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Valeria put in an early request with Kayla to have her year–end bonus paid out. Although the approval went through, it was held up by Sabrina. 

The subordinate bottlenecked the superior. 

Sabrina hadn’t been in the office for days, but Valeria found out that she was at a high–end private spa through Lindsey. 

Valeria went there and waited from 2:00 pm until nearly 5:00 pm before a staff member finally 

came to escort her in. 

Steam rose in the air from the private hot spring. 

To her surprise, sitting next to Sabrina was Wendy. Accompanying Wendy was an elegant older woman and another younger woman. 

Valeria overheard Sabrina sweetly addressing the older woman as “Aunt Kelly“. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Valeria saw who the older woman was–Kelly Price, Nathan’s 

mother. Only then did she realize Sabrina was Nathan’s cousin. 

Then again, in a city like Slate City, the wealthy elite were all interconnected through marriage. It wasn’t unusual for families to be related by marriage. 

Sabrina put on a stern act, scolding Valeria before finally signing off on the approval. It looked 

like Sabrina was doing a huge favor. 

As soon as Valeria received Sabrina’s signature, she didn’t stay for long. 

After she left, Kelly glanced at Wendy, who was sitting in the hot spring. Without makeup, she looked softer than usual. Normally, she had sharp and striking makeup, with arched brows. 

Now that she was bare–faced, Wendy seemed gentler. 

When Valeria walked in earlier, Kelly thought Valeria bore a faint resemblance to Wendy. 

But Kelly didn’t ask. After all, there were plenty of people in the world who looked alike, and no one said anything about it. 

She asked with a smile. “Gabriella is coming back soon, right? I heard she’s about to be engaged to Mr. Lucas.” 

A faint smile appeared on Wendy’s face as she said, “Gabriella and Lucas have been dating for quite some time now. They really hit it off.” 

The marriage alliance was just the icing on the cake. 

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Sabrina added, “Gabriella’s a well–known violinist now. It’s impossible to get tickets to her performance now. I heard tickets for her upcoming tour in Slate City were sold out as soon as they went on sale.” 

She had been spending more time with Wendy lately. Wendy knew exactly what she was hinting at, but Sebastian’s love life wasn’t Wendy’s to decide. 

As his sister–in–law, the most she could do was say a few words in front of Martha. 

Martha might have wanted Sebastian to settle down soon, but if it wasn’t what he wanted, no one could force him. 

To her, he was aloof and hard to read. Even at the Grant residence, he sometimes wouldn’t greet her, though he was always respectful toward Alexander. 

“StiH, thank you for designing the gown. Gabby loves it,” Wendy said sincerely. She hadn’t expected Sabrina’s design skills to improve so dramatically, making her design a stunning piece. 

On Wednesday, Valeria brought Selena to the hospital for admission. They did a full checkup, and by Thursday afternoon, Sebastian was in the ward. 

He had come straight from the airport after landing. 

It was lunchtime, and Selena was sleeping soundly in bed. 

In the bathroom, he pinned Valeria against the wall. His kiss was slow and deep, full of possession. She felt the air grow thin around them, the tension thick and intoxicating. 

His fingers moved nimbly and confidently. 

The warm bathroom light lit up her face, catching the faint movement of her long lashes. Then, she felt something cool against her neck. She glanced down and touched a fine chain, then turned toward the mirror. 

Hanging at her collarbone was a platinum chain with a single lustrous pearl resting against 

her skin. 

A soft scent drifted into her senses as Sebastian’s deep and gentle voice rang out, asking, “Do you like it?” 

He had looked at diamonds and gemstones, but decided that pearls suited her best. 

Valeria wanted to take it off. 

Sebastian lowered his head and bit her sweater. He made it clear with his actions that if she dared take it off, he would make her pay. 

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Valeria bit back the pain and murmured, “I’m afraid I’ll lose it.” 

That answer was just good enough for Sebastian. 

His voice was muffled against the fabric, clearly annoyed by the sweater. “If you lose it, I’ll just buy you a new one.” 

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