Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Sebastian returned home to find Mandy was glued to a TV drama. She glanced at him and grumbled, “Yasmine didn’t label anything before she left, pus wasted my whole afternoon looking for my designer dress. She didn’t swipe it, did she?”
Sarah stomped down the stairs, face twisted in irritation. “You lost a dress? My limited edition lipsticks from business partners are gone, along with my custom jewelry. Yasmine probably ran because she knew we’d catch her.”
Mandy hit pause on her show. “That’s possible. How else could an orphan like her have the money to just run off?”
Their venomous accusations swirled around Sebastian as Leila’s words echoed in his mind: “None of you ever treated Yasmine right–not you, not your mother, not your sister!”
Suddenly, he felt a bit dizzy, and a wave of burning sensation surged in his stomach. Before he could stop himself, the words slipped out. “Yasmine, where’s my stomach medi-”
Sebastian froze. He glanced at Mandy and Sarah, who were still speculating about Yasmine, clutched his stomach, and headed upstairs.
He lingered outside the master bedroom door for what felt like an eternity before finally entering. It was his first time stepping inside since Yasmine left. The room was in disarray. The empty closet and bare nightstand erased all traces of her presence, except for their only “photo together,” which was still sitting on the nightstand.
Sebastian picked up the framed picture, studying it in the dim light. He’d always hated taking photos; this was a selfie taken by Yasmine. He had been resting, and she had squatted in front of him to snap this photo, then happily framed it.
Sebastian’s fingers tightened around the photo frame as he slowly folded in on himself. He sank onto the edge of the bed, unable to tear his gaze away from the image. “Yasmine,” he whispered hoarsely, “my stomach really hurts.”
A sudden, violent sneeze jolted Yasmine awake.
“Ooooh!” Cheryl’s teasing voice cut through the darkness. “Someone’s thinking about you, Yasmine.”
Yasmine blinked at the sound before laughing. “You’re still here?”
The faint crunch of teeth breaking apple skin answered her first. “Mmmf–had to ditch some creepy guys staking out Unihorizon Group,” Cheryl mumbled around her mouthful.
“Sebastian’s having you followed?” Yasmine’s brows knitted together.
Cheryl nodded halfheartedly, looking completely indifferent. “Let him. He won’t get anything from me. It took me half the damn day to shake his goons just to get here. Might be my last visit for a while.”
Just mentioning it made Cheryl angry. She bit into her apple so hard it made a crunching sound. “That bastard Sebastian missed his calling as a Pl. He’s got actual mercenaries tailing me now. Yasmine, do you think he wants surveillance or a kidnapping?”
Yasmine’s attention, however, was entirely on the first part of what Cheryl said. She corrected her, “You just got here to see Hayden.”
Cheryl choked, feeling that this conversation was going nowhere. She was talking about one thing, while Yasmine was talking about another.
“Good night.” Cheryl stood abruptly. After a moment of thought, she added worriedly, “You’ve been pushing Sebastian too hard lately. Even a cornered rat will bite, let alone Sebastian–he’s a real jerk.”
Yasmine had been thinking the same thing. When she did too much, she was bound to leave some clues behind. “Point taken. I’ll adjust the plan,” she
said.
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11:34. Tue 17 Jún DO
Chapter 25
