Chapter 281 Where Did the Hickey on Your Neck Come From?
Jasper's voice seemed to freeze Adeline's blood in her veins.
She turned, her heart pounding.
Jasper stood at the door, his face a mask of thunder. One hand was raised, barring Sebastian's exit.
Beside him, Stella regarded Adeline with a tight smile.
Catching Adeline's eye, Stella feigned surprise, her eyes widening. "Oh my, so Sebastian was with you last night, Miss Wilson?"
Before Adeline could respond, Stella brushed past Sebastian, her movements a carefully orchestrated performance of concern. She picked up Adeline's coat from the floor and draped it over her shoulders. "Your clothes are torn. Sebastian, darling, you're an artist, not a barbarian. A little more finesse next time, hmm?"
Adeline's eyes narrowed.
As Stella leaned closer, ostensibly to adjust the coat, Adeline murmured, "Did you do this?"
Stella's smile didn't waver. "Whatever do you mean? I haven't the faintest idea."
Stepping back, she cast a pointed glance at Jasper by the door. "It's a good thing the children were in the downstairs nursery last night."
She slipped her arm through Jasper's, her eyes meeting his for the briefest of moments. "Jasper, darling, I never imagined things had progressed to this stage between Sebastian and Adeline."
Jasper's eyes darkened further at her words.
His gaze settled on Sebastian, cold and sharp. "When did you arrive?"
Sebastian drew a deep breath. "Adeline and I are not what you think!" He ran a hand through his hair, his frustration evident.
"We were framed, set up! Nothing happened last night!" He cared for Adeline, that much was true, but he wasn't blind to her lack of romantic feelings for him. He would never force himself on her, nor would he cause. That any trouble in her life.
"I was mobbed by fans yesterday and couldn't get home, so I..."
"So you came to Adeline?" Stella interjected smoothly, cutting him off.
"There's no shame in it, darling. You're both single adults."
She rolled her eyes, a delicate sigh escaping her lips. "Why is Sebastian being so evasive? Is he afraid of taking responsibility?"
Leaning into Jasper, she murmured, "Darling, Adeline is practically a mother to our children, our friend. If Sebastian won't do the right thing, shouldn't we help her?"
Jasper remained silent, his gaze fixed on Adeline as if trying to decipher her thoughts. She had always been so focused on him, never once displaying any affection for Sebastian in his presence. And yet... here they were.
If Stella hadn't insisted on coming to see the children off this morning, he would never have known about this. The Adeline, who had shared a bottle of wine with him under the stars last night, had brought another man back to her hotel room.
And she claimed to love his children, even fearing their own mother might harm them. Yet, the night before they were due to leave, she was too busy with Sebastian to even say goodbye.
Jasper's voice was like ice. "The children are leaving for the airport in three minutes. It seems our devoted Miss Wilson is otherwise occupied."
Adeline's mind snapped back to the present. The children! She had to see Bennett and Lauren off!
She tried to get out of bed, but the disarray of the sheets and her own state of undress made it impossible without revealing everything.
As if reading her mind, Jasper scoffed. "Don't bother. Bennett is a stickler for punctuality. He and Lauren left ten minutes ago."
Anxiety morphed into helplessness, then despair. Not only had she missed her chance to say goodbye, but she couldn't even begin to explain the situation to Sebastian.
"I told you, Adeline and I are not involved!" Sebastian insisted, his brow furrowed. "This is all a misunderstanding!"
"What kind of misunderstanding could possibly lead to this?" Jasper's gaze swept over the disheveled room, his voice laced with sarcasm.
The room was a testament to the supposed passion of the previous night. Clothes were strewn across the floor – a discarded shoe here, a silk stocking there. Everything pointed to a night of unrestrained intimacy.
Sebastian was at a loss for words. "Nothing happened, I swear! Adeline doesn't have feelings for me; she wouldn't..."
Jasper cut him off, his voice dangerously low. "She wouldn't sleep with you because she doesn't have feelings for you?" He turned to Adeline, his gaze cold and mocking. "Since when did you become so principled, Miss Wilson? Is that your rule – only sleeping with people you have feelings for?"
Adeline's hands clenched into fists. He was enjoying this, twisting the knife. She had slept with him, hadn't she? And not every time had it been out of love. Last night, though... last night might have been different.
But it didn't matter. He had already made up his mind.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "What difference does it make? Mrs. Foster is right; we're both single adults. We can do whatever we please, can't we?"
The air in the room crackled with tension.
"Adeline, we didn't..." Sebastian began, but she cut him off.
"There's no need to lie," she said, her voice calm. "The evidence speaks for itself. I spent last night with a man, but it wasn't you." She raised an eyebrow at Jasper. "Perhaps it was you, Mr. Foster?"
The temperature in the room plummeted.
Adeline met Jasper's gaze, her expression unreadable.
"I'm curious, Mr. and Mrs. Foster, why are you barging into my room this early in the morning, interrogating me and Sebastian as if we've committed some crime? Does the Foster Group handbook forbid female employees from spending the night with men?"
Jasper's eyes narrowed to slits, his voice a low growl. "I never said you couldn't be together. But tell me, Adeline, do you have so little regard for what transpired yesterday and what truly matters today? Did you choose this over saying goodbye to the children? And you call that love?"
Adeline ran a hand through her hair, her movements nonchalant. "I love the children, and I care for Sebastian. The two aren't mutually exclusive."
She glanced at Jasper, her gaze lingering on his neck. "Speaking of which, Mr. Foster, what about those marks on your neck? Where did those come from?"
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