol had stripped away her reason.

She picked up the wine glass in her hand. She had intended to drink it, but with a swift flick of her wrist, she splashed the contents directly into the tall, thin man's face.

"Damn it! How dare you splash me!"

"I splashed you, so what! If you don't wash out your filthy mouth, I'll pour boiling water on you next time!"

Eleanor's eyes were bright and fierce. At that moment, she radiated a breathtaking, imposing aura that was truly shocking.

The tall, thin man wiped his face, staring blankly as several of his friends surrounded him. They saw it as a rare opportunity: they could use this conflict to start a conversation with the beauty, perhaps force her to buy them a round as an apology, and maybe see where things developed from there.

Sebastian frowned, raised his hand to beckon to the Floor Manager standing not far away, and gave his instructions in a low voice.

"Throw those men out for me."

The Nocturne Floor Manager looked at Sebastian in surprise, but upon meeting his displeased gaze, he quickly pulled out his walkie-talkie.

Within moments, several tall, burly bouncers rushed over.

"What are you doing? We are paying customers here. You can't do this to us! I'm going to complain about you, just watch me!"

The tall, thin man and his friends shouted, but the bouncers turned a deaf ear and threw them right out of Nocturne.

Beatrice looked on in surprise and moved closer to Eleanor.

"Eleanor, what's going on?"

Eleanor tried her best to stay awake and assess the situation unfolding in front of her, but she merely shook her head in confusion.

The two women looked at each other in blank dismay.

At some point, Sebastian had already walked over to where the two were sitting and knocked his knuckles against the bar.

Beatrice looked over, her slightly drunk eyes widening instantly, and she frantically poked Eleanor.

"Bea, why are you poking me?"

Beatrice covered her face, speechless, desperately wanting to pretend she didn't know her friend. Girl, do you have to be so loud? I just wanted to tell you there's a ridiculously handsome bloke behind you!

Beatrice's actions were naturally noticed by Sebastian, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

He raised his hand and patted Eleanor lightly on the shoulder.

To him, this was just a perfectly ordinary gesture, but... things rarely go according to plan.

Eleanor had just been harassed by the tall, thin man, and she was still on high alert. The moment Sebastian patted her on the shoulder, she subconsciously whipped around and raised the new glass of wine in her hand...

Splash!

The hero saves the beauty, and gets a face full of alcohol in return!

After the wine was spilled, Eleanor saw who was standing behind her.

Covering her face in embarrassment, she lowered her head silently and hid it in her arms.

The Nocturne Floor Manager stared at the scene, utterly dumbfounded. The boss had actually been splashed with wine by a woman! If the second and third boss friends knew about this, they would die of laughter.

This woman was so bold... he absolutely adored it! If he ever had the chance, he had to get to know this woman and take her on as his teacher!

Sebastian raised a hand to wipe the wine off his face. He looked at the certain woman pretending to be an ostrich with a mixture of anger and amusement.

"Right then, Eleanor. I helped you get rid of those creeps, and this is how you repay me?"

Eleanor buried her head even deeper. It's over, he recognized me.

Wait a minute!

As if suddenly remembering something, she threw her head up and looked at Sebastian. "How do you know my name?"

Sebastian replied calmly, "You said it when you were chatting with Theo. Did you forget?"

"I said it when I was chatting with Theo? Why don't I remember?"

She rubbed her head, feeling a little dizzy from the alcohol, and looked completely puzzled. Why didn't she remember telling her name to Theo? Could it be that she'd drunk too much and forgotten?

"Let's go, I'll take you back. Girls shouldn't stay out so late; there are too many bad people around."

Beatrice nodded quickly, gathered her things, and slid off her bar stool.

Eleanor slapped the bar and looked at Beatrice angrily. "Bea, you are so mean! You agreed to stay with me today and promised we wouldn't go home until we were drunk. What's the matter with you now? Don't leave. If we don't finish drinking today, neither of us is allowed to leave!"

Beatrice looked at her speechlessly, mentally dropping to her knees in despair.

Approaching Eleanor's ear with a frustrated face, Beatrice gritted her teeth and muttered.

"You daft cow, a gorgeous bloke like this is offering to take you home—I'm trying to create an opportunity for you! Go pull this handsome guy and let that bastard James take a good look. Let him know he isn't the only man in the world. How disgusting is it that he acts all affectionate for everyone to see while sucking up to that rich girl like a two-faced gold-digger?"

Beatrice had completely forgotten that she was quite drunk herself. So, her "muttering"... was actually loud, especially for a crowded bar.

Sebastian felt it would be entirely unconvincing to pretend he hadn't heard every word.

Smack!

Eleanor slapped the table and pointed right at Beatrice's nose.

"Bea, I'm warning you, I'll lose my temper if you mention him again. Come back here and drink with me!"

Beatrice looked at her bitterly, squeezed her eyes shut, and laid her head down on the table.

Eleanor grabbed Beatrice's wrist and pulled up the woman who was pretending to be asleep.

"Bea, get up. You promised to spend time with me, you can't go back on your word. If you abandon me, who else can I turn to?"

Beatrice raised her head and gave Eleanor a hard glare.

"This lady is drunk. Go bother the man behind you!"

After finishing speaking, Beatrice simply laid her head back down on the bar, pretending to be dead.

Eleanor pushed her a few more times in frustration. Seeing that Beatrice didn't respond, she pouted, propped her chin on her hands, and sulked against the bar.

As for the man behind her...

Sebastian looked at Eleanor, who was obviously throwing a little temper tantrum, with a helpless smile on his face. It wasn't that he had never seen drunk women before, but those women had nothing to do with him, so he couldn't have cared less.

But the one in front of him... he really couldn't bring himself to walk away.

Sebastian stared at Eleanor, her beautiful face slowly overlapping with the girl in his memory.

The smile on his face deepened, and he whispered in his heart.

Little girl, I finally found you.