What I wanted

Mona's POV:

It was him.

Sebastian.

He stopped dead in his tracks the moment he saw us, his gaze darting from me and Keisha to the suitcases on the floor in front of my supposedly new room. He stared at them for a while, utter confusion spreading across his face as his brows furrowed. After a short moment, his gaze returned to us.

I could sense the panic in Keisha’s breathing just before she spoke—

"U-uncle?" Keisha said, stepping closer to him and forcing a laugh that sounded painfully nervous. "W-what are you… what are you doing here?"

"Do we perhaps have a relative coming?" he asked, ignoring her question, his brows still furrowed. "…one I wasn't aware of?"

"Well…" Keisha dragged the word, tangling her fingers together nervously.

Just as she was about to form a proper response, the door beside the empty room I was supposed to move into creaked open, cutting her off. In that instant, all our gazes—mine, Keisha's, and Sebastian's—darted toward the sound.

And standing just between the crack of the door was him. Kade.

Holy fuck.

The scent of him filled the hallway the moment he stepped out. He was dripping wet, his hair still soaked, beads of water trailing down his bare chest. A towel hung low around his waist, emphasizing the sharp V-line from his hips down to his pelvis, leaving my imagination to wander about what lay beneath.

I swallowed. Hard.

I can't deny it—the first time I met Kade, I'd imagined him shirtless. When he climbed off his bike that evening, you could already see his toned muscles through the black shirt he wore, and for some reason, I'd found myself tracing them with my eyes, picturing what was underneath.

But seeing it today? This view definitely surpassed my imagination. Definitely.

Our gazes locked the moment he stepped out. He looked surprised—like he hadn't expected me to be here at this moment.

He didn't even pay attention to his father standing behind us. His gaze was fixed solely on me for a short moment—our eyes locked, held, and lingered. Shortly after, it felt like he finally realized that I was actually here as he cleared his throat, breaking the tension that hung thick in the air.

"Ahem." His gaze broke from mine and moved to Keisha before he directed his question to her. "Does she… does she know yet?"

"Yeah, but…" She cleared her throat nervously and used her side eyes to point at Sebastian, who was just behind her. She mouthed the next words so he couldn't hear. "…looks like we have a little problem."

Kade's eyes slowly followed her direction before finally meeting Sebastian's gaze.

"Oh," he said in realization, straightening his body and clearing his throat as he fully turned to face Sebastian. "Hello, Father."

Sebastian didn't even bother acknowledging Kade's greeting. He acted as if he hadn't heard a word and spoke again.

"I believe I asked you a question, Keisha," he continued, his tone laced with utmost seriousness.

"N-no, uncle," she stuttered, slowly turning to face Sebastian fully before meeting my gaze. "We're not expecting any relatives."

"And if we're not expecting any relatives, then who owns these luggages?" He pointed to the bags in front of the empty room.

"Well…" Keisha tangled her fingers in her clothes, clearly searching for the right—and most appropriate—way to tell her uncle about me moving into the royal wing.

But just at that moment—

"It's Mona's," Kade said immediately, stepping away from the crack between his chamber door and its hinges. He shut the door behind him with a soft click and took a step forward.

The shock on Sebastian's face the moment Kade said it was almost loud enough to speak before he could utter a single word. He stared at all three of us in utter confusion, like he was hoping this was some kind of joke. Then he finally spoke, a sarcastic laugh breaking through him.

"What?" His voice was eerily calm as he laughed, the tone laced with brewing anger.

"Keisha said you requested her room be moved from—"

"I know what I said, Kade." Sebastian cut him off immediately, his laugh dying down abruptly as his voice began to rise. "What I don't understand is why she's being moved to the family wing."

Through all of this, Sebastian wasn't even looking at me—not even a single glance.

"Uncle," Keisha said, breathing out as she moved closer to him, trying to calm him down. "I can explain—"

"I really don't want to hear it, Keisha." He cut her off at once. "She won't be staying here, and that's final."

I was finally about to open my mouth—to actually confront him—but just as I did…

"And why won't she, Father?" Kade stepped forward immediately, coming face to face with Sebastian. He looked unbothered, fearless as ever. "Hm?"

"Kade?" Keisha said softly, grabbing his arm, trying to stop him from getting closer to Sebastian. It almost seemed like something was about to happen—something that had seemingly happened before. Like Kade and his father normally had these altercations, and Keisha was trying to prevent it.

"No, Keisha. I need him to tell us why he's decided to evict her from the room she was staying in initially and still make demands on where she can or cannot stay when this is clearly a family house." His voice was already rising as he stared his father dead in the eye.

Sebastian, on the other hand, had fury burning within him. He fisted his hands so tightly the veins looked ready to burst. The veins in his forehead became visible as Kade's voice climbed higher. Slowly, Sebastian raised one of his clenched hands and pointed his index finger at Kade—his hand literally trembling, a gesture that seemed like a silent warning.

"You will NOT speak to me in such a manner!" he yelled, pointing at Kade. "You definitely will NOT. Do you hear me?!"

"Or what, Father?" Kade yelled back. "Huh? Or what?"

Almost immediately, I noticed Keisha hurry from my side and squeeze herself between them, holding Kade's chest back to stop him from going physical with Sebastian.

"Kade!" she yelled, pushing him back, her hand planted on his chest. Kade was already breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling fast, his eyes full of something that looked like frustration as he stared into his own father's rage-filled eyes. "Kade, chill out, man."

I just stood there at the side. Speechless. Confused. Wondering how things had escalated this fast.

My gaze stayed fixed on Sebastian as I watched him seethe. Then his eyes finally darted from Kade to me. He squinted, looking between us, his face a mix of something that looked like anger and irritation.

"Fuck you, man," Kade finally mouthed to his father, breaking the unseen tension between me and Sebastian. He slowly stepped back, keeping his gaze locked on his father with utter disgust, before finally turning his back and making his way into his room.

Keisha, still standing in the space that had previously separated Kade and Sebastian, watched as Kade walked away. Her face was full of confusion before her gaze darted back to her uncle.

“Uncle please, I’ll deal with this.” She said as she clapped her hands together, an act of her pleading before she at once began hurriedly following behind Kade, locking kades room door shut behind her, the moment she entered leaving just I and Sebastian in the now empty hallway. 

I ran a hand down my face and let out a deep breath. Muffled arguments between Kade and Keisha filtering through Kade’s door.

My thoughts were scattering around the whole place. 

Should I just return back to my pack? I was trying to make Sebastian jealous, yes.  but I didn’t plan for things to go this way. 

Just as I was still lost in my pondering thoughts, his voice—Sebastian’s—broke my train of thoughts—

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”