Chapter 390
Torin and Ansel thought, ‘So when she said ‘Come out’ earlier, she really was talking to us?’
Ansel called out, “Ms. Carter, wait! We’re from the Ravenshade crew. We’re just here to keep you and Lucas safe, I swear, that’s all there is to it!”
As if to prove it, Torin slowly raised his hands and smiled.
Callum and Emily just stared at them, totally speechless.
They thought, ‘We’ve been followed by three people this whole time and didn’t notice a thing.
‘With our luck, we’d be the classic cannon fodder: gone.before the opening credits even roll.
Stella didn’t say a word.
Her deep amber eyes lingered on their faces.
She smirked, somewhere between a smile and a sneer.
Torin and Ansel both swallowed hard in unison.
“Just joking, don’t take it to heart,” Stella said, spinning the pen before slipping it back where it belonged. She sauntered off toward the hotel, not a care in the world, but came to a halt when she passed a candy stall.
Torin suddenly let out a breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding.
Only he knew how close he was to suffocating with Stella’s pen at his throat.
“Ms. Carter, did you know we were there the whole time?” Ansel finally asked, a little slow on the uptake.
Lucas was up on his tiptoes, gazing at all the realistic-looking candies. His big eyes were shining, and his lips silently formed a “Wow!”
Stella’s gaze lingered on something in the distance as she spoke slowly, “Was the fish cake any good?”
Ansel answered without thinking, “It was alright, just a bit-”
And then his words just died in his throat.
Ansel thought, ‘She really knew everything!
When Stella and Lucas returned, they spotted Sebastian’s suit jacket draped over the couch, but Sebastian himself was nowhere in sight.
She poured Lucas a glass of water with one hand, waited for him to finish, then spoke casually, “Go wash up.”
Lucas nodded a bunch of times and scampered off to the bedroom.
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Chapter 390
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Stella poured herself a glass of water, and the little shark-shaped candy she’d grabbed on a whim was glinting under the lamp, looking extra eye-catching right next to her hand.
She set her glass down on the island, stretched her neck a bit, and wandered over to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
And then, she heard the sound of running water.
She paused in her tracks, then turned her head.
To her surprise, the suite’s bathtub was set right up against the floor-to-ceiling windows, clearly meant to set the mood. The only thing separating it from the rest of the room was a flowy, sheer white curtain.
Through the gauzy fabric, she could just make out a silhouette, with a champagne glass sitting close by.
Sebastian was there, eyes closed, just chilling.
Suddenly, he sensed someone approaching.
His eyes fluttered open as a hand gently tilted up his chin, and the next moment, a soft kiss landed on his lips.
“It’s not often I catch you looking this relaxed,” Stella murmured.
Sebastian looked up at her, water dripping from his sharp, handsome features. His hair was slicked back, showing off those deep, focused eyes that locked onto Stella, like a saint who’d just been dragged down from
his altar.
His strong arms rested lazily on the edge of the tub. He asked, “Did you have fun?”
He was talking about her night out with Emily and the others at the night market. His long fingers absentmindedly played with hers, while beads of water clung to his scarred shoulders, sliding down along the lines of his muscles.
His lashes fluttered down as he hooked his pinky around Stella’s.
He was acting a bit clingy.
“It was alright,” Stella said, briefly telling Sebastian about bumping into Soleil. But every time she tried to get a sentence out, Sebastian would hook her pinky and bring it to his lips for another kiss, interrupting her again and again.
Sebastian let out a low chuckle and asked, “Care to join me down here?”
Stella blinked, caught off guard.
Before she could even react, Sebastian grabbed her wrist and yanked her straight into the bathtub.
Blackie grumbled inwardly, ‘I am not part of your game!’
But it could only fume, not daring to say a word.
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It slunk out of the water, looking all dejected.
Sebastian’s lips curled into a smile as he gently tucked her wet hair behind her ear. He touched his forehead to her brow, and those icy eyes that were always so cold to everyone else now sparkled with warmth just for her.
The wall lamps cast a soft, golden glow, and the sheer white curtains fluttered gently in the breeze.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the entire river view stretched out before them, even better than the one from Emily’s room.
Sebastian wrapped his arms around Stella from behind, resting his chin on top of her head.
He dropped little kisses on her now and then.
“Did you guess what’s up with the Clinton family?” Stella drawled, her long hair drifting in the water as she scooped up the champagne glass Sebastian had just sipped from and took a light drink.
“Yeah,” Sebastian replied.
Stella turned to face him, letting out a soft sigh. The beads on her wrist were damp, clinging to her porcelain skin and somehow making her look even more alluring. She said, “Sebastian, I really can’t stand trouble.”
Her hand finally came to rest on his chest.
“To avoid any hassle, I’d rather deal with the source before it even becomes a problem,” Stella said, her voice icy, not joking in the slightest.
She added, “If they don’t mess with me, I can turn a blind eye. But if they push me too far-”
She sneered.
She lifted her hand, letting the rest of her words dissolve into the champagne.
Sebastian lowered his gaze, his lips brushing against her shoulder as his large hand covered Stella’s.
Their silhouettes were reflected in the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Right beside them, the Silverthatch was basking in the moonlight, shaking itself with a soft rustle, sending out waves of sweet fragrance.
Its bright green leaves looked all puffy and plush.
It even used its long leaves to cover up its imaginary eyes.
It thought, ‘It is too shy to look at!
*****
Stella was lounging on a single sofa, flipping through the battered Grand Medicine Manuscript.
Meanwhile, Lucas was all over the place in his sleep, rolling from the head of the bed clear down to the foot,
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Chapter 390
still gnawing on his thumb.
“Stella,” Lucas mumbled in his sleep.
Stella looked up, a little puzzled.
“Cuddle,” Lucas mumbled again.
Then he rolled right back again.
Stella thought, ‘So he is just talking in his sleep.
‘Fine, whatever.’
:
She casually took a quick pic of the battered old book and sent it off to Karson.
Not long after, her phone buzzed.
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