Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Stella turned to look at Sebastian, confused,

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Sebastian looked dangerously cold and dark, his eyes like ancient ice, sending chills through the air.

The pressure in the room was so intense that it felt like a tornado was about to tear everything apart.

Allan swallowed nervously, barely daring to breathe, sneaking glances at the two of them from the corner of his eye.

Sebastian didn’t say anything, but there was something in his eyes when he looked at Stella, something he wasn’t saying out loud.

“Whatever,” Sebastian repeated himself, his expression cold and unyielding, but his grip on her wrist only grew tighter.

Stella lazily raised her trapped wrist, her eyes signaling him. She said, “Let go.”

Allan was shaking in his boots at Sebastian’s icy glare. Just when he thought Sebastian was about to go nuclear, Sebastian simply let go of Stella’s wrist, his face unreadable, and stormed out of the restaurant without another word.

The instant Sebastian left, Allan felt like his bones had turned to jelly, and he just slumped over the table, completely spent.

“Stella, don’t you think Sebastian is really scary when he gets moody?” Allan croaked, barely able to get the words out.

He was so freaked out, he felt like his soul was about to jump out of his skin.

Stella didn’t respond. Her long lashes lowered, masking the casual indifference in her eyes.

She thought, ‘Scary?

‘Honestly, he’s kind of cute.’

*****

The bedroom was dark, not a single light on.

By the floor-to-ceiling windows, Sebastian sat in his black wheelchair, watching the sports car speed away. His expression blended into the darkness, showing no trace of human emotion. A shadow flickered in his

eyes.

He just sat there, not moving an inch.

After ages, the door to the kids’ room swung open.

Snowball had been lazily slithering around on the floor with his back to the door, just relaxing. But the second the door opened, his whole body stiffened, his round head snapping around to stare at the cold, intimidating man standing there.

Snowball was stunned for a moment.

It thought, ‘This must be a nightmare.

‘Wake

up,

Snowball! Snap out of it!’

Lucas, fresh from his bath, sat sulking on the big bed, his cheeks resting in his hands.

Hearing the door open, Lucas’s eyes sparkled, thinking Stella had come back. But when he realized it was Sebastian, his excitement vanished in a flash. He tilted his head, thought for a moment, then patted the spot beside him.

Sebastian steered his electric wheelchair around the petrified Snowball and sat down next to Lucas.

*

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Chapter 80

The two of them sat side by side like ice sculptures: one big, one small.

Lucas let out a soft, wistful sigh.

Lucas typed on his watch.

Big Ben asked, “Where did Stella go?”

Lucas rested his chin in his hand, looking all forlorn and miserable.

Sebastian didn’t reply.

Lucas typed again.

Big Ben asked, “When is Stella coming back?”

Sebastian kept silent.

Lucas did it again.

Big Ben said, “Stella…”

Sebastian cut him off, his voice cold and unyielding. He said, “It’s 10:30. Time for bed.”

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As he said this, Sebastian’s face grew even darker. Years of insomnia had made him naturally averse to sleep, and just the thought of going to bed put him in an even worse mood. His eyes grew even colder.

Lucas puffed up his cheeks in a huff, looking just like a little squirrel with its cheeks stuffed full of nuts.

Lucas typed on his watch.

Big Ben said, “Stella always tells me bedtime stories!”

Lucas let out a tiny, mock-angry “hmph” at Sebastian, trying to act tough but still sounding adorable.

Sebastian gave Lucas an even frostier glare.

But Lucas, who had grown up right next to Sebastian, wasn’t buying any of it; he just flipped the attached shark hood of his onesie over his head and ignored him completely.

“So, what kind of story do you want to hear?” Sebastian asked at last, his voice still cold, but one could tell he was reluctantly giving in.

Lucas turned to look at him.

They just stared at each other in silence.

Stella always picked whatever she felt like, and he’d just listen until he drifted off to sleep. But now, with Sebastian here instead, Lucas had no idea what kind of story he wanted.

Sebastian began, “Once upon a time, there was a little tadpole who couldn’t find his mom.”

His face was totally blank, and his voice was as flat as a pancake.

Lucas’s ears perked up.

“Then, it swam and swam, and bumped into a fish,” Sebastian kept going, his voice still cold and monotone.

Lucas looked like he was lost in thought.

16:02 Thu, Jan 22

Chapter 80

Sebastian continued, “So it asked, ‘Aunt Fish, have you seen my mom?””

Lucas’s eyes lit up as he looked up at Sebastian, silently asking, “And then? What happened next?”

Sebastian said, “The Fish replied with a gentle smile.”

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Sebastian’s cold eyes locked onto Lucas, his black pajamas making him look even more like a demon king. His handsome, icy face slowly curled into a thin, icy smile. He said, “Then it ate the tadpole.

“And from then on, the little tadpole’s mom never saw her little tadpole again.”

Lucas just sat there, his expression stuck in a daze, completely speechless.

Sebastian kept that icy smirk on his lips, saying nothing at all.

At some point, Snowball had wrapped himself around the ornamental tree and was just hanging there, utterly dumbfounded.

Lucas just sat there in stunned silence for what felt like forever.

His big eyes were wide and innocent, pure as ever.

And then, in the blink of an eye, his eyes welled up

with tears.

Lucas thought, ‘That story is super creepy!

Snowball thought, ‘Even I’m freaked out by that story!

Sebastian watched Lucas cry uncontrollably, his face still blank, but, for one of the rare times in his life, he felt a pang of guilt. He reached out his long arm to comfort Lucas, but the kid immediately pushed his hand away.

Lucas kept sobbing for almost half an hour, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Lucas typed on his watch.

Big Ben said, “I want to find Stella.”

With a frosty expression, Sebastian summoned John.

John frowned at Lucas, who was

So hard he had snot bubbles coming out. He asked, “Mr. Gray, your orders?”

“You have five minutes to find her,” Sebastian said, his voice so chilling it made John’s blood freeze.

Then he turned to Lucas and said, “Come on, I’ll take you to her. Quit crying.”

Later, a black Maybach drove off from Sandridge Island.

*****

Inside the Aston Martin, Allan was on the verge of tears as he looked at Stella behind the wheel.

Her perfectly sculpted face was totally blank, head propped up with one hand, her long hair pulled back in a neat bun.

Right outside the windshield was today’s street racing scene.

At the dangerous Death Road, crowds were going wild. The whole place was electric.

“Stella, can we please just go home?” Allan begged, sounding totally desperate.

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16:02 Thu, Jan 22

Chapter 80

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Allan glanced at Stella’s side profile: gone was the gentle patience she’d shown Lucas back on the island. Now, her wild, rebellious streak was in full force, her eyes and brows chillingly fierce.

Her only response was to drop the top, letting the cool night breeze toss a few loose strands of hair across her cheek.

She ignored him completely.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Allan, the useless rich kid from Jaffina?” a snarky voice called out from the side.

A guy decked out in hip-hop clothes with dreadlocks pulled up next to them in a Porsche convertible.

There was a hot girl riding shotgun.

Allan’s face instantly went cold. It took him a second to realize who it was: Chad.

Chad was some spoiled brat from one of Jaffina’s big families. He’d been out of the country for a few years, and it looked like he’d only just gotten back.

Chad sneered, “An Aston Martin? Since when could you afford a ride like that? What, did this chick buy it for you? Are you her boy toy now?”

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