Chapter 80

Sebastian.

"Why are you doing this to me, Alfred?" I demanded, my carefully prepared speech forgotten in the heat of the moment. "If you've truly gotten over me completely, then why are you here now in my city, in my life again? Is this some elaborate scheme to take your revenge on me for hurting you? If so, congratulations – you've succeeded spectacularly!"

"Sebastian, stop this immediately," Liam interjected. "You're embarrassing yourself."

"Let him speak," Jack said unexpectedly. "I'd like to hear what he has to say."

I barely registered their interventions, my focus entirely on Alfred's face as I continued, "I genuinely thought I could control myself for at least a little while – be civilized, have a pleasant dinner, maybe talk privately afterward. But now, seeing you with him, I just can't maintain the pretense anymore!"

My voice cracked slightly with raw emotion as I confessed, "I've been dreaming about you constantly since the day you left me, Alfred! Every single night you haunt my sleep. Did you know that I cried countless tears at night, soaking my pillow because of you? Yes! The 'monster' you think I am actually cried real tears! The f*cking heartless beast you believe me to be can actually feel pain just like any human!"

I was aware that I was making a scene, that my voice had risen to a shout, but I couldn't stop the words from pouring out. "If you're truly happy with Jack, then you shouldn't have shown up so arrogantly here after a whole year of silence! Do you have any idea what that year was like for me? I was searching for you everywhere, for God's sake! I hired private investigators! I called everyone who might know where you'd gone!"

I suddenly realized I had completely forgotten about everyone else around us – the restaurant staff watching with wide eyes, the other people at our table, even the possibility that someone might be recording this outburst on their phone. I had forgotten that we weren't in the privacy of my home but in a public place where my reputation as mayor could be severely damaged by such an emotional display.

"Your reputation," a small voice in my head warned. "Think of the headlines tomorrow."

But for once in my life, I didn't care about appearances or what people might think. All that mattered was Alfred knowing the truth before it was too late.

"Let them record," I thought defiantly. "Let the whole world see I'm only human after all."

"I'm not here for revenge or to hurt you, Sebastian," Alfred finally responded, standing up as well to face me directly. His voice was stronger than I had expected, confident in a way I didn't remember from before. "And Liam was the one who invited us – he reached out to me, not the other way around. So if you want to scold someone for this situation, scold your brother and stop insulting me, please, because this time I will not quietly accept your verbal abuse."

Alfred's unexpected assertiveness momentarily threw me off balance. This wasn't the same shy, accommodating Alfred who had left a year ago. He had changed, grown stronger, more confident in himself. The realization both impressed and terrified me – had I truly lost him completely?

"Who are you?" I wondered silently. "What happened to my sweet, gentle Alfred?"

"I'm not trying to abuse you," I protested, my voice suddenly less certain. "I'm trying to understand."

For the first time that evening, Alfred raised his voice and actually shouted back at me – something the old Alfred would never have dared to do. This new version of him seemed unafraid of confrontation, willing to stand his ground even against me. It was startling... and strangely attractive.

"You don't get to demand explanations from me anymore," he said firmly. "That right ended when you chose your career over us."

All I wanted to do at that moment was pull him close against my chest and hug him tightly, never letting go again. I wanted desperately to kiss those perfect lips that I hadn't tasted for a whole agonizing year, to relearn their texture and warmth. I wanted to drop to my knees and beg for his forgiveness, to plead for another chance.

"Please," I wanted to say. "Please don't leave me again."

But something in his eyes warned me not to try – a coldness, a distance that hadn't been there before. I felt like a complete stranger to him now, no longer the person he had once loved so deeply. The realization was like ice water poured over my burning heart.

"You don't even see me anymore," I realized. "You look right through me."

"Mr. Sebastian, I think this conversation has gone far enough," Jack suddenly intervened, rising from his seat and placing a protective hand on Alfred's arm. "I'll take Alfred and leave now. I'm sorry for interrupting everyone's evening."

He began gently guiding Alfred away from the table, pulling him by the hand toward the exit. The sight of their joined hands, of Jack's casual possessiveness, ignited something primal and desperate inside me.

"Don't take him from me," a voice inside me screamed. "Not again. Not when I've just found him."

"Wait!" I called after them, panic rising in my throat. "Alfred, please!"

Jack continued pulling Alfred toward the door, whispering something in his ear that I couldn't hear. Alfred nodded, his shoulders tense but his steps determined as they moved farther away from me.

"I can't let this happen," I thought frantically. "I can't lose him again."

I rushed desperately after Alfred and physically pulled his other arm to stop him from leaving. "Not this time, Alfred," I said in a firm, determined tone that brooked no argument. "I'm truly sorry for everything, but I absolutely won't let you go again. Not like this, not without hearing me out completely."

My grip on his arm was gentle but unyielding as I continued, my voice dropping so that only he could hear me. "Even if you hate me with every fiber of your being now, even if you've fallen deeply in love with someone else, I will never again let you simply run away from what's between us without at least talking it through properly."

"Let go of him," Jack demanded, his voice hardening. "He doesn't want to talk to you."

"Let Alfred speak for himself," I replied without looking at Jack. "Alfred, please. Five minutes. That's all I'm asking for."

"Mr. Sebastian, this has gone far enough! He is my boyfriend, not your property!" Jack hollered indignantly, his face flushing with anger as he tried to pull Alfred away from my grasp.

The word "boyfriend" coming from Jack's mouth ignited something dark and violent within me. Without thinking, without considering the consequences, I released Alfred's arm only to ball my hand into a tight fist and punch Jack squarely in the face with all the force of a year's worth of jealousy and frustration behind it.

The impact knocked him backward, causing him to fall unceremoniously onto the floor of the restaurant. The other diners gasped in shock, and Liam leapt to his feet with a cry of alarm.

"Sebastian! Have you lost your mind completely?" Liam shouted.

Jack stared up at me from the floor, blood trickling from his nose, his expression a mixture of shock and growing anger. But he made no move to retaliate, perhaps recognizing the dangerous edge I was balanced on.

"Feel better now?" he asked quietly, his calm reaction somehow making me feel ashamed of my outburst.

"No," I admitted honestly. "Not at all."

Alfred immediately spun his head toward me, his eyes wide with shock and outrage. "Sebastian, have you completely lost your mind? I don't love you anymore – I love Jack! You have no right to touch him like that or to touch me! I'm not your toy to play with whenever you feel like it!"

His words cut deeper than any physical blow could have, each one slicing through what remained of my heart. But rather than backing down, the pain only fueled my desperation. I couldn't accept what he was saying – wouldn't accept it.

"You don't mean that," I insisted, reaching for him again. "You can't mean that."

"I do mean it," he replied coldly. "Every word."

Something inside me snapped then – some last thread of reason or self-control. I didn't think about what I was doing, didn't consider the legal or ethical implications. Acting purely on instinct and desperate fear of losing him again, I didn't control myself in the slightest.

With a quick movement that surprised even me, I bent down and literally lifted Alfred up and threw him over my shoulder like a firefighter carrying a victim from a burning building. His weight was nothing compared to the strength desperation gave me.

"Put me down immediately!" Alfred demanded, his fists pounding ineffectually against my back. "Sebastian, this isn't funny! Put me down right now!"

"I can't," I replied grimly, already striding purposefully toward the exit. "I won't lose you again."

I stormed out of the restaurant with Alfred still struggling over my shoulder, ignoring the shocked faces of the other diners and the calls of my brother behind me. I knew what I was doing was wrong on every level, but I couldn't stop myself. The fear of never seeing Alfred again, of losing this last chance, overrode all rational thought.

"You'll thank me later," I told him as I approached my car. "Once you hear me out, you'll understand why I had to do this."

"This is kidnapping!" Alfred protested, still struggling. "You're the mayor, for God's sake! You can't just abduct people!"

"Watch me," I muttered grimly.

I quickly reached my waiting car and practically deposited Alfred in the passenger seat before he could escape, quickly locking the doors with the remote as I circled to the driver's side. My heart was pounding with adrenaline and fear, but my movements were decisive and controlled.

"Drive," I commanded my waiting chauffeur as soon as I was inside. "Take us to the lake house immediately."

"Yes, sir," the driver replied uncertainly, clearly uncomfortable with the situation but unwilling to question his employer.

"Sebastian, this is insane!" Alfred exclaimed, still trying to open the locked door. "Let me out of this car right now!"

"I can't do that," I replied, trying to sound calmer than I felt. "Not until you hear me out completely."

As we pulled away from the curb, I watched in the side mirror as Jack emerged from the restaurant, blood still on his face, frantically looking around for any sign of Alfred. Liam was right behind him, his phone already at his ear – calling the police, perhaps? I would deal with those consequences later.

"I asked the driver to take us to one of my more secluded properties," I explained to Alfred, who had stopped struggling and was now sitting rigidly in his seat, as far from me as the confines of the car would allow. "A house by the lake where there are no staff or servants to interrupt us. We need privacy for this conversation."

"This isn't a conversation," Alfred replied coldly. "This is an abduction."

"Call it what you want," I said wearily. "But I'm not letting you go until you know the whole truth."

And on my way, as we drove through the darkened streets toward the outskirts of town, I discreetly called my security team on my cell phone, instructing them to follow us to our destination. Yes, I was fully aware that what I was doing constituted kidnapping Alfred, effectively imprisoning him in my lake house against his will.

"He can hate me for this," I thought grimly. "As long as he hears me out first."

He couldn't run away from me anymore – not this time, not until I had laid my heart bare before him and he understood exactly what he meant to me. Only then would I accept his verdict, whatever it might be.

"This ends tonight," I promised myself. "One way or another."