Kneeling for a Second 249

Suddenly, a phone rang, cutting through the heavy silence and yanking Valeria back from her thoughts. 

Valeria glanced at the caller ID to see an unfamiliar number. She answered on the second ring. 

An unfamiliar man’s voice came through, saying, “Hey… I’m sorry. I want to apologize. I shouldn’t have run my mouth like that. Don’t take it to heart. I was the one who was pathetic. I 

was the worst. 

“Sebastian only went along because we egged him on. He didn’t mean it. That night, he was drunk…” Mark’s voice cracked, and she could hear the faint smack of him slapping himself in the background. 

Valeria braced herself against the wall and slowly stood. After squatting for so long, she only now realized her legs had gone a little numb. 

Her voice was cool and even as she cut him off. His apology didn’t stir the slightest ripple in her. Instead, she asked flatly, “Is he there with you?” 

Mark caught on immediately. 

“Sebastian? Yeah, he’s here!” he said, glancing at the man sprawled on the couch, reeking of alcohol. “Sebastian, it’s Jane on the line.” 

Sebastian’s dull eyes snapped to attention. 

Two seconds later, his rough voice came through. “Hey.” 

He was gripping his glass so tight his knuckles had gone white. The glass tilted slightly, and the amber liquor swirled slowly along the inside, catching the dim light. 

“Are you free this weekend? I want to take you somewhere,” Valeria said as she fixed her gaze on the sunset outside. 

The sky was beautiful. The sunset was beautiful, and the sky was blue. But unfortunately, this Saturday would be one of the rare overcast days that month. 

“Sure.” Sebastian didn’t ask where she wanted to go or what she planned to do. 

Even though she had said nothing more than that, and even though Valeria hung up soon 

after, he still felt a flicker of happiness from the call. Because she had reached out to him first, hadn’t she? 

Chapter 249 

2/4 

That meant things weren’t over between them. 

When Sebastian stood, his face looked a little more relaxed. 

In recent days, Joseph had noticed the state Sebastian was in and had given him a few days off. 

Sebastian had spent that time holed up at Aurum, drinking himself into oblivion. It seemed the only relief he could find was in getting drunk. 

Seeing that he was about to leave, Mark asked, “Sebastian, do I still need to handle Shane’s work situation?” 

After returning to the country, Shane joined Brightwell Energy, and one of its largest 

shareholders was the Davidsons. 

All it took was a nod from Sebastian for Mark to make the call–in the next 24 hours, Shane would either be fired from Brightwell Energy or offered a one–year, three–million–dollar contract in Aloport, about 1240 miles away. 

Sebastian frowned and said, “No need.” 

Since Valeria and Shane were no longer married, Shane was nothing more than a stranger in Sebastian’s eyes. At that moment, he had more important things to attend to. 

When Sebastian returned to his apartment, Nemo trotted over, sniffing him with eyes full of 

concern. Sebastian crouched and rubbed its ears. 

When Sebastian first brought Nemo home, he kept the dog in a crate for days, not daring to 

feed it himself. 

Nemo was tiny, and it cried at night. 

The crying kept Sebastian awake, so he went online, searching through every dog care guide. The guides advised placing his own clothes in the crate, being patient, and offering the puppy some water, as dogs could become scared in unfamiliar places. 

But in Valeria’s arms, Nerno was quiet and still. 

Sebastian hadn’t wanted a dog because he was afraid of them. No one knew that except the Grant family. 

Even a puppy could stir up memories he wanted buried. 

Whenever he saw a dog, he was dragged back to the time when he and Florian were locked inside a cage, a massive Rottweiler tearing into their flesh. Florian had thrown himself in front of Sebastian, and the dog had mauled Florian to death. 

He clenched his jaw and forced himself to open the crate, letting Nemo out. The tiny thing suddenly bolted toward him, and Sebastian panicked so hard he jumped up onto the couch. 

But then he remembered Jane’s puffy eyes and pitiful look. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to keep Nemo.