CELINE’s POVAnd all of a sudden, the light turned on and the doors to the elevator flung open. The people began to file out one by one. I didn't waste any time and immediately started squeezing myself with them, but then Sebastian grabbed me back by the hand and pinned me against the wall. "Brylee…?"Oh, shit!"Oh, Sebastian… Is that you?" I had to do it. I needed to pretend to be Brylee again. I'd got no choice because I was already trapped in his arms. I bit my lip as I pressed my body against his and hugged him tight. "I’m so sorry… I didn’t know it was you. I mean, I didn’t recognize you. It was dark in here.""Brylee…" he repeated and I grimaced as he called me by my sister's name, drawing closer to my ear and I felt him smirk as his lips barely grazed the side of my neck. "I miss you…" his voice was a low hiss, his warm breath fanned my jawline, and I squeezed my eyes shut. The fragrance of his expensive cologne invaded my mind, making me think back about the intimate session w
CELINE’s POV‘‘What happened to you, Celine?’’ As soon as I walked inside the ward, I could clearly make out my mother's concerned voice. My entire body was trembling, and I was sweating tremendously as a result of my nervousness. I was glad Sebastian Anderson didn’t follow me.I made an effort to put on a fake smile in the hopes that it would dissuade her from becoming worried about me. ‘‘Nothing, mom…’’ I responded while anting heavily. ‘‘I had the impression that it was appropriate to use the stairs. I had no idea I could get that worn out in such a short amount of time.’’‘‘There are many elevators to use, Celine. Why did you decide to use the stairs?’’ mom asked, the worried expression that was plastered on her face changed into confusion.‘‘To… exercise. Yes! I just want to exercise my legs and warm up my body. It’s too cold outside…’’ I hope she will buy my reasoning.And because she appeared to be convinced, she didn’t pursue the matter any further. I let out a breath of relie
CELINE’s POV‘‘Brylee!’’ By holding her arm, my mother prevented her from slapping me again, but when she did, Brylee jerked her hand away and aggressively pointed her finger at my mother.‘‘Don't put your hands on me, you senile old hag!’’ she pushed mom’s petite and weak body, and I was able to react quickly enough to catch her before she hit the ground. ‘‘You made a commitment to dad that you would move out of the city, right? What are you still doing here?!’’ she ignored mom and was now directing her finger at me.‘‘Shut up, Brylee!’’ I yelled back, and my mother restrained me just as I was about to hit her back. ‘‘Mom…’’ I protested, but she shook her head.‘‘Don’t hurt your sister, Celine…’’ she said as tears began to fill her eyes and all I could do was stare at her in disbelief. Why was she protecting this little shit! Brylee hurt her! She insulted her! And I can’t take what she was doing to mom anymore. It was breaking my heart into pieces.Brylee fixed her gaze icily on our
SEBASTIAN'S P O VAt exactly nine o'clock in the morning, while I was sitting behind my mahogany desk reviewing the monthly cost accounting report of Anderson Corporation, I observed that there were some differences between the reports of the costs of the materials and the costs of the output.‘‘What the fucking hell is this!?’’ I yelled, and my rage immediately grew to the point that I had to dial the number of the head of the financial department, Mr. Hunt to know what happened.In my entire life, I have been a man who has been competitive but impatient. I wanted everything, especially my businesses and the people working for me, to be well-organized and excellent.‘‘Good morning, Mr. Anderson...’’ the middle-aged man answered the phone cheerfully and I grimaced since I was not in the mood to greet him back. ‘‘Is there any—’’‘‘Mr. Hunt!’’ I interrupted him quickly. ‘‘I need you to immediately send the members of the internal audit team to the materials department. When I compared t
‘‘Of course!’’ Sasha retorted with a smug grin permanently affixed to her lips as she thought about her response. ‘‘Since I anticipated that Celine would defy your father’s instructions, I had this prepared in advance. I offered her a way out that would have made her life simpler, but she insisted on venturing into this dungeon instead. I would enjoy myself more if I were to rough her up...’’ Her crooked smile contrasted sharply with her angry eyes. Everything was up to her at that point. ‘‘Thank you, Mommy! You are without a doubt the very best!’’ Brylee rushed over to her stepmother and gave her a bear hug, acting pampered while in her arms. In her mind, she harbored a deep-seated animosity towards Celine. The fact that they shared an identical appearance bothered her a great deal. She hated it that she had her face. Even more impressive was the fact that she did not give off the impression of being a country bumpkin despite the time she had spent on the island. Instead, she mainta
CELINE’s POVI got up early in the morning, and the first thing I did was to start making breakfast for my mother. I was in the cafeteria when one of the hospital staff members called me.‘‘Miss Lauren…’’Startled, my head shot up and I squinted at her for a few seconds in confusion while I tried to figure out why she was calling me. ‘‘Yes…?’’‘‘There’s someone who wants to talk to you in the VIP room…’’ That was the only thing she said before leaving me completely bewildered.As I made my way to the elevator, I could only think of one person who wanted to talk to me at this very moment--- Dr. Henry.I couldn’t help but feel anxious as I walked down the corridor and stopped in front of the door of the VIP room. What if he told me that mom was dying? I'm not sure how I'd react if I heard that information.I took a long breath before gingerly grasping the doorknob and opening the door slowly, only to be taken aback when I saw my father sitting on the couch with a cigarette on his lips.
CELINE’s POVThe world seemed to freeze as I entered the room, the people around me took a deep breath, looking at me, shocked. Their eyes widened as their gazes jumped from me to Brylee, and from Brylee, then back to me.Everyone was stunned as they stared at my calm and relaxed expression, but suddenly, my eyes were beginning to hurt from the sudden stinging sensation caused by the flashes of the camera that were going off all around me. I lifted my hand to try to cover my face when I heard one of the reporters ask me a question.‘‘Are you sure that it's actually you? The woman in the video?’’‘‘Yes…’’ I didn’t blink an eye as I stared at the reporter and answered him directly and to the point. ‘‘That woman in the photos and in the video is me...’’Those were the only words I was allowed to say.I just stood there motionless with a blank look written all over my face as the crowd jeered at me and barraged me with a never-ending stream of questions and sarcastic comments.After finis
CELINE’s POV‘‘S-Sebastian…?’’ I was surprised to see him arrive here. And he was casting terrible glares at the girls who were getting ready to flee out of terror. I wasn’t expecting him to save me. I don't want him to save me from anyone.But he did...‘‘Get lost!’’ he shouted to the girls and they were so scared that they immediately ran away.He took a deep sigh before he turned his attention to me, which caused me to stop dead in my tracks. As I lay there on the frigid ground, my body was trembling, and my lips were quivering as well because of the cold rain.I ran the back of my hand over my face, brushing away the rain water. I made a conscious effort not to concentrate on what my face looked like at that very moment, because I don’t really care about how he finds me right now.‘‘Are you okay?’’ he asked, but there was no indication of concern in his voice.I scowled and sat slowly, dragging my skirt down over my thighs to cover them. I bit my bottom lip as I stared at him, sha