After Sebastian finished speaking, the color instantly drained from Kiara's face. Andrea, however, was anxious and tense, saying he wanted to take her for a check-up immediately.
"I-I'm just going to the restroom," Kiara said, her voice trembling slightly.
She didn't dare to stay any longer, terrified that if that man said one more word, every last one of her secrets would be laid bare.
In a panic, she ignored Andrea's offer to accompany her and pushed the door open to leave.
Regina scoffed lightly.
'So much scheming, yet she can't even hide it. Utterly classless.'
"Kiara." Andrea, thinking she had been frightened by Sebastian's words, quickly stood up to chase after her.
"Andrea, you stay right there," Regina said urgently.
"Mom, I'm worried about her. I'm going to go check…"
"What is there to check? Didn't you hear your uncle? He said there's something wrong with her head."
"That's all the more reason I should go check on her."
Everyone was speechless.
Sydney looked down, now thinking:
'There's something wrong with Andrea's head, too.'
Ignoring his mother's protests, he stubbornly chased after her. Furious and exasperated, Regina worried Kiara would pull her usual three-part act—playing the victim, fake crying, and feigning a faint—and rushed out after him.
Suddenly, only Sydney and Sebastian were left in the private room.
Sydney kept her head down, eating her cake, but from the corner of her eye, she was secretly observing the man beside her. Sebastian was reaching out to pour himself some tea.
His hands were beautiful, with long, slender bones and distinct knuckles that clearly defined their structure. They were elegant and perfectly proportioned.
'He really is the man I used to have a crush on…'
'Every part of him is handsome.'
Sydney was staring, lost in a daze, when she suddenly heard a voice ask, "Would you like some tea?"
There were only the two of them in the room, so the question was obviously meant for her. Sydney's heart clenched. For some reason, her hand trembled, and her elbow knocked over the dessert fork next to her. The fork slid off the edge of the table…
Sydney instinctively reached out to grab it, but the man beside her was a step quicker, catching the fork by its handle.
As for her…
She grabbed his hand.
Her breath hitched. His hand was warm, searing her palm.
It felt like an open flame, hot enough to burn right through her skin.
In that instant, she felt a jolt of electricity shoot from the back of his hand through her entire body. Every cell within her seemed to hum and sizzle.
It was completely unexpected. Her heart gave a violent lurch.
The next second, she snatched her hand back. "S-Sorry."
"It's fine." Sebastian placed the fork back on the table, pushing it further from the edge.
Back then, many people had a crush on Sebastian. Every day, someone was trying a new trick to get his attention. But she had only ever exchanged a few words with him before fleeing in a panic, never even daring to say "I like you"…
'If she tried to bring up the past, he probably wouldn't even remember her, which would be even more awkward.'
Sydney pressed her lips together, fidgeting with her fork and poking at the cake on her plate.
Sebastian sipped his tea and glanced at her.
'That poor cake must have committed terrible sins in a past life to be tortured by her like this, poked until it's riddled with holes.'
Sydney felt utterly awkward after her hand had touched his. She finally stood up. "I'm going to use the restroom…"
A classic bathroom escape!
'She felt so pathetic.'
'But in front of someone you like, isn't everyone a little insecure and cowardly?'
Sydney had always believed that after all these years, if she ever met him again, she'd be able to greet him with a smile. Don't all those self-help books say time is the best cure for a broken heart?
But now…
'That's all a load of crap!'
'The moment she saw Sebastian, her heart still pounded and she got flustered. She couldn't control it at all!'
**
In the end, Regina failed to stop her son. When she returned to the private room and saw only Sebastian, she frowned slightly. "Where's Syd?"
"She went to the restroom."
Regina nodded and slumped into her chair, defeated. "You saw it for yourself today. That woman is really something else. It's like Andrea has been brainwashed by her. He won't listen to a word I say. We could have had a nice meal today, but no, he had to bring her. Wasn't that just a deliberate attempt to humiliate Syd?"
"It's not like she came out of it well, either," Sebastian said, sipping his tea.
Regina smiled at the thought. "Well, that's thanks to you. And poor Syd, that girl has had it rough…"
"After her parents divorced, her father remarried a long time ago and now has a son and a daughter. It must be awkward for her to visit. And I hear her mother is about to remarry as well."
"I'm good friends with her mother, so I just want to look after her a little…"
Sebastian's expression was unreadable. "So you want to set her up with Andrea?"
Of course, Regina had her own selfish reasons; she wanted to use Sydney to pull her son back to his senses. But she was too embarrassed to admit she was using a younger person, so she just smiled.
"That's right. I actually invited you today to help me get a sense of what she's like. After all, you have excellent judgment and are never wrong about people."
"It's understandable that you feel sorry for her and want to look after her, but this isn't the way to do it. Besides, Andrea's heart isn't with her. If you force them together, no one will be happy."
Regina gave a helpless smile. "If it weren't for that other woman, she and Andrea would be a good match…"
"They're not."
"Huh?"
Regina seemed not to have expected him to say that. She looked stunned for a moment, thinking she must have misheard him.
"I said, they're not a good match."
Regina's expression stiffened. After what had just happened, her son had indeed gone too far, and she couldn't argue the point. She could only sigh to herself. 'If things don't work out between her and Andrea, I wonder which lucky person will snap her up.'
'Besides, she and my son are clearly a great match, aren't they?'
"By the way, how much longer will you be in Keston? When are you heading back to Aethelgard?" Regina's tone was humble and eager to please, not at all like that of an older sister speaking to her younger brother.
"It depends on the hospital's schedule."
Sebastian's tone was, as always, mild, creating a sense of distance.
"I had someone buy a few things the other day. If you're heading back, perhaps you could take them to the Old Master for me. They're not valuable, just a small token of my affection…"
Regina hadn't expected him to show up at all today; she could usually never get a meeting with him.
When they did happen to meet, he seemed approachable enough. But she knew in her heart that her son calling him "uncle" was a privilege they were lucky to have. He acknowledged the title, but only out of politeness.
'Herself and the Wyatt Family…'
'…probably didn't even register on his radar.'
Sebastian sipped his tea, his response ambiguous enough that it was hard to tell if he had agreed or not.
**
After Sydney returned from the restroom, she stayed in the room and chatted with Regina for a while.
Sebastian didn't say a word the entire time, but he didn't leave, either. He just sat there, as still and imposing as a great statue, making Sydney's heart race with anxiety.
Just as she was trying to come up with an excuse to leave, Regina's phone rang. "Hello? What did you just say? The media is just spouting nonsense! How dare they print whatever they want…"
Her tone was urgent, her voice several degrees louder than before.
Sydney and Sebastian both looked toward her. Realizing she was losing her composure, she hurried outside the room to continue the call.
When she returned, she looked rushed. "Syd, I'm so sorry. I have to go deal with something, so I can't drive you home. I'll have the driver take you."
"It's fine, please go if you're busy. I've moved out on my own now, so I wasn't heading home anyway."
"It's just that I have something urgent to handle, so I can't take you myself…" Regina glanced at Sebastian. Though hesitant, she still asked, "Sebastian, why don't you give Syd a ride?"
"Mrs. Lockwood, there's no need! I can just get a taxi. Really, you don't have to—" Sydney insisted desperately.
Her refusal, however, only made Regina think she was being overly considerate and didn't want to be a bother.
In truth, Regina hadn't really dared to ask Sebastian for a favor either; she had just been testing the waters.
She already felt guilty about how the day had turned out; sending Syd off with just a driver felt too dismissive. "Syd, don't treat yourself like a stranger. You don't have to be so polite with me."
"I'm really not being polite. I just don't want to trouble your uncle."
'I *am* an outsider! I don't want to get involved in your family's drama!'
'Please, just let me be an outsider.'
Sydney was practically radiating resistance from every pore.
Sebastian looked at her, then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Actually… it's no trouble."
Sydney was speechless.
'But I think it's a hassle!'
'Because of you, I can't even think straight! You're nothing but trouble!'