Chapter 9

Sebastian’s POV

I closed the car door with a strong bang. 

The weight of the day still pressed down on me. 

I was angry at myself and the  decisions I made. 

It wasn't work related alone. It was me coming to an empty house with no children running around and a selfish wife to deal with.

My childlessness was having a toll on me. Four years married to Seline and no child.

Seline was already in the living room when I  walked in. “You’re late,” she said.

“I had work to do.” 

“You always have work. Maybe if you had time for me and our family, you’d see life differently.”

“Family, the one you deprived me of?” I asked.

“Adoption.” she said.

“I have told you this, if adoption is your only choice. It's not  mine.”

For a moment, we stared at each other like two strangers playing husband and wife in a house that grew colder every night.

Seline raised a brow. “You didn’t even think about it.”

“I don’t need to think about it.” 

“So what do you want?” she fired back. “To keep pretending we’re fine? Pretending this arrangement still works? You signed the contract, Sebastian. You agreed. No kids. No pregnancy. No mess.”

I rubbed my face. “And maybe I was stupid then.”

She was shocked at my response.

“Maybe I didn’t know what I wanted back then,” I continued quietly. 

“Maybe I thought peace was better than a family. Maybe I thought a quiet life was enough.”

“And now?” she asked.

“Now I go to work… and come home to this.” I turned around. “A house that feels like a museum. 

A wife who treats everything like a business deal. And a future that feels… empty.”

“So what are you saying?” She said angrily.

“I’m saying adoption isn’t fixing anything. Not when there’s nothing between us.”

Seline set her wine down.

“If you don’t want adoption, then what? A surrogate? Another woman carrying a child you can’t even give?”

I moved  back, already tired and not in the mood for any further conversation.

“Goodnight, Seline.” I said.

I didn’t look at her again, I just  walked inside.

Later that night, my phone rang and it was  “Mr. Caldwell” Seline’s father.

“Sebastian,” he called 

“I hear you’ve been preoccupied. The company is flourishing, yes, but don’t think your personal indecision goes unnoticed.”

“I’m fully aware of my responsibilities.”

“Awareness isn’t enough. Decisions must be acted upon. Seline’s patience has limits, and so does mine. A man in your position cannot afford distractions or hesitation.”

“I can handle my family affairs,” I said.

“There’s more at stake than you realize,” Caldwell continued, “The company you are enjoying today is because of the agreement made and its future depends on what Seline is asking you to do.”

“The reputation we’ve built, it all depends on you leading obediently. Fail, and you will not only disappoint your wife but jeopardize everything you and your  family has worked for.”

I slammed the phone on the bed.

Mr Cardwell, full of threat and imposing all the time. They are just using me. Something needs to be done to stop it. I said to myself

I ran my  hand over my  face,  thoughts came clashing. 

The vasectomy was their safeguard, their shield against impossible expectations, to ensure I didn't have an heir, they are beginning to show the true reason why they requested for a vasectomy. 

As I lay on my bed that night, I remembered the day I walked into the clinic.

The decision had been simple.

Back then, we had agreed on a child-free marriage.

Her condition. Her terms. Her rules.

I wasn’t planning to fight her and her father on it. All I needed was to free my father from the alliance he had with Seline’s father so that the company could be mine. 

A vasectomy which was their condition made sense then.

But the doctor’s words stayed with me.

“It’s standard, Mr. Sebastian. Before the procedure, we advise storing a sample. Just in case you change your mind in the future.”

At that time, I had laughed lightly.

Still… I signed the form.

Just in case.

And looking at the way things are between me and Seline and the father still wanting control of the company. I was happy I listened to the doctor and made that decision. 

A backup plan.

At midnight Seline appeared in my bedroom, hands in between my thighs.

She touched me  like she was the owner of my body.

“Sebastian…” I want you inside of me.

I pretended I didn’t hear her at first.

She then kissed my lips. “It’s been a long time. Let's do this.”

“Do what?” I asked.

I pushed her gently, removing her hands from me. 

“Seline, don’t.”

“Don’t? I’m your wife. You can't deny  me.” She said,

“After years of you turning your back, pushing me away, treating me like I mean nothing and treating intimacy like a negotiation, all of a sudden you want it?”

“I get what I want.” She said as she moved above me. 

“I'm sorry. I have lost interest in you.”

“So you don’t want me anymore?”

“I don’t want what we pretend to be. And you know we’ve been pretending for a long time.”

She got up angrily from the bed.

“I don't give a fuck. I hate you.” she said. 

“You know what I'm interested in and you ain't ready, you can report me to your father as usual, I don't care.” 

“Sebastian.” she screamed.

“Enough, I have a busy day tomorrow and a company to run. I need all the rest I can get.”

“What company are you referring to? The one I placed you in? I determine what happens in the company and in this house.”

“Not anymore. I alone will determine how to run the company and my life. I gave up my life, my passion and the things I love for the alliance.  I can't continue to be pushed around.

She slammed the door angrily as she left.