Chapter XL

"Tell me you're joking..." I was still in disbelief since silence meant yes. He was neither agreeing nor deflecting it, but I assumed he did. "Sebastian...?"

Sebastian sighed and laid his head on my chest again, making me uncomfortable. But I did not push him away. Suddenly, he looked adorable to my eyes, knowing how he could be like a puppy, waggling his tail to his master.

"Um... It's fine if you are not going to tell." I meant, why would I force him to say anything about it? I must respect his wishes. It was important that I knew his boundaries despite the curiosity that was eating me to the core.

When he took my hand to intertwine with mine, I almost barked, but he looked up into my eyes. "No. I am going to tell you. I promise to myself that once you are here on our island, I am going, to be honest with you as much as possible."

I almost smiled wryly. He kept insisting that I owned this island, too, when that was not the case. He really assumed that. I really wanted to correct it, but I felt like I was just going to waste my time knowing that Sebastian was quite a stubborn one.

"A-Alright. J-Just tell me whenever you want..." I felt this sensation crawling to my skin as his thumb was brushing the back of my hand. It felt surreal that my boss was in love with me, while I still had no idea how he could love me at this point.

"Since I was the heir of Huntington Inc., my deceased father pressured me to learn everything about the workflow in the company. I was still in my high school years when Father gave me strict lessons about managing a company, expecting that I would meet his demands. And I did."

"He did that?!" This did not help me to exclaim about what I was just hearing right now. When Sebastian nodded, I could have sworn I almost hugged him out of pity. "But you were too young..."

"I am a genius, so I can easily comprehend everything." He smiled sheepishly, causing me to frown from being an airhead, even though that was the truth.

"Sure..." I just agreed since there was no need to argue with him. "So, when did it all begin then? Your..." I couldn't find myself uttering those words. It was a heavy topic for Sebastian.

This was a privilege he gave me when he was starting to get out of his shell, his vulnerability. I couldn't just waste it when he trusted me this much. Even though kidnapping me was not a nice thing to do, I felt sympathy for him.

This had to be the first time that I saw his vulnerable side.

"Perhaps, when I was already in my college years and found out that you were already dating someone."

As soon as he revealed that, it certainly made me react by jerking his hand away from me. "This is not funny." I caught him smiling from ear to ear. "So, are you trying to mean it was my fault you acted that way?!"

With our age gap of two years, I was in my high school years already. I started to receive some suitors the moment I reached puberty. It was also the time I started kissing some boys of my age, a few of them were a little older than me. But it had never gone to the point where I had to give up my virginity.

"N-No! That is not what I mean, Cejay..." Sebastian started panicking when he saw that I was trying to get away from him. "It was my fault in the first place. I just... You know the gap in our age. I was way older than you... Everyone would think I am preying on a teenager when I could have wished I should be the same age as you. All I could do was see you from afar!"

His words were ringing inside my head as I tried to piece them together. "So, you know me beforehand?" He nodded. "Were you also studying at the Granite Pin High School or just visiting there?" Since I said something bizarre during my high school days about becoming the CEO of my own empire, I assumed that he was also studying there.

That establishment had elementary and high school altogether. It might be a chance that he was also studying there or happened to visit there.

Sebastian carefully towed me back to the hammock. But this time, I was on his lap. I was about to sneer at him, but I was like a statue when he did not hesitate to hug my side, making my heart jumpy and jittery, not knowing what to do.

"I had studied and visited there. But I have met you since you were seven years old by that time, and I was nine."

"Huh? What?"

So, this was it? He was now going to reveal where it all began?

He clasped our hands together one more time before looking into the distance as if he saw those distant memories. "I think that you will not be able to remember this, but you once helped me when I was being bullied during my 4th grade."

"I did?" I slightly tilted my head, confused when he nodded. "Oh... What did I do then?" My memories from my elementary days had started to become vague.

Sebastian started to tell me about what had happened. He was a nerdy one, always wearing thick glasses due to his poor eyesight. There was one time that he was beaten poorly by his classmates and ended up with his glasses falling to the ground.

I was the one who stopped those oppressors and helped him take back the glasses when they became a possession to those bastards.

As he continued, my mind started to get clear as water. "Oh, shit... That was you?!"

"Do you remember me now?" His eyes sparkled.

"A-A little..." But I felt like something was missing. Was he the only one I saved by that time? "But I think you have someone with you, right?"

He creased his forehead. "I guess... I am not certain." He shrugged.

"Oh..." That shut me up, but I had to look twice at his handsome face before cupping it with my hands. "Are you really that boy? I mean, yes I couldn't remember what you look like, but I was certain that I once stopped a fight before."

"Don't you believe me?" I nodded. Sebastian chuckled as he fished out his phone. "Perhaps, let me juggle your memory a little, love." He scrolled something from his phone, and I happened to see the 4-digit passcode.

My eyes widened upon seeing that was my birthdate, the month and the year. It was August 7.

I did not get to speak as I was still analyzing what he just revealed before he showed me the photo of his when he was a little.

"Oh my god... Is that you?" I almost laughed upon seeing his features. I could see his thick glasses topping his ocean blue eyes. "Oh, my... This picture and you today are quite different." This made me chuckle as I couldn't help comparing them up close. "You are so cute way back!" I giggled.

"Really?" I nodded in agreement. "I have something to show."

I blinked. "What is it? Another picture of you?" I was starting to get interested in what he looked like during his high school years and college years.

"Not really. But this..." Before I could comprehend what the meaning was, Sebastian grabbed my naped and descended his lips which made my eyes widen in surprise.