39. Sebastian
Chapter 39
Sebastian
What the fuck? I blink away the remnants of sleep and sit up, dragging a hand over my face. “Dad? What the hell are you doing here?”
Luckily, Lil is not here and had a sleepover with Gemma and Mary. Otherwise, it would have been awkward.
Without a word, Dad rolls my desk chair in front of me and takes a seat, arms crossed. He tosses a stack of papers onto my bed. “Look at these.”
This wasn’t how I expected my morning to go. “Good morning to you too, Dad.”
“Morning.”
“What are these? Couldn’t it wait until a decent hour? Or, I don’t know, a phone call?”
“This is not a matter to be discussed over the phone.” His tone is clipped. “It’s about the Edmunds girl.”
My jaw clenches. Of course it is. “Her name is Lilian.”
“I don’t care what her name is. What I care about is you ending this foolish entanglement with her. Lilian Edmund is no more than a pawn in her family’s game, and she’s playing you for a fool.”
“It’s not foolish, and it’s not ending.”
“Don’t be naive, Sebastian. You know the history between our families. This… relationship,” he says the word like it’s poison, “it’s not right.”
“Not right for who, Dad? For you? For your precious reputation?” My hands ball into fists at my sides.
“For all of us. The Edmunds cannot be trusted. They will use and manipulate you for their own gain. And they already did.”
A humorless laugh escapes me. “You don’t know her. You don’t know us.”
“I don’t need to because you already have blood on your hands because of them.”
I meet his stare head-on, my resolve unwavering. “I’m not ending shit. I love her, Dad. And no amount of family history or bullshit prejudice is going to change that.”
“Look at the papers.”
I reluctantly pick up the documents, scanning their contents. It’s the Nexus deal. “So what?”
“Tell me, Sebastian, how exactly did the Edmunds find out about the deal before it was even finalized?”
I stare at him, words failing me. No. Impossible.
“The deal fell through this morning. ”
“Lil would never—”
“Your little girlfriend sang like a bird.”
My mind whirls back to some days ago when Lil’s uncle talked with her. “But they were fighting…”
“Are you really so blinded by your devotion to her?” He raises an eyebrow. “She failed the test, son. I was right to be suspicious.”
No. Lil wouldn’t do this.
“You’re unbelievable, you know that? You set her up. You fucking set her up to fail. Did you leak it?”
“Watch your tone. You let that girl get under your skin, and now look where it’s led you. Accusing your own family.” He stands, clasping my shoulder. “Be smarter than me, son. Don’t let love blind you to the truth. In the end, she’s just like her mother.”
With a humorless laugh, I drop onto the edge of my bed. If Lil had wanted revenge all this time, she’d already had plenty of opportunities to destroy me. She knows all my secrets, my hopes and fears and dreams. Instead, she’s only ever brought me comfort. Encouragement. Love.
She wouldn’t throw that away for anything. Certainly not for her uncle’s vendetta.
“This is her payback for what you did. Did you really think they let that go?”
“I didn’t have a choice. She wouldn’t…”
“You don’t know what lies Marc told his niece all her life. ”
“But she can’t remember what happened,” I argue, grasping at straws. “She has no reason to betray me.”
“Convenient, isn’t it?” Dad sneers. “To just ‘forget.’ And you believe that lie from her, too?”
Were the tears in her eyes and the warmth in her smile nothing but lies? No, it can’t be.
“Look at the last page, son.”
My blood runs cold. It’s an official announcement of Lil and Jason’s engagement. From last year.
“What the fuck is this?” I hold up the paper, my hand shaking.
Dad gives me a pitying look. “The truth. She’s been playing you from the start.”
I stare at the words, willing them to change. Engaged. Lilian Edmunds and Jason Campbell. It can’t be real.
But it is. It’s right there in black and white.
“No,” I whisper, more to myself than to him. “No, this can’t be right.”
“I’m sorry, son. I know it’s hard to accept, but you needed to see it for yourself.”
I crumple the paper in my fist, anger, and betrayal coursing through me. How could she do this? After everything we’ve shared, everything I thought we had…
“She lied to me. She fucking lied to me.”
He nods, lips in a tight line. “I warned you, didn’t I? The Edmunds can’t be trusted. ”
I rake a hand through my hair, my mind reeling. All this time, I thought we were building something real. Something that could last. But it was all a game to her.
A sick, twisted game of revenge.
“I’m such a fucking idiot.” I laugh, the sound harsh and bitter. “I actually believed she loved me.”
“You’re not an idiot, and you will prove that. Graduation is around the corner. It’s time to take your place in the company, as you were always meant to do.”
I crush the papers in my fist, vision blurring. So this is how little I meant to her. Nausea churns my gut. I need a fucking drink. Or ten.
Lil engaged to Jason?
It can’t be true. It just can’t.
I push past my dad, heading for the door. “I need some air.”
“Sebastian, wait.” He grabs my arm, but I yank it away.
“Don’t.” I level him with a glare. “Give me one week, and I’ll take my place.”
“Good. We’ll destroy them.”
I storm out. The hallway is empty, thank fuck. I can’t deal with anyone right now. My feet carry me to the gym in the basement.
How could she do this to me? After everything we’ve been through?
Every muscle in my body tenses with the need to explode, to release the fury that’s consuming me from the inside out .
I yank out my phone, my fingers hovering over her name. I want to call her and demand an explanation. But what would I even say? ‘Hey, Lil, quick question. Are you engaged to fucking Jason Campbell?’
I text Brandon and Connor.
Sebastian: Gym in 10.
I need to hit something. Hard.
The gym is empty, exactly the way I like it. I wrap my hands, the familiar routine doing little to settle my nerves. My thoughts are a maelstrom, each one crashing into the next with the force of a sledgehammer. “Lilian Edmunds and Jason Campbell.
I imagine Jason’s face on the bag and throw a savage right hook. The bag swings wildly, but I catch it and steady it for another round of punishment. She. Lied. To. Me. Sweat starts to trickle down my chest, my breathing grows ragged, but I don’t stop. I can’t.
A few minutes later, Brandon and Connor show up.
“Dude, what’s going on?” Brandon asks.
I don’t answer and go back to demolishing the punching bag. Each hit fueled by the betrayal coursing through my veins.
“Bash, talk to us,” Connor tries. “Is this about Lil?”
At the mention of her name, I whirl around, my fist connecting with the wall. The drywall gives way with a sickening crunch, and my knuckles burst with an angry red. Pain shoots up my arm, but I welcome it. It’s better than the ache in my chest .
“She lied to me.” I flex my hand, blood starting to trickle down my wrist. “She’s been lying this whole fucking time.”
Brandon looks at the ruined wall, then at me. “What are you talking about?”
“Lil and Jason. They’re engaged. Have been for a year, apparently.”
“What the fuck?” Brandon’s eyes widen.
“I saw the proof. My dad…” I shake my head. “He showed me the announcement. It’s real. And not only that, she told her uncle something she shouldn’t have.” I don’t know what to believe anymore.
I turn to Connor, my eyes narrowing. “Verify it.”
Connor stands there like a fucking statue, his face pale.
Brandon frowns at him. “Dude, what’s wrong with you?”
“Connor.” My voice is low, dangerous. “What do you know?”
“I found out last night.”
“Found out what?” Brandon asks.
“About Lil and Jason. Their engagement.”
My hands curl into fists at my sides. “And you didn’t think to fucking tell me?”
“Your dad hired me to do it, Bash. To look out for you. I was going to tell you today, but…” He shakes his head. “I didn’t think he’d get to you first.”
“What else?” I take a step towards him, my jaw clenched. “What else did you find? ”
Connor looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “Not just the announcement. There were emails, too. Between Jason’s dad and Lil’s uncle.”
“Emails about what?” Brandon asks, but I think I already know the answer.
“The engagement. How it strengthens their partnership or some shit.” Connor finally meets my gaze, his expression grim. “And a new one, from Marc Edmunds to Henry Campbell. About the deal.”
My blood runs cold. “What about it?”
“Edmunds told Campbell. Said he got it from his niece.”
The world tilts on its axis, and I stumble back, my hand finding the wall for support. “No.”
“Bash…” Brandon starts, but I hold up a hand, cutting him off.
“She wouldn’t do that.” My voice sounds distant, even to my own ears. “She wouldn’t betray me like that.”
“I’m sorry, man.” Connor’s voice is soft, almost pitying. “But it’s all true. I mean it makes sense if you think about it.”
I close my eyes, trying to process it all. The engagement. The emails. The betrayal.
Beginner’s luck? I fucking believed her.
Jason probably already had her.
It’s too much. Too fucking much.
“Get out,” I say quietly .
“Sebastian—”
“I said get the fuck out!” I roar, slamming my fist into the wall again.
They leave without another word, the door closing softly behind them.
And then I’m alone.
Alone with the bitter taste of betrayal on my tongue. I’ll never trust her sweet smiles and quiet tears again.
It’s time to return the favor.