Chapter 40: What he didn’t know, won’t harm

Augustus Vance had never stopped believing that his son had made the wrong choice.

He simply stopped saying it aloud.

For years, Alejandro’s marriage had seemed determined to prove him unreasonable. Rosalie settled into the family, Ben and Alexander grew up as brothers, and Alejandro somehow became both the devoted husband he’d wanted to be and the capable successor Augustus had demanded.

Then Ben died.

Rosalie withdrew from the family, while Alejandro buried himself in work.

Alexander, once the boy who’d constantly trailed after his older brother, became noticeably quieter.

To Augustus, it confirmed a fear he’d carried for decades.

Love alone wasn’t enough to build a stable family.

Perhaps that was why Victoria Sebastian eventually found him so easy to persuade.

Not immediately, of course.

Because Augustus Vance was still Augustus Vance.

He was old.

Traditional.

And while he’d never been cruel about the increasingly obvious closeness between his grandson and the Sebastian boy, that didn’t mean he was particularly thrilled about it either.

At first, he’d simply assumed they would grow out of whatever it was.

After all, Alexander and Dominic had been together since childhood.

They played together, fought, made up, disappeared somewhere around the estate only to come home dirty, hungry, and occasionally bleeding from some completely avoidable childhood adventure.

As they grew older, however, something changed.

The wrestling became less frequent.

The touching didn’t.

One afternoon, Augustus looked outside and found the two boys sitting beneath the old tree in the garden.

Dominic was saying something while Alexander listened.

Nothing particularly unusual about that.

What was unusual was Dominic’s arm stretched along the bench behind him and Alexander sitting close enough that their shoulders remained pressed together despite having plenty of room.

Then Dominic leaned over and whispered something.

Alexander immediately turned red.

Augustus’s newspaper slowly lowered.

A moment later, Dominic laughed, and Alexander shoved him away.

Only for Dominic to come right back.

"Hmph."

Augustus raised his newspaper again.

Young people.

Perhaps they’d figure out whatever nonsense they were doing eventually.

They didn’t.

By high school, the affection that had once seemed like nothing more than childhood closeness had become increasingly difficult to mistake for anything else.

The problem was that neither boy seemed entirely certain what to call it either.

They were young.

Dominic kissed Alexander’s cheek because he’d been doing it long enough for it to feel natural.

Alexander allowed Dominic to sling an arm around his shoulders because when had he ever not?

Sometimes they held hands.

Sometimes they didn’t.

And after one graduation party, Augustus saw them dancing together long after most of the adults had stopped paying attention.

He did.

So did Victoria.

Neither said anything.

But Victoria Sebastian had considerably more reason to think about it afterward.

Sebastian Group was struggling.

Not enough for their neighbors to know.

Certainly not enough for Dominic to know.

But Victoria knew exactly how much money was coming in, how much was going out, and how hard Conrad was working to keep their difficulties from becoming public.

And there, practically next door, was Alexander Vance.

The only remaining Vance heir.

Already attached to her only son.

Victoria wasn’t sentimental enough to mistake teenage affection for some grand, everlasting romance.

If anything, that made the situation easier.

The boys liked each other now.

The families already knew one another.

And if encouraging that attachment brought the Sebastians closer to the Vances while they needed financial support, why shouldn’t she?

They could always separate later.

In fact, Victoria privately assumed they probably would.

Dominic was her only son.

Alexander was the only Vance heir.

Neither family would gain a biological grandson from a marriage between them, and surely Augustus Vance, of all people, would eventually think of that.

Which was why Victoria never approached him with anything as obvious as a marriage proposal.

That would’ve been ridiculous.

Instead, one particularly miserable week of rain, the Vance housekeeper walked into the sitting room carrying a container of food and a small paper bag.

Augustus lowered his newspaper.

"What’s all that?"

"Chicken soup and some warm socks, sir."

"I can see that."

The housekeeper smiled.

"Young Master Dominic sent them. He heard you weren’t feeling well."

Augustus raised a brow.

"That Sebastian boy?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hmph."

He ate two bowls.

Around the same time, at the Sebastian residence, Dominic wandered into the kitchen and stopped.

The entire house smelled like chicken soup.

"How many chickens did you kill?"

The elderly cook laughed.

"Enough to feed this house and share some with an elderly neighbor."

"Oh."

Dominic grabbed a bowl.

"Can I have some?"

And that was the extent of his involvement.

A few weeks later, Victoria stood in the Sebastian kitchen while a basket of fresh fruit was being prepared.

"Not those."

She removed several pears.

"Put in more grapes."

The maid immediately obeyed.

"And the card, Madam?"

Victoria glanced at it.

I remembered you liked these. I hope you’re feeling better.

She smiled.

"Just write Dominic."

That same morning, Dominic walked past the kitchen table, picked up one of the remaining pears, and left for school.

The basket arrived at the Vance residence that afternoon.

Then came the occasional cooked meal whenever Augustus was ill.

"Another one?" Augustus asked one evening.

The housekeeper placed a bowl of beef stew on the table.

"Yes, sir. Our young neighbor Mr. Dominic apparently remembered you enjoyed this."

Augustus glanced at the food.

"That boy remembers too much."

But he was smiling when he said it.

That was when Victoria became a little more ambitious.

One afternoon, a courier arrived at the Vance residence carrying a carefully wrapped package.

Augustus stared at the painting after the covering was removed.

"A portrait of me?"

His eyes narrowed.

A small signature sat in the corner.

Dominic Sebastian.

"Really?"

Augustus looked at it suspiciously.

He hadn’t known the boy painted.

Still...

"Hmph. That boy..."

By evening, the portrait had found a place on the wall.

Meanwhile, across town, Dominic Sebastian remained completely unaware that his artistic abilities had apparently improved enough for him to start painting portraits.

He’d dabbled in painting before.

He certainly wasn’t that good.

Victoria had commissioned the portrait herself.

And slowly, something rather unexpected happened.

Augustus began looking at Dominic differently.

Not simply as the boy who seemed a little too attached to his grandson.

But as someone who actually paid attention.