Page 5

“Sweetheart, go to the car. I’ll talk to her.” Sebastian kissed her on the head. I was praying that she wouldn’t leave, but she nodded and walked out.
Damn
Sebastian stepped in front of me after my mum left, and I stepped back. I gulped nervously when he looked straight into my eyes.
Sebastian says, “You’re playing with fire.” I step back again, and he steps closer.
“I like living on the edge.”
“And the edge you’ll get, Pumpkin,” Sebastian said. My nickname was very slow and deep. He stepped in front of me again, and I took my last step back before my body hit the wall. He put his hands on the wall behind me, trapping me in, and I whined quietly.
“Mr. Devereux, you’re a little too close,” I said in a shaky voice. My mouth was getting dry and needed water or some other kind of hydration.
He looked at me for a second before leaning down to my ear. “Don’t act like you don’t like me being close to you,” he whispered, and I tightened my thighs.
I opened my mouth to argue with what he said, but nothing came out. I wanted to shout, “You’re with my mum, you jerk,” but my mouth wouldn’t let me. I wanted to slap his perfect face, but my body wouldn’t let me move. I was stuck. He saw that I was having trouble, and a smirk appeared on his perfect, evil mouth.
“Miss. Callahan, you’re very tempting.” Sebastian leaned in close to my ear again and whispered so softly that I shivered.
“And y-you’re very annoying.” I tried to sound strong or even sure of myself, but I couldn’t even pretend to be.
His eyes were going through a lot of different feelings, and so were mine. The horn of the car made us both jump. He shut his eyes and ran away. I held on to my shorts to calm down after that heated moment.
“Jesus, give me power.” I looked up at the ceiling and prayed to God.
I got all my strength back and went outside. Sebastian was driving, my mom was in the passenger seat, and I was in the back seat.
“Great, you didn’t change.” My mom rubbed her head to try to get rid of her headache. This is going to be a long day.
I hate not talking; the silence is driving me crazy.
“Mom, where are we going?” I asked, feeling anxious.
“Oh, Sebastian is taking us to lunch for work,” she says.
I’m freaking out right now. I should have just worn that ugly pink dress. His business friend is going to think I’m a whore.
“Cool,” I said quietly, pretending that nothing was wrong, but inside, I was screaming.
The whole drive was an awkward silence. My mom didn’t even say anything, which was surprising because she always had something to say. We arrived at our destination after an hour and thirty minutes. I kept track of the time. I was shocked to find out that it wasn’t a restaurant but another mansion. When I got out of the car, my shorts went up a little, and I quickly pulled them down. I heard someone clear their throat, and when I turned around, Sebastian’s eyes were full of l**t.
“You don’t look so good, Sebastian,” I said. He wanted to play a game, so I guess I’ll play along even better. He looked confused, and I smiled a lot.
“Oh dear, are you sick?” My mum checks his temperature by putting the back of her hand on his forehead and then his cheeks.
I couldn’t help but smile in victory.
“I’ll take care of that later, but something just caught my eye.”
I couldn’t help but think that his words had bad intentions behind them, even though they were so innocent. I stopped looking at him and started walking. My mom and Sebastian did, too. We got to the front of this big house, where a butler and a maid were standing by the door.
“Sebastian Devereux and my family,” Sebastian said. I hated the sound of family.
Both of them nodded, and the butler opened the door wide. I quietly followed my mom.
The whole place was great. I could smell rich all over these walls. Everything was so clean and bright, unlike Sebastian’s house, which was dark and shady. There were a lot of flowers and other plants here. They must really like plants or something. I think we’re in the dining room because there’s a big table in the middle with flowers on it.
“You made it,” a voice from my right said, which scared the hell out of me.
A man in a suit said, “You made it.” He was probably a few years older than Sebastian. I saw that all men do that: Sebastian and this stranger quickly shook hands hard.
Sebastian says, “This is my fiancée, Venessa, and her daughter Aria.” I shook his hands gently and smiled warmly.
“Salvatore Moretti.” He said his name with a smile.
Uncomfortable
Salvatore’s eyes followed my outfit, which was so f*****g bad. I looked like a whore who works the streets in her free time, but they were all dressed so nicely and modestly.
“Where’s your wife and daughter?” Sebastian asked. I’m glad he took the focus off my outfit.
Salvatore led us to our seats and said, “My wife couldn’t come, but my daughter should be here soon with her fiancé.” “My son and his wife will be here soon with their kids.”
I sat next to my mum, and Sebastian sat next to me. I was glad I didn’t have to sit next to Sebastian because he would have made me act dumb and nervous.
Salvatore sat across from us, and a few minutes later, his son came in and said hello. Salvatore’s son lives in Norway and doesn’t come to see him very often. His wife was beautiful, with red hair and a model body. I would look like an 11-year-old boy next to her. While we waited for his daughter to arrive, we kept talking about random things.
“Please excuse me while I go help them with something. My daughter is here.” Salvatore stood up and left the table.
I turned my eyes back to my plate, which was full of big pieces of food.
“So, Aria, do you like living with Sebastian?” Salvatore’s son’s wife asked me.
When she said Sebastian’s name, I froze. I didn’t know how to respond to her question. Sebastian makes me doubt everything about myself. Should I tell her that? Maybe he makes me doubt how much I love my mother. I didn’t tell the truth.
“All that matters is my mom’s happiness,” I said while my fork played with my food.
“You’re such a good girl. I hope my daughter believes that when she’s older.” She smiles at the thought of her daughter getting older.
I knew I was lying, but I just nodded. I was too embarrassed to look at Sebastian to see how he was feeling. You don’t feel this way about him, and you definitely don’t mean it.
“I guess we have one more guest,” Salvatore says as he walks into the room. I look up to meet his eyes. There was a pretty brunette girl next to him whose hand was locked with someone I thought I would never see again.
“Caleb,” I said quietly, and everyone stopped talking as soon as I said his name. Caleb looked surprised to see me, and when I realized he was her fiancé, I felt a twinge of sadness in my heart.
“Aria, what are you doing here?” asked another voice. Maya looked over her brother’s shoulder.
She looked sorry for him; she knew he was getting married and didn’t even tell me. Under the table, my mom gently put her hand on top of mine. I felt dizzy and like I didn’t belong as my whole world started to spin. How could Caleb get married? I thought we would be together forever, but I guess I’m dumb for thinking that was possible. My heart raced and my breath stopped.
“Let’s talk business.” Sebastian once more turned the focus away from me and back to himself. We looked at each other as he tightened his grip on the fork, which made his knuckles turn white.
Everyone sat down, and Salvatore put another plate on the table for Maya, who was sitting next to Caleb and his fiancée. I kept my eyes on my plate and slowly looked up to see that Caleb was already looking at me.