Chapter 258

[ 1,186 words ]

Emilia’s POV

When I woke up, Sebastian was sitting beside the hospital bed, watching me. The moment my eyes opened, he leaned forward.

“Are you feeling better?” His voice was hoarse, and his hand closed around mine.

I pushed myself upright and nodded. “Yes. I’m fine now.”

“Then rest a little longer. We’ll leave at ten.”

I looked around the hospital room. The sharp smell of disinfectant had already started getting on my nerves, and the sooner I left, the better. “Why wait? I can go now.”

Sebastian studied my face for a moment, then gave in. “All right. But don’t pretend you’re fine if you start feeling sick again.”

“I won’t. You can stop looking at me like I’m about to fall apart.”

“You nearly passed out in my arms.”

“And now I’m sitting up and arguing with you. Clearly, I’m recovering.”

The corner of his mouth moved, but the worry in his eyes stayed. He helped me out of bed and kept hold of my hand as we left the hospital.

Outside, he opened the passenger door for me. I stood there for a moment, watching him. I had been rehearsing an explanation since we left the restaurant, but now that he was standing in front of me, none of the words seemed easy to say.

I got into the car instead.

Sebastian closed the door, walked around the hood, and took the driver’s seat.

The silence between us.

“I’m sorry,” I said at last. “About tonight. I was supposed to have dinner with Claudine, but she suddenly had another appointment and sent Scott in her place. I didn’t know he would be there until I arrived.”

“It’s all right. You don’t have to explain.”

I turned toward him. “You didn’t misunderstand anything when you saw Scott and me together, did you?”

His fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel. That was all. No anger, no sharp questions, no cold silence like before.

I frowned. “That’s it? You’re not going to ask what we were doing together?”

“Was there something between you?”

“No.”

“Then there’s nothing to misunderstand.”

I stared at him. “You say that as if it doesn’t bother you at all.”

“It bothers me to see Scott around you,” he said calmly. “I’m not suddenly fond of him. I just know the difference between jealousy and proof.”

That answer caught me off guard.

Sebastian reached over and straightened the collar of my coat. His thumb brushed the skin near my neck before he pulled his hand back. “Love should be honest. If we both know our feelings are real, you don’t have to apologize for having dinner with someone else.”

My eyes burned. “Sebastian…”

“You trust me, so I’m willing to trust you.” His voice remained steady. “Love isn’t one person demanding answers while the other keeps defending themselves. It goes both ways. We need to understand each other and stand by each other. That’s what marriage is supposed to be.”

I lowered my head, not wanting him to see me moved to tears, but he caught my chin and made me look at him.

“Before this, I didn’t see things clearly,” he continued. “I let my feelings decide what everything meant. After I met Abigail again, I finally understood something I had never thought through before.”

“What?”

His thumb moved to the corner of my eye and wiped away the tear that had escaped. “Didn’t I just tell you? Love needs trust between two people.”

I watched him quietly.

Sebastian’s expression turned serious. “Abigail said she hid everything because she was afraid the truth would hurt me. But isn’t that arrogant too? She decided what I should know and what I shouldn’t. She thought protecting me meant taking away my right to choose. She also didn’t trust me to face the truth with her.”

My throat tightened.

“If someone truly loves you, they shouldn’t make every decision for you in the name of protecting you,” he said. “They should give you the choice to stay, to fight, or to walk away.”

I reached across the space between us and grabbed the front of his coat. “Are you telling me this because you want me to reflect on it?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “I’m telling you that you need to reflect on it.”

I blinked.

“No more hiding things from me. No more lying because you think the truth will upset me. If something happens, you tell me. We face it together.”

For a second, I could only look at him. Then I leaned over and wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could.

“I won’t do it again,” I promised against his shoulder. “No more lies. No more hiding things.”

Sebastian’s arms came around me. His chin rested on top of my head, and the tension in his body slowly eased.

“Good.”

My restless heart finally settled. I pulled back and looked at him.

“If I’d known you weren’t going to misunderstand me, I wouldn’t have worried so much.”

“You were worried?”

“I was so worried I nearly died.”

His brows lifted. “You actually had an allergic reaction tonight.”

“Exactly. I was right to be worried.”

For the first time since we left the hospital, Sebastian laughed quietly. I leaned back in my seat, relieved to hear it.

The pain between us had not vanished completely, but it no longer felt like something we could not get past.

Sebastian drove back to the seaside villa.

I considered asking him when we were going back to the pack house, but the question could wait. He had only just opened the door between us again, and I wasn’t foolish enough to kick it shut by pushing too hard.

We were almost home when my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and saw Scott’s name.

I ready to turn it off.

Sebastian noticed. “Who is it?”

“Scott.”

He asked casually,”If there’s nothing between you, answer it.”

“That sounds very generous of you.”

“I’m being reasonable.”

“You say that like I should be impressed.”

“You should be.”

I picked up the call. “Hello?”

“Are you feeling better?” Scott asked worriedly.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“He didn’t misunderstand anything about us, did he?”

I glanced at Sebastian. “No. He didn’t.”

“Good. Then remember what I told you tonight.”

I frowned. “What did you tell me?”

Scott went quiet. “Have you already forgotten?”

“You said a lot tonight. You’ll have to be more specific.”

“I said that I like you. I like you a lot. I mean it.”

I pressed my lips together. Sebastian was sitting right beside me, and Scott had apparently decided that the best time to repeat his confession was when my mate was close enough to hear me breathe.

“Right. I remember.”

“It’s not enough for you to know. I want you to remember it.”

“All right. I’ll remember.”

“Good night.”

I was about to end the call when Sebastian reached over and took the phone from my hand.

“Stop thinking about another man’s mate,” he said coldly. “If you need someone to care about so badly, find your own mate.”

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