"CREAK—" As the door opened, Sydney Sawyer instinctively looked over.
Her hand moved with her body, sweeping the front-facing camera across the scene.
From Sebastian Lockwood's perspective, the image on his screen panned away from Timmy Lockwood, settling on a pair of large feet in sandals before moving up to a pair of baggy gray shorts.
Chester Sawyer, not knowing she was on a video call, scratched his damp hair.
"I need to use the hair dryer. A shower feels so much better. You want to go take one too?"
Sebastian Lockwood didn't see his face, but the word "shower" was like a bomb going off in his ears.
He pressed his lips together, pushing up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. When he looked up again, his eyes had darkened into a bottomless abyss.
Sydney Sawyer lowered her head and pointed to her phone, and Chester Sawyer instantly understood and went quiet.
But on the screen, Sebastian Lockwood watched as the boy walked over to Timmy Lockwood and scooped up *his* cat.
'He doesn't sound very old from his voice. Where did this kid pop up from?'
'He waltzes into the apartment of the woman I like, takes a shower, and now he's going to pet *my* cat? The nerve on this kid.'
By now, Sydney Sawyer had already switched the video call to voice-only and ducked into her bedroom, phone in hand.
Chester Sawyer watched her close the door, a thoughtful expression on his face.
'Why is she being so secretive?'
'She's not ratting me out to Dad, is she?'
——
Inside her room, Sydney Sawyer whispered, "Hello? Are you still there?"
"I'm here," Sebastian Lockwood replied. "You have someone over?"
"Just my younger brother. It's nothing..."
'Younger brother?'
Sydney Sawyer keenly sensed that Sebastian Lockwood's enthusiasm for their chat had waned.
She didn't dare press the issue, worried he might find her annoying. 'I still have to seem obedient and understanding in front of him.'
"Uncle, I've been talking to you for so long, I almost forgot you were out with friends. I won't bother you anymore. If you want to see the cat, just let me know anytime."
She thought she had been very considerate, but after she hung up, a certain someone's face was completely overcast.
"Video call's over? Why are you still standing out here? Go on in."
The man who'd gone to the restroom earlier came back out. Seeing Sebastian hang up, he clapped him on the shoulder, motioning for him to go back into their private room.
But when he met Sebastian's gaze, he nearly pissed himself in fright!
Not even a Sichuan opera performer could change faces that fast.
He didn't dare make a peep and scurried back into the private room.
"Holy shit, that was fucking terrifying. When I stepped out just now, Sebastian Lockwood was grinning like a Cheshire cat, all smug and flirty. But the look in his eyes now? It's absolutely killer."
"Mr. Shaw said in the group chat there was some tea to be spilled. I bet it's about him, right? He's got something going on?"
"I don't know if he's got something going on, but that look on his face... he looks like he just got his heart broken."
...
Everyone was floored.
Heartbreak? Could something like that actually happen to him?
This was Sebastian Lockwood, after all!
The woman who could break his heart? Just how much of a badass would she have to be? If I ever meet her, I'll have to bow down in respect.
Soon enough, Sebastian Lockwood returned to the room.
His expression was neutral, but everyone could sense that the aura around him was completely off.
It was like he had a lit fuse attached to him, and anyone with the balls to poke it would be blown to bits.
Personal safety was important, sure, but it couldn't overcome the group's burning passion for gossip.
After exchanging glances, they silently nominated one brave soul to step forward.
"Sebastian, you... went out for a second and came back... off. Are you too tired? Or did something happen at the hospital?"
"Neither," Sebastian Lockwood's tone was unreadable. The room was silent save for the soft tapping of his fingers on the table. "I'm going back to Keston ahead of schedule."
"But you just got back. Is it an emergency?"
Sebastian Lockwood gave a short, humorless laugh. "It's my little kitten..."
"Seems like she's planning to stray while I'm away."
'What the hell?'
'The cat is going to stray, and you're making a face like you're about to murder someone? And you have to go back early for that?'
Everyone there was sharp; they weren't fools. And that look on his face...
...didn't look like he was talking about a cat straying. It looked like he was talking about his woman running off with someone else.
**
Sebastian Lockwood was both frustrated and bewildered. Where had this kid in shorts come from? The moment he'd left, this guy had seamlessly moved in, even daring to pet *his* cat!
Sydney Sawyer had said it was her brother, so he couldn't very well press the issue.
After all, their relationship wasn't official. He didn't have the right.
From what he knew, she did have a half-brother on her father's side, but judging by his age, he should have been at school. Plus, they weren't close. So why would Sydney Sawyer suddenly have him staying at her apartment?
'Then who was this guy...?'
For the rest of the dinner, almost everyone's attention was on Sebastian Lockwood. He wore the expression of a surgeon at the operating table, staring down a patient and contemplating where to make the first incision. It was deeply unsettling.
The gathering, which was supposed to go all night, ended abruptly before 10 p.m.
The moment Sebastian Lockwood got home, he scrolled through his social media and saw a new post from Sydney Sawyer:
[When it comes to late-night snacks, crayfish is king.]
The post was accompanied by several photos of crayfish in different flavors. They were clearly taken at a restaurant, and the portion size was far too much for one person.
'She went out to eat crayfish with that kid in the shorts?'
Sydney Sawyer truly hadn't been able to resist the temptation.
After Chester Sawyer had dried his hair and helped her deal with all the cat hair in the living room, he had suggested they go out for crayfish, and her resolve had instantly wavered.
After hesitating for almost an hour, she had finally given in. She followed Chester Sawyer to a crayfish restaurant that was supposedly a trendy, internet-famous spot where it was nearly impossible to get a table during peak season.
They got lucky and even managed to snag a small private room, where they ordered steamed, spicy, and garlic-flavored crayfish.
The garlic one was especially fragrant; after being stewed with garlic, the crayfish were topped with another scoop of freshly fried garlic, making the aroma irresistible.
The moment the crayfish arrived, Chester Sawyer couldn't hold back. He pulled on a pair of disposable gloves, grabbed one, snapped off its head and tail, and loudly slurped up the sauce inside, hissing from the heat.
Sydney Sawyer laughed. "Slow down, no one's going to steal it from you."
"The whole point of eating crayfish is slurping the sauce," he said.
"Mhm."
"By the way, Sis," Chester Sawyer began, probing, "that secretive phone call you were on earlier... you weren't ratting me out to Dad, were you?"
"No, it wasn't him."
"Then was it my future brother-in-law?"
Sydney Sawyer had just taken a slurp of the sauce and immediately choked, sending Chester Sawyer into a fit of laughter.
"Is my brother-in-law's last name Lockwood?"
Sydney Sawyer's eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief.
'When did he become my "brother-in-law"? And how does he know his last name is Lockwood?'
Chester Sawyer shot her a smug look. "A single glance at your cat's supplies is enough to know a guy bought them. They're purely functional, with zero aesthetic sense. No girl would ever pick that stuff."
"The cat's name is Timmy Lockwood, so the owner's last name has to be Lockwood."
"Plus, your reaction... you look like a cat that just had its tail stepped on."
Sydney Sawyer's throat was still burning from the sauce. She was coughing too much to speak, forced to listen to Chester Sawyer's outrageous deductions.
"No wonder you weren't into Andrea Wyatt! My brother-in-law must be super imposing and heroic, right? Tall and powerfully built!"
'Brawny? Stalwart? What kind of words was he using to describe someone?'
"I'm going to the restroom," Sydney Sawyer said, her throat still uncomfortable from the spicy sauce.
Chester Sawyer grinned at her. "As long as you like him, don't worry about Dad..."
"You just fly high, Sis. Your little bro will always have your back."
Sydney Sawyer wished she could clamp a hand over his mouth. 'Please, just shut up!'
——
Sebastian Lockwood, however, was finding it impossible to calm down. He was home, and his grandfather was in particularly high spirits tonight.
If he left in the middle of the night, his grandfather, though he might not say a word, would surely be heartbroken for a long time. His previous insistence on going to Keston had already upset the old man for ages; he couldn't keep making him sad.
But the thought of Sydney Sawyer living under the same roof with another guy had him burning with frustration.
Finally, he opened a drawer and reached for the cigarettes he had quit two years ago...