Chapter 244 Good at Playing Hard to Get
Sebastian snatched away the magazine with gritted teeth, his tone sharp as he uttered, "Isabella."
Struggling with a pounding headache, timidly lifted her eyelids to look at Sebastian's darkened expression. "I-I-I didn't mean to."
"Just wait, I'm wiping it, it will get dry." Her face contorted into a bitter grimace, trembling as if truly frightened.
Isabella truly felt like nothing was going her way that day. How could she be so unlucky as to spill water? And on him of all places? Good heavens, she wished for the heavens to strike her!
It was a rare sight for Sebastian to be in such disarray, his anger palpable. He was about to walk away but then he caught sight of Isabella's forlorn figure, her eyes were as clean and moist as ever, shining like hooks that caught hold of him.
Unexpectedly, it diffused his anger.
"I'll be quick, try not to be impatient and don’t worry," Isabella said hastily, looking down and continuing her movement.
From Sebastian's perspective, you could see a layer of nervous sweat on Isabella's forehead, and her delicate nose tip appeared wet as well. Her panicked expression, surprisingly, was quite appealing to him.
Sebastian's throat tightened, the heat in his chest moving elsewhere. He grasped Isabella's wrist, his voice low, "Stop it!"
"Huh?" Isabella, confused, looked up. "Why?"
Several veins were bulging at the temples of his forehead, and his grip was strong as his eyes reddened. Sebastian commanded, "Isabella, don't move!"
At first, Isabella was dumbfounded by the shocking situation, but now, making eye contact with Sebastian, she gradually regained her composure.
There was a strange sensation in the palm of her hand...
"Do you get it now?" Sebastian clenched his teeth, his breath spraying onto Isabella's cheek.
Isabella's head thundered, her face flushing a fiery red from cheek to ear to neck. She blinked once, twice, thrice...
The next moment, her hand felt as though it was scorched by flames, and she instantly pulled it back. Her heart raced to her throat, and her ears could only hear the pounding of her own heartbeat.
She didn't even have the courage to look at Sebastian again, retreating to her seat with her hands behind her back.
The airplane took off, and Isabella, who usually felt severe motion sickness during flights, felt nothing this time. She stared straight ahead, her eyes barely blinking.
Sebastian’s mood... was improving. The anger from the night before had mostly dissipated, and a faint smile curled on his lips that even he wasn't aware of.
"Sir, may I ask if you need any help?" the flight attendant inquired as she came by to tidy up.
"No need," Sebastian replied indifferently as he stood up and walked to the restroom.
It wasn't until Sebastian had left that Isabella finally managed to catch her breath. Clutching her hands into fists, she lightly tapped her forehead, wondering to herself what on earth was she doing. She had felt so foolish just moments before, and now her palms were heating up with embarrassment.
Stretching out her hand, she rubbed it on her pants, trying to alleviate the awkwardness of the encounter. The tension between her and Sebastian was unbearable, especially after the conversation they had yesterday, not to mention last night's argument.
Isabella wished she could just jump off the plane. What must Sebastian think of her now? Surely, he would consider her insincere. She dreaded the thought of his likely sarcastic remarks when he returned.
So, when Sebastian settled back into his seat, Isabella spoke up first, “Mr. Lawrence, I’m sorry, my hand slipped earlier. Are you all right?”
Sebastian looked at her sideways and replied, “It’s not ripe, but it’ll work.”
‘What’s not ripe???’ Isabella was taken aback.
Ugh, why bring it up again? With her gaze lowered, she wanted nothing more than to disappear out of embarrassment, trying to keep her composure as she pleaded for his forgiveness.
But Sebastian, who had felt a flicker of irritation seeing her detached demeanor, found his extinguished anger rekindled. With a mocking smile, holding the armrest, the temperature around them seemed to drop, growing colder. "Ms. Wallace, are you playing hard to get? You're quite good at that."
Despite anticipating this, Isabella felt a twinge of distress. The warmth drained from her face, returning to its normal color before slowly turning pale. It astonishes her how easily a single sentence could dissolve her embarrassment.
"Mr. Lawrence, I am truly sorry. I won't make the same mistake again."
"Really?"
"Yes."
A scoff came from Sebastian, "Remember what you said, don't embarrass yourself again." Sebastian's demeanor was commanding, his presence intensely intimidating.
It was only then that Isabella fully realized the immense gap separating them. If it weren't for their contractual marriage, they wouldn't have any connection at all. As things were settling back to normal, she figured she might as well let him think what he wanted.
"Yes," Isabella nodded.
Sebastian gripped her hand briefly and then closed his eyes.
Isabella secretly let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Sebastian had only thrown a few sarcastic remarks her way.
‘Sleepiness Crept In’
Isabella, drowsy and instinctively cradling her stomach, shifted onto her side and closed her eyes while Sebastian's eyes snapped open.
A storm appeared ready to unleash on his impeccable face, the tension palpable in the air.
A flight attendant passed by, visibly flustered despite the lack of cold, hastened her steps, and quickly moved away.
Sebastian massaged his temples, catching Isabella out of the corner of his eye as she tried to put distance between them, and he smirked with sarcasm.
Unfortunately, no one saw it, and Sebastian could only simmer in his frustration. Listening to Isabella's increasingly heavy breathing, Sebastian was even more irritated. To his dismay wondered, 'Had she actually fallen asleep?’
Sebastian's face tensed up, and he grew angrier. Yet he couldn't understand why he was so upset.
Then there was Lynda, who had recently faced a life-threatening situation, narrowly escaping the brink of death. Given her fragile state, any additional distress or turmoil could not be risked. And now that Isabella was pregnant, Sebastian needed no further entanglement with her.
Isabella had done nothing wrong – what was he truly angry about? Sebastian signaled a flight attendant and said in a subdued tone, "Bring a blanket."
The attendant brought one swiftly. Sebastian tilted his chin pointing towards Isabella. The attendant understood his gesture and placed it on Isabella.
Sebastian stopped overthinking. Drained from days of fatigue with no relief, fell asleep too.
Before nodding off, a thought flashed through his mind – ‘why, after tossing and turning last night in the company recovery room, he was able to fall asleep so easily today despite being next to the infuriating Isabella?’
The duration of their flight from New York to San Francisco was nearly five hours, and during those hours, Sebastian and Isabella both slept.
Five hours later, the plane arrived in San Francisco. Sebastian woke up before Isabella. After the plane landed, he scowled thoughtfully.
Then, a bit haughtily, he moved the blanket – a Lawrence brand one – that was covering Isabella onto his legs. The nearby flight attendant was puzzled by this.
Sebastian, aloof, gestured once more with his chin, signaling the attendant to wake Isabella.
The attendant, familiar with such scenarios and assuming they were a bickering couple, nodded with a smile and gently nudged Isabella, "Miss, we have arrived at our destination. Please collect your luggage and exit the plane in an orderly fashion. We wish you a pleasant journey."
Isabella, still half-asleep, got up and murmured, "Oh."
Rubbing her eyes and stretching lazily, she came to her senses.
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