Chapter 26

Sebastian had spoken to no one about Estelle since her death. Not his parents and not even his best friend Mitch.

Cancer, they'd said. As a young child, he'd watched the sickness eat at her, watched her lose weight and all her hair fall out. One day, she'd stopped coming home from the hospital. He understood she was sick, but whenever he saw that constant smile on her face, he would wonder of if she wasn't in pain like the doctors said.

Their parents became even more closed up than usual. Sebastian knew the fame they had came hand in hand with the money they'd made. Being a billionaire sort of put one in the spotlight.

Chemotherapy hadn't worked either. He knew his father had been angry. All the money in the world couldn't save his only daughter. What was the point?

The day she'd died was a brief and quiet one. Sebastian could still recall the conversation they'd had that morning.

"You call yourself a man?" She'd joked while lying down on the hospital bed. There were machines that had wires connected to her arm. The fact that she could still make a joke wasn't funny to him. "You have tears in your eyes. How old are you?"

He'd sniffed because his eyes were watering. "Shut up." He'd said, holding her small frail hand in his. "I'm scared, Esty."

She'd looked at him with sad eyes and gave him a small smile. "Me too, Seb. But fear is an endless circle of desperation and helplessness. It will only grow if you feed it."

He'd felt a tear slip out. "I can't believe you're trying to be smart right now."

"You know I'm right." She'd replied, rubbing his palm with a finger. "I'm proud of you, you know that?"

He'd stared at her, wondering how someone weak could be so strong. "I'm proud of you too, Esty. You're the strongest person I know."

Dragging her hand free from his, she's wiped a tear from his eyes with great effort. The sight crushed him even more. "Don't cry for me. Live for you. Mom and dad might probably never know the real you but I want you to know that I do. I did."

"Don't talk in the past tense, Estelle," He called out her full name sternly, aware that he was full-on crying by now. "Don't do that."

"Live for you, Seb. Find love. Be happy. Live for us."

The machine had beeped a long tone and when he'd looked up at it, only a red line showed.

She'd died in his arms with tears running down her eyes. Sebastian had felt a cold rush pass through him, so shockingly that he hadn't even noticed when the nurses and his parents rushed in.

He hadn't seen anything else but Estelle. The way she'd lain there on the bed lifeless with an arm hanging out. The way it didn't feel like her. The way he'd immediately realized that he was alone.

When he'd told Jane about his sister, he had meant to. That was the surprising part. Not a lot of people knew he'd had a sister. His parents had done a good job of sweeping the entire ordeal under the rug, preferring to act like it hadn't happened. He supposed it helped with the pain, but he reckoned it made it worse in a way too.

Being in Stormbrooke reminded him of what he'd lost. Estelle would've loved a town like this. She'd always been a simple person, not at all like what one would expect the daughter of a billionaire to be. It was from her that he'd learn to appreciate the little things of life. His sister had been his role model for a very long time.

Now, he figured she would be disappointed in him for running away from his duties. Though he wouldn't exactly call marrying a deformed woman a 'duty', but the marriage had been fixed even before Estelle had died. She would've expected him to suck it up and be a man.

Thank God she wasn't there anymore to tell him to do the right thing. It had never helped anyone.

He couldn't help thinking that she would also have liked Jane. Estelle had had a very strong sense of ownership and independence and he knew Jane did as well. Though he didn't know why the thought even occurred to him. Would he have introduced Jane to his sister? But that would mean they would have had to have a thing going on and he wasn't sure he wanted anything long term. There was no way he would have told Estelle about any girl if he didn't plan on marrying her. His sister was too nosy; she would've influenced everything. Still, they would've hit it up instantly.

Now that he thought about it, it wasn't a bad thought.

In fact, it pleased him somewhat.

"Fuck it," He murmured, kicking at the sand. The woman was doing a number on him. After last night when he'd tasted her, he hadn't been able to think of anything else. Everything else he'd ever eaten dulled in comparison. He couldn't wait to spread her legs open and drink straight from the source. Hear her light moans and pleasurable screams fill his ears as he sucked and nibbled on her—

"Sebastian!"

He turned around to see Jane running towards him with a speed that would've put The Flash to shame.

He was standing near the water edge, deep in thought while he patrolled the area and keeping an eye out for anything out of place. He picked up speed, running towards her.

"Claire…" She gasped when he reached her.

His heart started beating fast. "What? Did something happen?"

She bent low, trying to catch her breath. "On the radio…" She pointed to the Tower they'd both been posted to for the day. "Help…"

"Jane, I understand you were running really fast but I can't do anything if you don't speak in clear terms."

When she opened her mouth, it came out as a rush. Their boat capsized and they need help."