Chapter 278 The Man Who No Longer Sees Me

Chapter 278: Chapter 278 The Man Who No Longer Sees Me

Abigail’s POV

The moment I slid into Sebastian’s car, the air inside turned thick enough to choke on.

Lily Adams shot a quick glance over her shoulder at Emilia. I’d looked up Emilia before I came back for Sebastian; I knew Lily was her closest friend, so her glare of disgust towards me now was understandable.

But I didn’t care. I didn’t come for their irrelevant opinions. I came for Sebastian.

I settled into the spot beside Sebastian, close enough to catch the faint mint and cedar of his scent. It hit me like a memory. It hit me like a memory. Even after all this time, my body still remembered him.

Fynn twisted around from the driver’s seat. He’d had a few drinks at the gala, but his eyes were sharp, and they landed on me.

That stung more than I wanted to admit. Once upon a time, Fynn and I had been friends. Tiffany’s hatred I could stomach, but Fynn too? When had everyone decided I was the enemy?

"You’ve been drinking," Sebastian said, his gaze flicking to him.

"A little," Fynn admitted. "Nothing I can’t handle. I’m your Beta, Sebastian. I’m not letting you play chauffeur."

Polite words, but I understood the real reason. He didn’t want to sit in the back. He didn’t want to be trapped between Emilia and me, forced to make small talk with a woman his Luna despised.

I told myself it didn’t matter. Let them all turn their backs. As long as Sebastian didn’t hate me, I could weather the rest.

The car pulled into the flooded streets. Rain hammered the roof, and Silverlake City blurred into something drowned and gray beyond the glass. No one spoke. My own heartbeat filled my ears.

"Take it slow," Sebastian said. "Roads like this, accidents happen."

"Got it," Fynn answered.

The words had barely left his mouth when the brake lights ahead flared red. The cars in front lurched to a stop. But Fynn, tipsy after all, hit the gas instead of the brake.

The impact came with a sickening crunch of metal.

I screamed. Glass exploded inward. In that split second, before I could even brace myself, I saw Sebastian move.

He didn’t hesitate. He lunged across the seat, his entire body becoming a living shield, pulling Emilia into a tight, protective embrace, crushing her against the upholstery as if to absorb every ounce of impact himself.

I froze, staring, unable to breathe. This was the man I’d told myself still loved me. And in the one heartbeat that mattered, he’d used his own body to protect her.

Not me.

A shard of glass had sliced his forehead. Blood trickled down his temple, and he didn’t so much as flinch. His arms stayed locked around her.

"Emilia, are you hurt?" His voice cracked with something raw. "Talk to me."

"I’m fine." She was pale, shaking. Then her eyes found the blood and widened. "You’re bleeding, your forehead is bleeding!" She dug a handkerchief from her clutch and pressed it to the wound with trembling fingers.

"It’s nothing." He caught her wrists, ignoring his own injury entirely. "Let me check you. Anywhere else?"

I watched them, and something inside me splintered like the windshield.

The man who once cradled my face like I was made of glass had no room for me left. None at all.

Sirens wailed through the rain. The paramedics arrived, and it was Fynn and Lily up front who’d taken the worst of it. They were loaded into the ambulance and gone within minutes.

Only then did Sebastian seem to remember I existed. He turned, his expression flat.

"Are you hurt?"

I looked back at him, cold. "Yes."

"Where?"

"Here." I pulled down my collar, baring the skin over my heart, where his name was inked into my flesh. "Do you see it? I’m hurt right here."

Emilia’s gaze dropped to the tatto. Then, slowly, she turned her face away.

Sebastian reached out and pulled my collar back up.

"Don’t," he said, low and hard.

I shoved his hand off and ran into the storm.

I didn’t stop until I reached Claudine Tucker’s apartment at Peaceful Bay Resort. When she opened the door, I collapsed into her arms.

"Godmother..."

"Hush now." She stroked my back. "Tell me what happened."

"What do I do?" I sobbed. "His heart isn’t mine anymore."

She steered me inside, pressed dry clothes into my hands, and sent me to wash off the rain. When I came out, she handed me a steaming cup.

"Drink. South American roast. Good for the nerves."

I took it and told her everything. When I reached the part where he’d shielded Emilia with his own body, the tears came again.

"He doesn’t love me. He really doesn’t. If there was even a scrap of feeling left, he’d never have forgotten I was sitting right next to him."

Claudine sighed. "Don’t fret, child. I’ll get that man back for you. One way or another, he’ll be yours."

"How?" I whispered. "His heart’s gone. What can anyone possibly do?"

"Matchmaking is hard work." She smiled. "But tearing two people apart? Child, that’s the easy part."

"They seem happy together now."

"So what? Happy things rarely last. Trust me, I’ll spare nothing to bring Sebastian back to you."

I’d met Claudine after I fled to France. When I applied to work at her company, she’d learned I was in love with Titus Simons’ son, and that Titus had used cruel tricks to drive me away from him. She’d been furious on my behalf and taken me in as her goddaughter.

A shared enemy has a way of binding people tight.

I stayed until nearly eleven, when Damien’s call came through.

"Why aren’t you home yet?"

"My car’s dead. Can you come get me?"

"Where are you?"

"Peaceful Bay Resort."

He hung up. Half an hour later he pulled up to the curb where I stood waiting, steadier now after Claudine’s comfort.

"Why aren’t you asleep?" I asked, sliding into the passenger seat.

"How could I sleep knowing you weren’t home?" He leaned over and buckled my seatbelt himself.

"You don’t have to wait up for me. I won’t get lost, and no one’s going to kidnap me."

He said nothing, just pulled out onto the road. The rain had stopped an hour ago. I cracked the window and let the cold, wet-earth air wash over my face.

"I thought you went to Genevieve’s birthday gala," he said, too casually. "What are you doing out here?"

"I wasn’t feeling well. I came to talk to Claudine."

Without warning, he swerved to the shoulder and cut the engine. He got out, walked to a fountain nearby, and stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the water.

"What’s wrong?" I followed, confused.

"I don’t like how close you’re getting with Claudine Tucker." He didn’t bother hiding his distaste. "That woman’s mind is a bottomless pit. You’ll never know what she’s really scheming."

"Damien, how can you say that about my godmother? Have you forgotten everything she did for me these years?"

"There’s no such thing as a free lunch. She’s getting something out of it. There are plenty of people on the earth. Why does she care about you and only you?"

"Because we get along."

"Not a reason."

"We have a common enemy."

"Still not a reason."

"To you, maybe not. To me, it’s reason enough. What could she possibly use me for? I have no value anymore. Sebastian’s heart isn’t mine. And yet she still helps me. That proves she truly cares."

Damien laughed, sharp and bitter. "I honestly can’t decide if you’re naive or just blind. Do you have any idea her son wants Emilia Taylor for himself?"

"I know."

"Then think. If she gets you and Sebastian back together, guess who ends up with Emilia in the end?"

I shrugged. "So what? Even if she has her own agenda, I don’t care. All I care about is whether Sebastian comes back to me."

Surprise flickered across his face.

"Abigail," he said quietly. "Since when did you become this selfish?"