Abandoned Luna Now Untouchable (Cecilia) novel Chapter 232

Cecilia’s pov

I watched as Evelyn and Vance approached, and to my surprise, I felt myself tense up a little.

Evelyn always had this unsettling grace–like she knew everyone’s secrets and kept them in alphabetical order.

Evelyn didn’t hesitate. She walked straight up and said, “Sebastian, I’m so sorry. That was my fault. I let it slip. But Cece was really worried when she heard you might be in danger. She insisted on coming. She was genuinely concerned.”

She’ sold it well–calm, sincere, and deliberate. But I knew exactly what she was doing: trying to keep Sebastian from shutting down and to salvage whatever spark might still exist between us.

Sebastian’s shoulders relaxed. The anger in his face eased.

He looked at me. “Really?”

‘Umm…” I faltered.

Which was ridiculous. I was normally pretty good at lying.

I could fake enthusiasm for budget meetings. I could charm intel out of enemy agents.

But now, with something that was… sort of true? I choked.

After a few painful seconds, I finally offered, “Everyone was worried.” And yeah, that was the safest sentence I could come up with that didn’t include the words “I missed you” or “Please don’t die again.”

I glanced at Tang like a drowning person looking for a life raft.

Tang didn’t miss a beat. “That’s right. It wasn’t just Cecilia–Sawyer and I were both worried too, Alpha.”

He shot a meaningful look at Sawyer, who looked like hed rather be anywhere else.

Sawyer sighed, the picture of reluctant solidarity. “I was… concerned.”

Sebastian’s expression froze over again.

His smite vanished like a light switch flipped off.

“Ah. So this is the Who Cares Most About Sebastian’ competition. Great.” I puffed out my cheeks slightly, resisting the urge to groan out loud.

Inside, I was mentally kicking myself.

Seriously? You can sell lies in five languages, but you can’t manage one decent sentence when it actually matters? Say something nice, genius! It’s free!

I opened my mouth to say something–anything–but my brain was buffering like a slow Wi-Fi connection.

The air thickened with awkward silence.

Across from me, Vance shot me a look colder than a January wind in Chicago.

Darling, smile,” Evelyn said sweetly, pinching Vance’s side hard enough to make him twitch.

Vance’s posture deflated under her grip.

So break the awkward silence, Tang jumped in. “Isn’t the gala starting soon? Wasn’t it supposed to begin at seven?”

Sebastian replied, “They’re probably waiting for everyone to arrive.”

“I hope they don’t wait too long. I’m starving.” Tang eyed the massive banquet table in the center of the hall like a kid at Thanksgiving.

Sawyer shot him a look. “You do realize this isn’t a dinner party, right?

We’re not here for turkey and mashed potatoes.”

Sebastian lightly tapped the back of Tang’s head. “Go check the kitchen.

See if there’s anything to eat–and keep your eyes open.”

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