Chapter 387 Nick is the culprit
“Let’s not go into that. Let’s talk about who did this, you don’t need to know how I found you—”
“I need to know, Seb. Because if I don’t, it will leave a strain between us and I don’t want that. And I know you don’t want it either. Tell me.” She said firmly, and Sebastian replied,
“It won’t leave any strain unless you let it. The important thing is that I found you, and now we should focus on—”
“It’s already leaving its strain on me! I’m overthinking!” She snapped, unable to hold it in, turning to look at him with emotion brimming in her eyes. The same overwhelming feeling that had driven her out of the hall was threatening to rise back up, only this time it came with an intense wave of anger at the thought that someone other than Sebastian had their hands on her.
“I need to know, Sebastian. At least before you start pulling away from me, because I know that’s what eventually happens to every she-wolf who goes through this. It’s what always happens between mates in a situation like this lately. How did you find me?”
Her voice was barely above a whisper this time, and Sebastian turned from the ceiling to look at her, stunned by the admission she had just made.
So she truly believed he would leave her because of this?
Yes, his mate bond was in turmoil, just as it was meant to be in situations like this, where his mark wasn’t on her neck yet. He could feel the conflict raging inside him, the instinctive hurt and the rage. But not for a single second did Sebastian doubt that he would choose her over it. There was no force in the world powerful enough to make him abandon the woman he loved because some bastard wanted to break them apart by assaulting his wife and leading him to the hedge maze to see and find her that way.
He rolled onto his side and looked at her for a long moment.
“It isn’t going to change how I feel about you, sunshine. Not on my part. Not a single thing. I love you just as much as I did yesterday… if not even more.”
He made sure she heard every word before explaining how he had found her in the hedge maze. As he spoke, the color gradually drained from her face, and her fingers tightened around the sheets.
“What are the last things you remember after leaving the hall, my love?” he asked quietly, reaching out and gently drawing her into his chest.
He needed her to feel it, to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was never going to become another Javier to her because of what had happened. But he also needed to know what she remembered before she had been taken into that maze.
The thought alone made his blood boil all over again, but he forced himself to stay calm. He needed every detail while it was still fresh. Whoever had done this had to be found before tomorrow.
Viola’s eyes became distanced.
After hearing the full picture of how she had been found, she no longer knew what to feel, so she chose not to feel anything at all. She embraced the numbness deliberately, locking the overwhelming emotions behind a wall at the back of her mind and letting detachment take over instead.
“I felt overwhelmed by everything around me and stepped outside for air. And then… I don’t know what came over me. I was crying, and before I knew it I was passing out, but I saw…” Her voice trailed off and she frowned.
Nick.
She had seen him. She was certain of it. His face had been right there in front of her before everything went dark.
“What did you see?” Sebastian asked, looking down at her deeply furrowed brows.
“I saw Nick… he was holding me as I was falling…” She said with an absent, faraway look, unable to bring herself to believe he was responsible for this. And while she was still thinking it through, Sebastian had already let go of her and was moving out of the bed. Viola snapped back and grabbed his hand, sitting up with the sheet falling away from her exposed torso.
“Where are you going?” She asked.
“To fucking find the bastard. You should sleep, I might not be back tonight.” He told her, his mind already running through every way he intended to deal with his cousin for what he had done. It seemed his suspicion wasn’t far from the truth about who his cousin really was and Sebastian would send him to join his brother in hell.
“Wait, Seb. Don’t go, we are not sure he was responsible for this. My head was spinning, I might have hallucinated. Nick is my friend. I don’t think he would have… would have done that to me…”
A sudden wave of shame overwhelmed her again, irrational but impossible to fight. She pulled the sheet tightly against her chest, as though hiding herself would somehow make what had happened feel less real. Her head slowly lowered, her shoulders slumping in quiet defeat.
Viola was confused, hurt, and embarrassed all at once, even though none of it had been her deliberate doing, she couldn’t stop the feeling from coming. And she couldn’t stop the sudden mistrust toward her best friend either.
Because if he had caught her the way she remembered, what a best friend was supposed to do was take her back to the hall, or find her husband or someone to come and take care of her. That was what was supposed to happen.
So how had she ended up in the center of a maze, naked, with hickeys on her body?
Was it Nick? The thought of it sent a rush of betrayal through her chest, followed immediately by anger. He had betrayed their friendship. He had hurt her in a way she would never forgive, not ever, if it turned out to be true…
Tears rolled down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away and sniffed.
Sebastian noticed her tears and immediately let go of the idea of going after Nick tonight. He got back onto the bed and pulled her into his arms, holding her against his chest.