Chapter 81 Greatest Mercy

Chapter 81 Greatest Mercy
♤SEBASTIAN♤

I slam the door behind me and head straight for the elevator, leaving a stunned Noah behind in the office.

“Boss, wait… where are you going?” Noah calls down the hallway, but I don’t stop.

I don’t even look back.

“Stay here or go home. I don’t care,” I bark over my shoulder as the elevator doors slide open. “Just don’t follow me.”

The moment the elevator reaches the ground floor, I rush toward my Maybach in the garage.

Yasmin’s voice keeps ringing in my ears: I need to see you right now, Sebastian.

The address she sent me leads to a secluded pavilion by the lake.

I park the car a block away and walk the rest of the distance on foot, the cold evening wind cutting straight through my suit.

The headache pounding behind my eyes is unbearable now, making my vision blur around the edges.

When I finally step onto the wooden walkway leading to the pavilion, my heart stops.

She is already there… waiting for me.

The sight of her small silhouette makes my chest tighten with anxiety. She stands near the edge of the wooden pier, her hands gripping the railing as she stares blankly across the dark lake.

The moon reflects on the water, while the lights from the city skyline shimmer across the surface like diamonds.

It should be beautiful.

But as I look at her trembling shoulders, the entire scene feels cold and lifeless.

“Yasmin,” I breathe, my voice rough with panic as I hurry toward her.

I see her shoulders tense at the sound of my voice, but she doesn’t turn around.

She simply keeps staring at the water.

I stop beside her, my hands resting on the railing. Our fingers are only inches apart.

The urge to reach for her—to lace my fingers through hers and feel the warmth of her skin—is almost overwhelming.

But I force myself to stay still because her expression holds none of the softness I’m used to seeing.

“Yasmin,” I say again, almost pleading.

“I’m here. What do you want to talk about? What was so urgent that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning?”

She doesn’t answer. She doesn’t even look at me.

We stand there in silence for what feels like an eternity, with only the gentle lapping of the water breaking the quiet.

I stay beside her, silent and uneasy, waiting for her to speak.

When she is finally ready, she slowly turns her head and meets my eyes.

“Who are you?” she asks softly.

The question catches me completely off guard. I blink in confusion, forcing out a small, awkward chuckle.

“Yasmin… What's going on with you tonight? Are you having one of those amnesia episodes again? What do you mean, who am I? I’m Sebastian.”

“I know,” she replies quietly.

“But who are you, Sebastian? Before all of this… before Jonathan… who are you to me?”

My brows knit together in confusion. What is she talking about?

I reach for her, gently wrapping my hand around her wrist.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of the cold. You’re not thinking straight—”

She jerks her wrist out of my grip with surprising force.

“Answer me!” she shrieks, stumbling a shaky step backward toward the center of the pier.

“Answer me! Who am I to you? Tell me the truth, Sebastian!”

I stand frozen by the railing, my jaw tightening as panic begins to spread through my body.

“Ever since I woke up in that hospital… ever since I was dragged into Jonathan’s life… something hasn’t felt right,” she cries.

“The first day I saw you, you looked at me like you had seen a ghost. The way you touch me… the things you keep saying…”

Her voice trembles as tears gather in her eyes.

“You keep telling me you care about me. You keep saying that you can’t lose me again.”

She lets out a shaky breath. “How could a stranger say things like that?”

The sight of her standing there like this makes my heart ache.

“I know you before, Sebastian. Don’t I?” she asks.

“How did I end up engaged to your father if you and I shared something in my past?”

A violent shock slams into my chest, stealing the air from my lungs.

My eyes widen as my mind spirals in every direction.

How does she know?

The terror must be written all over my face because the moment she sees my reaction, a bitter laugh tears out of her mouth.

“See?” she whispers, nodding to herself as a tear slips down her cheek.

“I was right. We knew each other before… didn’t we?”

My throat goes dry.

I can’t breathe.I can’t think.

The truth is dangerous, and I can’t tell her. She has already been through so much. Her mind is still fragile, and all I want is for her to be okay.

I want to protect her from the darkness because sometimes forgetting the past is the greatest mercy.

If she remembers what happened three years ago, it will destroy her.

I have to keep denying it.

I’d rather have her hate me and think I’m a liar than watch those painful memories destroy her all over again.