Chapter 9
The morning light reed through the widow, carrying the soft scent of dorry formers bave I barely noticed
I’d been up sincs, dining, we ume kw druk tager bathate, now!
I wanted to be mad at him—God knows I had reason the Glory Germ, I knew I didn’t. Not really,
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The way he Vissed me? Yeah, that sets her grand–free in my head every since, And don’t even get me started on his touch- it made my knees wedz. Ugh, annoying, man
so gentle
Georly, throwing myself at him like a desprende henverste wasn’t enough. I needed to op my game, prove I wasn’t just playing pretend.
So i got out of bed, fled my hair back, and made my way downstairs,
The villa was quiet, aside from the soft team of conversation between the help as they moved through their morning routine.
“Good morning, Young, Miss,” a téw of them greeted, their heads koxmerged respectfully as I passed,
The gut his me hard.
It wasn’t always like this. Back when my so–called best friend ruled this house like it was hers, she’d insisted they treat us both like royalty- but not equals. She’d said it wasn’t “betting” for them to meet my eyes, Such a damn prode, now that I think about it.
“Good morning, ladlers” I beamed, and for once, I meant it. Normally, I would’ve just tossed my hair and walked away like I didn’t notice them
“Glinda, is my mother up yet?” I asked, still smiling
Gleda’s wide eyes snapped to mine, clearly startled by the new attitude, but she recovered quickly, “Yes, Young Miss. She’s in the kitchen.”
“Great!” I nodded, giving her a grated smile, “Well done, ladies,”
And with that, I left a trail of stunned maids in my wake,
Olivia Lancaster, you’ve got a long, damn way to go.
Mom was already in the kitchen, ding vegetables and humming softly, curiosity and suspicion lighting up her eyes when she saw me- Jaira tonyled mess, still in my robe, and my bare feet on the ground,” Good Morning mom!”
“Morning,” she greeted, lifting, her head up slightly, “You’re up early, What’s the occasion?”
I didn’t reply here, I graded an apron before saying, “I want to make lunch“.
She passed the knife, still in hand. “You make lunch? Since when?”
I shot her a playful glare “Okay, I get that I didn’t really cook before, but now I’m trying to do better.”
-my
Mom smiled. I knew how much she cared about Sebastian, and it was high time I did the same. “Good,” my mom said. “I just hope you’re not up to anything stupid Olds, if there’s anyone worthy of your love then it’s Sebastian.”
“I know, I know” I smiled, though there was still a pang of disappointment at her distrust but I let that go, slinging my arm over her shoulder instead “Don’t worry, I won’t mess up.”
An hour later, I had three packs of three different meals. I packed them into containers. I know he likes garlic rice and some salad, so I made Some of that, sandwiches, and salmon sauce
I wish fans take all the credit, but it was mostly my mom that did all the work, and she knew exactly what he liked. Despite, being his wife, I
By eleven–thirty am, I was standing in front of a towering glass building, lunch bag in hand, nervousness spreading across my body. Why was 1 nervous? I had tried to sleep with this same man last night, and he preferred a cold shower over me. I just hope he’d agree to eat the food and not think I was trying to poison him or something
The facepalmet looked surprised and a bit terrified when I appeared at the front desk. But who could blame her? The last time I was here, I’d nained a contract signing between Sebastian and a major private investor, all because of Philip’s orders. Ever since then, I’d been banned from the Insiding
But even though I’d been born, the damage had already been done. There was no way to undo their whispers or the cautious looks they shot
Chapter G
my way.
“Hi! Lena? Was it?”
Her mouth was wide open but she nodded “Mrs. Lancaster?”
“The one and only. I’m here with Sebastian’s lunch.”
She blinked awkwardly. “Well, uh, Mr Lancaster is…currently in a meeting.”
“It’s fine, I’ll wait,” I said quickly. “Do you mind if I wait in his office?”
She hesitated, unsure for a moment, but then nodded, “Of course, let me esco-
“Mrs. Lancaster?” A voice calls and I turn to see Mark walking towards us.
“1
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“We weren’t wasn’t expecting you,” His voice was little cautious, but he quickly regained his composure,
I flashed him a small smile. “I’m sure you weren’t. I’d like to wait for Sebastian in his office, please.”
Mark hesitated for a moment, glanced at the receptionist, then back at me. With a slight sigh of defeat, he motioned for me to follow him. ” Come with me ma’am, I’ll take you upstairs.”
I followed him as he led the way, the tension thick in the air as we ascended to the top floor, leaving behind the curious glances and whispers that I couldn’t stop even if I tried.
Sebastian’s office was filled with towering bookshelves, glass windows overlooking the skyline, and that massive desk filled with files. I hovered near the sitting area and placed the food on the coffee table.
Mark gave a polite smile and a small nod before she walked out. I kept looking around. That’s when I noticed the folder.
Hamilton Urban Revenue Project written on it.
Sabastians company Lancaster Dominion Group was involved in anything and everything that had to do with real estate, from development of Urban Revitalization, to building and remodeling House you name it they can do it all.
And this project was something every real estate company in America was after.
My fingers followed the path and picked it up.
This was the same project Phillip can’t keep his mouth shut up about He was desperate to win this.
He had mentioned wanting to know Sebastian’s bid, but I haven’t given him anything yet–not a single word. I wasn’t going to but maybe, just maybe…
I flipped through the folder.
“Just a peek won’t hurt,” I mumbled to myself.
Lancaster Dominion Group,
Numbers, project outlines, price, stock–1 skimmed through quickly, memorizing just enough to generate one for Philip.
But before I could put the file back in place, the door opened and Sebastian walked in stopping mid step, with hands in his pocket, looking too elegant for a Tuesday.
“Looking for something?”
His voice was calm, not what I was expecting.
I turned around sharply to place the slightly messy folder back, but his eyes were already following my movement.
Shit
I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breath. “I uh, I wasn’t going to take anything. I just
“You brought lunch?” he cut me off, surprise evident on his face, his tone unreadable.
”
He didn’t yell. Didn’t storm in and accuse me of anything. He just stood there, looking at me with that damn blank expression that always seemed to say so much without saying anything at all.
I nodded slowly, forcing a smile as I gestured to the coffee table. “It’s your favorite.”
Chreser
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Sebastian didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he walked over to the desk, casually arranging some files, like he wasn’t bothered by wheat head just happened. His nonchalant attitude only made my nerves woTSA,
Finally, he looked up, eyes narrowing “You don’t know what I like, Olivia”
I felt a pang in my chest, but I ignored it, ““1 started, but he opened the food container before I could finish my sentener,
I watched him take a bite of the salmon, and I could’ve sworn i saw a flikker of surprise in his eyes, though it disappeared too quiddy for me to be sure.
A small, almost smug smile crept onto my lips, but I bit it back. While I tried to hide the fact that I was excited, he kept eating,
I sat across from him and watched as he ate the food without replying to my question.
He finished another bite. The tension between us stretched, and I was tense literally sweating under my dress, This man made me nervous,
“I just… wanted to do something nice,” I said softly
He didn’t respond. I searched his face for any reaction–anything at all.
I wanted to yell at him, scream, but if I did that, I would lose him and I didn’t want that.
“I know I have a lot of making up to do, hubby” I added with a pout instead, “but I meant what I said last night. I’m not playing games,”
“Then tell me the truth. Why were you looking through my file?”
My eyes dropped, “I wasn’t
“Do not…lie to me Olivia.” His voice was sharp and commanding
I swallowed hard. “I promise I wasn’t going to steal anything I just saw the name on the folder and remembered….. Phillip talked about it, that’s all.”
He just gave a smile that terrified me a little
I rushed to fix it. “I wasn’t going to betray you, I swear!”
His snort was short and cold.
He stood slowly, crossing bis arms as he leaned against the edge of his desk.
“If you’re working with him or trying to get my company’s secrets and give them to him, just stop with this charade. And if you desperately needed to know my bidding, price, you should have just asked me,”
My heart pounded, I wasn’t pretending
If I was, I wouldn’t have cooked for him–which he finished, by the way–but his attitide was really starting to piss me off, why was he being so sassy?
He looked awØJ,
“You said you’d give me one more chance. I’d prove to you that I’m not the same person I was, and I deserve a little respect.”
He didn’t say anything right away, just stared at me, arms crossed, eyes fixed on mine,
I drew in a shaky breath. “I get it you don’t trust me. But at least see that I’m trying. That has to count for something”
Still nothing. Maybe I was expecting too much too soon. It hadn’t even been twenty–four hours since my rebirth. After everything he’s been through, of course he’d be wary of the sudden switch.
The silence stretched between us, and it was suffocating
“I care, and I hope you get to see that someday”
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