Chapter 75
The threat in Sebastian's words couldn't have been more obvious.
Scarlett tensed, grabbing Sebastian's wrist. Her emotions made her stumble slightly, fingers curling around the metal band of his watch.
"Please don't," she pleaded, red-eyed and deliberately humbling herself. "He's just upset, he doesn't mean any harm."
Sebastian watched her, his gaze dropping to her gently bitten lower lip, his eyes darkening.
Meanwhile, Chris snapped to attention at the pain in his wrist. He immediately glanced at Sebastian, and seeing Scarlett subtly shake her head at him, a bead of cold sweat rolled down his temple.
Truthfully, Chris wasn't afraid of Sebastian. After all, his two older brothers—one in politics and one in business—wielded tremendous power in Sovereign City.
But he understood that while the Wright family could protect him, they wouldn't necessarily protect Scarlett.
Chris realized his words had gone too far. If they caused Scarlett trouble, it would defeat his original purpose.
With this in mind, he grunted, shaking off Mark's hand, his tone noticeably softer. "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Rogers."
Chris's backing down clearly relieved Scarlett. Before she could check if he had gotten into his car, Sebastian grabbed her waist and pushed her into the Maybach's backseat.
Scarlett lost her footing, and with Sebastian continuing to push her, she ended up kneeling on the floor of the backseat.
Before she could stand, Sebastian got in, his long legs spread, trapping her between them.
The position was dangerous and full of temptation. In her five years with Sebastian,
Scarlett had never been in such a position, nor had they ever done anything like this. Thankfully, the backseat was spacious, and she was slender, so there was still considerable distance between them.
Scarlett frowned, instinctively backing away.
Sebastian looked down at her, eyebrow slightly raised. "Aren't you getting up?"
Blushing, Scarlett hurriedly pushed against his legs to stand, but just as she was halfway up, Sebastian hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her into his embrace.
"Want to study abroad in Castrovella City?" Sebastian tilted her chin up, his gaze lingering on her red lips as he leaned closer.
Scarlett instinctively turned her face away. Sebastian's expression instantly darkened, his oppressive silence making Scarlett press her lips together.
Still maintaining her position, she said, "I ate seafood."
This comment made Sebastian release her, allowing her to move to the seat beside him.
They sat in silence for a long time, until Mark opened the car door and got in, slightly easing the atmosphere.
Scarlett turned to look out the window. The increasingly familiar scenery made it clear they were heading to Windchime Villa. After watching for a while, she glanced sideways at Sebastian.
To her surprise, he was already looking at her. That sideways glance caused their eyes to meet.
Scarlett immediately looked away, but the damage was done.
"You still haven't answered my question," Sebastian said, crossing his long legs and drumming his fingers on his knee.
"There's nothing to answer." Scarlett lowered her head, glancing at her phone as the screen lit up with several message notifications.
This clearly wasn't the right time to check messages, especially with Sebastian moving closer.
She pressed her lips together in frustration. "Do you think I can escape you, Mr. Howard?"
"Escape?" Sebastian laughed, though the amusement didn't reach his eyes. "That's the word you choose?"
"What else?" Scarlett replied irritably, repeatedly pressing her phone's side button, watching the screen light up and fade.
Sebastian watched her, letting out a cold snort. "Stay away from Chris."
Scarlett frowned, answering without hesitation. "Why should I?"
"Because I'm your man," Sebastian replied, completely self-assured.
Hearing this, Scarlett couldn't help but laugh. Her eyes sparkled with a rare brightness. "Are you suffering from selective memory? How could we possibly have that kind of relationship?"
Sebastian remained silent, though his eyes grew stormy. In the front seat, Mark seemed to foresee the coming storm and quietly raised the partition.
"At best, we have a sugar daddy and sugar baby relationship. Talk of being a couple? That's truly laughable." Scarlett knew exactly how to provoke Sebastian by degrading herself.
She smiled, though the curve of her lips held a certain coldness.
Sebastian's eyes turned icy, the atmosphere around him plummeting instantly.
Scarlett had nowhere to escape, her heart pounding like thunder. However, Sebastian didn't say a word. He merely gave a cold laugh and didn't even move closer to Scarlett again.
Sensing Sebastian backing off, Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief. After that, neither of them spoke another word for the rest of the ride.
Back at the villa, Scarlett skipped dinner and went straight upstairs.
During the days when Sebastian had been away, she had taken the opportunity to move her things to the second floor, with Libbie's help.
Lying on her bed, Scarlett stared at the ceiling, letting her mind wander before finally opening her phone to check the messages from Adele.
There wasn't much substance to the message—mostly Adele mocking Scarlett for acting without thinking. The key point was in the screenshot.
It was a notice from management. In short, Scarlett was being fined and suspended pending investigation for allegedly abusing her position.
Scarlett glanced at it briefly before closing her phone. This punishment was actually within her expectations, but she hadn't expected it to come so quickly.
That employee must have exaggerated the story to Adele, but even with Adele's background, the matter shouldn't have been resolved this quickly.
She couldn't help thinking about Sebastian appearing in the cafeteria. If it was his doing, such speed would make sense.
Thinking about this, Scarlett sighed softly. Fortunately, she hadn't bought a car today, and her savings would be enough to cover her expenses during her suspension.
She wouldn't even need to use much of it. Living at Windchime Villa now, she barely had any expenses.
Realizing she didn't have to work tomorrow, Scarlett decided to stay up late. It had been a long time since she'd drawn, and if possible, she would rather spend every day curled up in her room sketching.
To enjoy her drawing time, Scarlett took a bath. While she was bathing, Libbie came in with fruit, and hearing the water running, called out, "Ms. Seymour, I've brought some fruit. You can have it with yogurt."
"Thanks," Scarlett replied, her eyes closed as she rinsed her hair.
When she finished and came out, she saw the fruit platter on the small table, with a container of yogurt beside it—exactly the same brand she had taken from the cafeteria today.
Scarlett's eyes lit up, and she quickly went to dry her hair. She always felt hot after bathing, so she turned the air conditioning down considerably, grabbed a blanket from the bed, and curled up in the single soft armchair.
She adjusted her position, hugging her tablet, wearing earphones, with her favorite yogurt and fruit beside her—it was absolute bliss.
If only Sebastian hadn't ruined it all.