Sebastian didn't say a word. His somber gaze remained fixed on Helena, silently demanding an explanation.
Janetta looked up at Sebastian, her eyes wide with manufactured innocence. "Seb, your wife wouldn't leak this to the media, right? I don't think she's that kind of person."
On the surface, she sounded like she was defending Helena.
In reality, she was deliberately driving a wedge between them.
Helena easily saw through the pathetic attempt at manipulation.
She offered a faint, unbothered smile. "My apologies. I just needed to use the restroom, but you two were blocking the entire hallway. I was simply debating if I should find another one."
She completely dismantled Janetta's subtle attack.
Without waiting for a response, Helena abandoned her plan to find a different bathroom and walked straight toward them.
She didn't spare Janetta a single glance.
Her disdain was palpable, radiating from her every move.
Janetta hadn't expected such blatant disrespect.
It was as if during her time away from Riverton, Helena had morphed into a completely different person, breaking free from all their previous constraints.
Instinctively, Janetta looked to Sebastian for support.
For the first time, she caught a flicker of an unfamiliar emotion in his eyes.
His gaze was locked entirely on Helena, unreadable yet intense.
A suffocating wave of panic washed over Janetta.
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at him pitifully.
"Seb, maybe I really shouldn't have come back. All I've done is put you in a difficult position," she sighed, sounding utterly heartbroken.
Sebastian finally looked at her.
He had heard this exact speech from Janetta countless times.
It was always a strategic retreat, a calculated move to manipulate his guilt.
Over time, he had grown numb to it.
Her theatrical display of misery no longer stirred an ounce of sympathy in his chest.
Janetta bit her lip, her face draining of all color.
The humiliation was unbearable.
She looked at Sebastian with pleading eyes, silently begging him to defend her after Helena's vicious verbal slap.
Sebastian saw everything.
He wasn't blind to Janetta's desperate silent pleas.
But he refused to give her what she wanted.
His recent psychological warfare with Janetta had taught him one absolute truth.
If he yielded, she would keep pushing his boundaries.
If he backed down, she would never stop making unreasonable demands.
With that cold logic in mind, he looked away from her and calmly closed the distance between himself and Helena.
Janetta's expression shattered completely.

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