Sebastian stayed silent.
What was the point in saying anything now?
Cleo looked at him–at his hollow, numb expression–and her anger surged. Her voice trembled as she choked out, “The whole Mason family is heartless. Maxine shielded you with her own body during the explosion–she got burned across her entire back saving you. Even then, she stayed conscious long enough to donate blood because the hospital said you needed it. And this is how you repay her?”
As the memory of that day rushed back, Cleo’s fury only deepened. “You knew damn well that Kathleen was connected to Gabriel. You knew the two of them were involved in some disgusting mess–and you still let her go free. Maxine’s car accident? You’re half responsible for that too!”
Truth be told, if Cleo and Maxine were legally related, she wouldn’t even be here talking to Sebastian.
But something in Cleo’s words made Sebastian’s heart stop. He grabbed onto the only thing that mattered. “What did you say?” he asked, voice hoarse. “Explosion? What explosion?”
His pulse was racing, dizziness creeping in as the shock set in. “Tell me everything–what explosion are you talking about?!”
Cleo rolled her eyes at him in disgust. “Save it. When they need your signature, just show up on time. Don’t butt into arrything else. We’re done trusting you–we’ve been stabbed in the back enough.”
But Sebastian didn’t care about the sarcasm in her voice. He reached out and grabbed her arm before she could turn away. “What explosion? When did this happen?”
Cleo jerked free, glaring at him like he was the biggest idiot she’d ever met. “Are you seriously pretending you don’t know? The night you got into that car accident coming back from overseas. Maxine was nearby, waiting to meet you for dinner.
“She saw your car leaking oil and didn’t even hesitate–dragged you out with her bare hands. The second she pulled you out, the car exploded. She shielded you with her body and had the skin on her back burned raw. And she still bit down on the pain, stayed awake long enough to get you to the hospital.”
Her voice trembled with rage now. She could hardly look at him without wanting to slap him. “I honestly don’t get it–why the hell did she waste so much of her life on you two?”
Sebastian’s face went white, drained of all color. His lips trembled as he stood there, utterly shattered. “And then… what happened after that?”
Cleo’s gaze shifted, something unreadable flashing through her eyes. “You really don’t know?”
He shook his head. “I… I didn’t know. When I woke up… Kathleen was there. She told me she was the one who saved me.”
Cleo finally snapped. “What a sick, shameless bitch!”
She took a deep breath, piecing it together in real time. “So that’s why you’ve been helping her this whole time? Because you thought she saved your
life?”
Sebastian nodded slowly. Cleo fell silent. For once, she had nothing to say. The revelation was too absurd, too cruel.
“She didn’t even visit you in the hospital,” Cleo said bitterly. “And you never thought to ask why? Never tried to find out the truth?”
He shook his head again. He’d been angry then, irrational and wounded. It had never occurred to him to investigate anything. He just… believed
Kathleen.
Cleo gave a hollow laugh, dripping with sarcasm. “So at the end of the day, Kathleen still mattered more to you, huh?”
Otherwise, how could a few pretty lies have swayed him so easily?
09:11 Sat, 21 Jun T.
Chapter 148
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She paused, then added with a sharp edge, “After the ambulance got you to the hospital, the doctors said you’d lost too much blood. The supply was low. They checked everyone’s blood type, and Maxine’s matched yours. So she gave you hers–despite her own injuries, despite the burns across her
back.”
13
What she didn’t say–what she didn’t need to say–was that Maxine’s body took a serious hit that day. The recovery alone took over a month, and healing the burns? Even longer.
Sebastian’s fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. He had never known. And now, all he could do was imagine how broken Maxine must have felt–being met with hatred and accusations from the very man whose life she had saved.
AD
