Chapter 268 Let's Not Be So Mushy
A woman's intuition told Isabella that something was off with Sebastian, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what he was concealing.
She nodded, "From now on, I won't have any contact with Jarod Lawrence."
"Or anyone associated with him, like that guy Peter. They are all in it together," Sebastian cautioned,
Isabella didn't want to get dragged into extravagant family disputes and made a note to remember his words.
"Let's go, time for dinner," Sebastian said as he stood up, bending down to wrap his arms around Isabella and lift her.
The warm palm of his hand was placed on her waist, slightly rough with calluses, tickling and prickly.
Isabella sharply inhaled, her heartbeat quickening.
She swallowed, constantly sounding the alarm to herself. ‘Isabella, hold on, this man, he's here to seduce you, he must have a purpose,’ she warned herself. ‘Hold on, hold on, hold on! He's acting, and you've got to stay strong too,’
"Let's not be so lovey-dovey, it's not too good in front of the elders," Isabella said, mustering the courage to push Sebastian away.
"What's wrong with that?" Sebastian replied, "The old man is too happy to even care."
Although he said this, Sebastian didn't insist. He casually extended his hand, palm up, fingers together, and placed it in front of Isabella.
Sebastian's hands were indeed beautiful, even better than those hand models you see online. They were slender and long, with clear definition.
Isabella hesitated for a moment, her heart pounding uncontrollably, suddenly regretting that she agreed to play this charade with Sebastian. Could she truly extricate herself from it?
"Come on," he said.
Sebastian watched Isabella's little expressions, a strong sense of satisfaction surging within him. With a twitch of her brain, Isabella placed her hand in his, and Sebastian immediately grasped it.
He threaded his fingers through hers, locking them together in the most intimate couple's handshake.
Isabella's mouth was dry, her eyes fixed ahead, taking small steps as she followed Sebastian, her mouth slightly open, quietly exhaling.
Sebastian was utterly pleased.
As the two descended in this manner, they were met with Lawrence's teasing, "Tsk… tsk… What a way to torment single souls."
Lawrence covered his eyes with his hands but peeked through the gaps between his fingers, making Isabella's face turn even redder, drawing laughter from the old man. If it had been just the old man and Lawrence, Isabella might have coped better, but Jarod and Peter were also present.
She tried to pull her hand away, but Sebastian only held on tighter. Isabella couldn't win against his strength and gave up.
After greeting Grandfather, Isabella took her seat and glanced at Sebastian, unable to help frowning a little.
‘Sebastian, what are you plotting this time? And me, can I withstand your advance? Everything was uncertain,’ she thought to herself.
From the garden cottage, the stand-alone villa, the sound of shattering glass rang out.
Lynda smashed several infusion bottles with force, while the nearby maids watched with heart-stopping dread; yet not one dared to step forward to stop her, each of them retreating backward.
"...Ms. Blair, your health isn't good; please try not to get too worked up..." one of the maids, unable to bear the sight, advised in a trembling, faint voice.
Lynda cast a fierce glance her way, "Shut up!"
The maid bowed her head very low, cowering.
Lynda felt a slight release of her resentment but then she wondered; among these people, could there be one of Sebastian's spies? Someone who would tattle on her?
Fear crept into Lynda's heart. Lately, she had visibly been provoked into madness, losing her composure and that was unacceptable.
She started to sit on the floor, hugging her knees and began to cry. Her weeping was soft and sorrowful, "What's the point of my existence, honestly? No one cares about me. I might as well be dead."
"I'm sorry," Lynda filled her words with regret, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you. I deserve this."
She clutched her chest, her sobs sounding heartbreaking.
"Ms. Blair, Mr. Lawrence might have run into something on his way; he will surely come. Besides, you said you didn't need him to come. Men just listen to the surface; he might think it's a minor issue here and it's nothing serious."
A maid came forward to help her up, her voice filled with comforting warmth.
Lynda appeared very fragile, "Is that so?"
The maid replied, "Yes, certainly."
Gradually, several maids echoed in agreement, attending to Lynda by her side.
Lynda, wiping away tears, said, "I'm glad you're here."
She handed out several envelopes filled with money, "You clean up the room and then go. Leave me alone to think."
Lynda knew how to show her softer side and was willing to spend money to smooth things over. The recent upheaval seemed as if it had never happened, and the maids, after a few token words of comfort and quickly tidying up the room, hastily made their exit.
Once everyone had left the room, Lynda wiped the tears from her face.
Her hands clenched tightly, she lifted her chin with haughty pride, grinding her teeth in resentment.
She didn't believe Sebastian would come. She had called him, and he didn't answer, surely something was going on with Isabella.
She was convinced that Sebastian did not come because of Isabella.
"Buzz…" Lynda's phone vibrated with a notification, she glanced over to look. It was a tweet from Lawrence.
Having set her sights on marrying into the Lawrence family, she naturally paid extra attention to news about them. She wasn't familiar with Lawrence, and she was blocked from his personal social media circle, so she focused on his public tweets.
Whenever there was an update from Lawrence, she would know immediately.
Lawrence had posted two pictures. At first, Lynda was indifferent, casually opening them.
One text was a blurry script; the other, upon opening it, had Lynda frozen in shock.
In the photo, a man and a woman were holding hands, fingers intertwined, intimately close. Although it was just their blurred backsides, Lynda recognized them immediately as Sebastian and Isabella!
Panic and unease swiftly took hold of her heart.
Had Sebastian finally recognized the feelings buried in his heart and confessed them to Isabella?
Lynda's eyes reddened as she continued to read the cheerful caption that Lawrence had added, "The perpetually single guy gets emotionally thrashed online, so he decides to monopolize the beautiful lady for a scene."
Instantly, Lynda slammed her phone down on the couch, a fierce hatred breaking through her control.
She wouldn’t let Isabella get away with this!!! She had spent so much effort to marry into the Lawrence family, exhausting all her strategies to mirror the type of woman Sebastian was drawn to, only to have Isabella swoop in first.
Lynda couldn't stand it!
While she had Samuel Carter and other options available, the disparity between Samuel Carter and Sebastian, as well as between the Carter and Lawrence families, was evident.
Her jaw muscles tightened as she picked up her phone again and sent a message to Sebastian.
Sebastian had entered the bathroom just a few minutes before receiving the message from Lynda, leaving his phone on the coffee table.
At the same time, Isabella had just come back from acting opposite of the exuberant Lawrence. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and she walked with a bit of unsteadiness.
In her ears, she occasionally heard the words that Lawrence had whispered to her before leaving.
Lawrence had said, "Sister-in-law, my brother is the most reserved but straightforward guy there is. It's hard for him to say the words 'I love you,' but you can see it's all love in his eyes."
He had also said, "Sister-in-law, you and my brother are such a great match. Even my fans, who’ve only seen your silhouettes, and they're all saying you two are perfect for each other."
This made Isabella... want to believe the words Sebastian had said to her that day.
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