Chapter 193 The Last Time
The light outside the window grew dim and creeped into the room with melancholy, leaving it cold and deserted.
She blinked, staring as the room's light slowly faded into darkness.
Finally, all was enveloped by the night.
With a click, the lights in the master bedroom suddenly turned on, flooding the space with brightness like that of midday.
Isabella, unable to adjust to the glare, shielded her eyes with her hand.
Footsteps approached; they grew closer until they reached the bedside.
She knew who it was.
"Time to get up," Sebastian said, "Dinner's ready."
Isabella stirred slowly, propped herself up, and looked at him. "I need to get to the hospital..."
Sebastian's lips pressed together tightly.
"I have to see Marcus," she stated firmly. "He was hurt because of me, and here I am, cooped up in Willowbrook Estate. It's not just Marcus I'm failing—I'm betraying my own conscience."
From the moment Isabella woke up, her mind had been racing, considering how to convince Sebastian to let her visit Marcus in the hospital.
She had run through every approach in her mind—pleading, being assertive, reasoning, or just insisting on going...
But she doubted Sebastian would budge.
After sleeping on it, Isabella felt clearer, her thoughts sharper.
Since the moment Marcus was injured, she felt like she was walking on marshmallows—unsettled and adrift.
"Are you really sure that's the case? Hmm?" Sebastian asked with a skeptical edge to his voice. "It's not because you're distraught, sympathetic, or—dare I say it—in love?"
"Shouldn't I be heartbroken?" Isabella challenged. "Someone got hurt—stabbed, no less—protecting me, and he’s now fighting for his life in the hospital. Put yourself in my shoes. Wouldn't you feel compelled to visit?"
"I wouldn't let such a situation happen in the first place," he retorted.
"Like I wanted any of this to happen?" Isabella replied, her emotions surging. "It was all a setup!"
At that thought, her mind snapped into sharp focus: "Yes! A setup! The moment I went to see Marcus, it was a trap, a scheme laid out just waiting for me to fall into it!"
Sebastian snorted coldly.
Her heart sank. When she spoke of "setup" and "plot," he knew exactly what she meant.
Yet, he asked nothing, his scornful grunt making his disdain clear.
He didn't deem it worth questioning.
Isabella didn't want to say more. She threw back the covers and swung her legs out of bed. "There's still so much I haven't told you. But right now, what’s crucial is seeing Marcus at the hospital."
"I remember what you told me this morning before you left the office," he recalled.
Isabella paused as she slipped on her shoes. "I remember too."
"Aren't you going to say it now?" He countered.
"After I return from the hospital."
Isabella stood and moved briskly towards the door, but as she passed by Sebastian, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"You're not going," he said sharply, his voice hard as flint. "Did you hear me?"
Isabella faced him with a resolve in her eyes. “I have to go.”
“Are you not hearing me, Isabella?!” He raised his voice.
“There are things I just have to do,” she answered firmly. “I can’t just stay home.”
As she finished, she reached out to pry Sebastian’s fingers loose.
In response, his grip only tightened. “Isabella, stop pushing me over the edge!”
“I’m not in the mood to fight with you, Sebastian,” her tone softened. “Marcus is in the hospital because he got hurt protecting me. How can I live with myself if I don’t go to him?”
“And what about me?” He questioned.
With an almost pleading tone, she implored, “Sebastian, I really am just going to see him to make sure he’s okay... You pulled me back when I tried to follow the paramedics, and now you’re pulling me back from going to the hospital too?”
His face was stoic as still water. “You know how much I despise Marcus.”
“And you should know how worried I am about him!”
“He’s not going to die!”
“That doesn’t put my mind at ease!”
Sebastian and Isabella stood locked in a standoff.
She looked at him, her face pale, but her eyes burning with determination that she wouldn’t back down.
Sebastian watched her intently. He knew Isabella well; when she was stubborn, there was no bending her will.
If he didn’t let her see Marcus in the hospital today, there was no telling what she’d do.
“Fine, fine,” Sebastian conceded, “I can’t win with you, Isabella. Have it your way!”
With that, he yanked her close, gripping her chin, “So you want to see Marcus in the hospital, huh? Fine, but if you do, have sex with me and you can see him for the last time! You hear me? This will be your last time!”
“Let’s go.”
Sebastian had reached his boiling point. He was close enough for Isabella to see the veins on his forehead bulge.
He finally agreed.
But he’d made it clear—it would be her last time seeing Marcus.
That was okay... Because Isabella had no desire to see Marcus again.
Otherwise, she would only bring him harm, and that was the last thing she wanted.
To never see him again was perhaps the best course of action.
Isabella remained silent, letting Sebastian’s grip steer her as they hastened their pace.
Sitting in the car, she turned her head towards him and said, “Sebastian, in this standoff... I still won.”
His hand on the steering wheel convulsed, turning white from the force of his grip. “Yes, Isabella, you won.”
“I'll cherish this last opportunity to see Marcus,” she said, “and thank you for giving me this chance.”
“It’s just so you can give up on him for good.”
Isabella let out a wry smile and remained silent.
Sebastian could have stopped her, but he didn’t.
It was a concession on his part; he couldn’t stand his ground against her.
And yet, how could a man, as proud and noble as he, admit to a compromise? He had truly backed down. Later, he would take it out on her in ever more cruel and stern ways, doubling down on his emotions and unleashing them upon her.
They would bear the burden together.
If he suffered, she would undoubtedly suffer even more!
Perhaps... he still harbored some feelings for her.
Although not as profound and unwavering as his feelings for Lynda, there was truth in the saying, “For better or worse, they remain united.”
Isabella knew that after they came back from the hospital, Sebastian would be angry.
But she couldn't concern herself with that now. First, she needed to see how Marcus was faring.
When she arrived at the hospital, it was already deep in the night; however, inside, it was bright as day.
Isabella jumped out of the car and hurried inside, paying no heed to Sebastian at her side.
After inquiring about Marcus's whereabouts, she sighed with relief upon learning he had been moved out of the ER.
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