Chapter 38
Valeria brought breakfast that morning-it was milk with scrambled eggs. However, she hadn’t had the chance to eat them.
She spent the whole morning in meetings. L&M Design Studio had just secured major design contracts from two female fashion brands, and their representatives were visiting in person.
Nathan called her into the office, and by lunchtime, she was joining him and their business counterparts for a meal.
Valeria never liked business lunches, and she ended up having a couple of sips of drinks. She hadn’t eaten much all day.
By around 4:00 pm., she got a call from Selena’s teacher that Selena had gotten into a fight with the boy sitting behind her. Valeria asked for leave and rushed straight to the school.
She only managed to take a greasy bite of pizza after that. Her face turned pale, and her body swayed slightly as she crouched down. Her low blood sugar problem started after giving birth
to Selena.
Valeria’s mind buzzed, and everything in front of her eyes started to blur. She vaguely heard Selena’s voice. Reaching out, she grabbed Selena’s hand, trying to let her know not to worry,
and that she just needed a minute to recover.
Then, suddenly, an arm reached from behind, wrapping around her waist. She was carried forward in long strides.
Valeria’s vision spun. She tried to squint against the dizziness. Instinctively, she reached out and clutched the front of the person’s shirt.
She looked up and saw a sharply defined face come into view with a prominent nose and smooth jawline. The dizziness slowly faded, and a cold, crisp scent surrounded her.
Valeria stared at this face.
When Sebastian opened the car door and gently placed her in the back seat, his face was just inches from hers. It was so close that she held her breath, staring at his long lashes.
At such a short distance, she noticed for the first time that when he looked down, a tiny mole sat on the crease at the outer corner of his eye. It made his features seem even more striking.
She remembered that it had been at this same distance when she woke up in his embrace for the first time. That was when she had first noticed that tiny mole. In their most intimate moments, she used to reach out and gently touch it.
Sebastian reached into the storage compartment, pulled out a piece of chocolate, unwrapped
it, and handed it to her.
Selena and Leo climbed into the car. She looked at Valeria, worried. “Mommy, are you okay?”
Valeria let the sweetness of the chocolate melt on her tongue, followed by its slight bitterness. Nodding her head, she stroked Selena’s cheek. “Mommy’s fine.”
The car started moving.
Valeria reached for the door handle. At that exact moment, the soft click of the car doors locking echoed sharply in the silence.
She wanted to get out. “It was just low blood sugar, but I’m fine now. Thank you.”
Sebastian glanced at her through the rearview mirror. Her face was still pale, with long hair draped over her shoulders, and a faint stubbornness lingering in her eyes.
With one hand on the wheel, he continued driving. “I’ll take you home.”
Leo fumbled with his chubby hands, trying to buckle his seatbelt. “Yeah, Ms. Neal. Let Uncle Sebastian drive you back.”
Selena chimed in, “Thank you, Mr. Doctor.”
Valeria looked at his profile. “It’s not on your way.” The Grant residence and her place were in opposite directions.
Sebastian’s eyes locked onto her clear and stubborn eyes. There it was again—that strange sense of familiarity. No therapist had ever cured his condition, and it lived in his mind like an
inner demon.
He looked at her, his voice low and firm, giving her no chance to get off as he stepped on the gas. “Whether it’s on my way or not, that’s for me to decide.”
Valeria had always known that.
