#Chapter 18 – Second Guesses
Adrian
So this is why Stella has been so cold and distant lately. Her time with Sebastian has changed her, cementing her into what I knew she was from the beginning a gold digger.
Sebastian is vastly wealthier than me; his company does triple what mine does and he is wildly more successful than I am. With his materialistic ways, there is no doubt that Stella has sunken deeper into her materialism at his side. The Stella I once knew has abandoned her warmth and kind spirit.
How can she be so heartless? So cutthroat and cruel? She had been faking her love for me this whole time and her tantrum in the hospital was definitely planned on her part,
It worries me that Stella’s sudden change is so drastic. Sebastian is clearly enabling her bad behavior.
Who she is now is someone I can barely recognize.
1 step forward and weave through the crowd with Clara close behind me. She remains at my side as the room’s attention moves away from Sebastian and Stella. I clear my throat once I’m close enough, catching their attention.
“I misunderstood your identity, Sebastian,” my voice comes off as calm with hostility as a prominent undertone.”
I’m sure that I have offended you in many ways and for that, I am sorry. Thank you for taking care of Stella.”
I reach out and grab Stella’s wrist. With one pull, I try to bring her to my side but she doesn’t move. Her wrist slips from grip and sticks by Sebastian’s side, linking her ann with his,
“I’m Sebastian’s companion tonight,” Stella states, her gaze as fierce as her words.
I take a step towards her, closing the small distance between us, and lean in, our faces inches away from each other.
“Why have you been ignoring my calls, Stella? You were supposed to come here with me instead of him,” I nod my head to gesture to Sebastian while my eyes remain on hers. “I deserve an explanation.”
“Stella” Sebastian cooly begins. He gently pulls Stella around his body, moving her to the other side and away from me.“—helped me and my company with a major issue it faced. As a thank you, I invited her as my date to the gala tonight.”
“Stella helped you?” I scoff, peeling my gaze away from her and onto him.
It’s laughable! Stella does not have many skills, especially ones that can be of help to a financial mogul like Sebastian. She lacks the capability to help him and his obscenely wealthy company.
This revelation from Sebastian only makes me more suspicious of Stella’s motives with him. If she is not with him to provoke me, then she has to be having an affair with him. It is the only reason why they have been glued at the hip together recently.
“You know,” Clara speaks up and steps to the side of Sebastian and 1, “Stella is his wife. Her being your date may cause some controversy and wild rumors can form. Why don’t I take her place at your side so she can be Adrian’s proper date?”
“No
You aren’t qualified to stand at my side,” Sebastian’s words are ice cold just like the expression on his face. Clara gasps. She looks to me with her mouth hanging open, no words or quick retort leaving her lips. She looks away, her cheeks now a bright pink color, and crosses her as over her chest.
Sebastian raises his hand and snaps his fingers. Him and Stella turn away, going back to their own conversation. I scoff and step forward to retaliate and to fight back against their cold demeanors but I am quickly grabbed by his
+25 BONUS
employees and am escorted away alongside Clara.
“Who do they think they are?” I stare at them from across the room, a scowl written all over my face.
“He is bound to leave Stella sooner or later. Once he sees how materialistic she is and that she is only with him for his money, he’ll kick her to the curb and abandon her,” Clara places her hand on my shoulder.
Irritation flows through my veins. Clara’s voice is now reminiscent of nails being dragged down a chalkboard, only pushing me further into my blossoming fury.
“Clara?” I ask. She hums in response. “Stop talking”
I
My eyes never leave Stella for the rest of the night. She wears the same disinterested smile on her face like she did when she attended events with me in the past. She has always been bored whenever we went to an event like this together, always fading into the background while I spoke for us.
Now? Stella is radiant. She captures the room’s attention and is the one who is being pursued, not me.
Watching this throws me off my rhythm. The power balance between us has changed and I fear that Stella now has the reigns in her hands. I have never seen this side of Stella before, the side of her that no longer seeks out the world’s approval
To make things worse, Stella doesn’t even look my way once. Not once does she even meet mu gaze, always making sure to look in the opposite direction or to turn away just as our eyes are about to meet.
Her attention remains on Sebastian, who keeps his arm draped around her back, hand resting on her waist. They laugh and lean in, whispering a comment or two about what they just spoke about.
Sebastian’s eyes meet mine for a brief second. My heart rate spikes. The man’s lips twitch into a smug smirk, slowly leaning his head down to meet Stella’s.
My grip on the whiskey glass in my hand tightens. My skin feels like it’s on fire.
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