Chapter 382
Sebastian’s gaze was intense.
Sophia raised her hand to stop him.
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Think carefully.”
“Think about what you really want to say.”
“What you should say.”
“Then speak.”
The man trapped her between the wall and his chest.
His hands braced on either side of her.
“You know, don’t you?”
Sophia averted her eyes.
“What if I do?”
“What if I don’t?”
“Our current relationship shouldn’t…”
Sebastian gave a wry smile.
“What is our relationship?”
“You tell me.”
“What am I to you?”
She was silent for a moment.
“…Cousins.”
He suddenly laughed.
“You probably don’t know yet.”
“My mother wasn’t actually born to my grandparents.”
“Which means—”
“We are not related by blood!”
Sophia was stunned.
Then she shook her head.
“Blood or not.”
“You and I are impossible.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like you.”
Those words again.
Always those words.
Sebastian gripped her shoulders.
He applied slight pressure.
“Why can’t you like me?”
“You even loved someone like Ethan Roscente.”
“Why can’t you like me?”
“Sophia…”
Tears welled in his eyes.
“Don’t be so cruel to me.”
“Okay?”
Composure.
Reason.
Sebastian threw it all away.
He just wanted to finish what he hadn’t said last night.
He wouldn’t give Sophia any chance to escape.
But—
“Enough.” The woman turned her head away.
Her eyes were calm and unreadable.
Sebastian suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
He spoke with difficulty.
“Why won’t you let me finish?”
“Why…”
“Won’t you give me even a single chance?”
“You’re afraid.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Afraid there might be another possibility between us.”
“No.” Sophia shook her head gently.
From beginning to end.
She remained so composed.
“I’m stopping you.”
“Because I think it’s unnecessary.”
“From now on.”
“No matter what you think.”
“We are only siblings.”
“And we can only be siblings!”
Having said that.
She stepped around the man.
And left the restroom.
Leaving Sebastian standing alone.
Motionless.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
Finally, he curled his lips in self-mockery.
“Hah…”
Siblings?
Back then, he yearned for her to call him “Seb” but couldn’t get it.
Now she truly called him “brother.”
Yet it pierced his heart like a dagger!
…
That night.
Isaac and Florence Atlante stayed at the villa.
Isabella Sullivan stayed in their room chatting with them.
Until the early hours of the morning.
The elderly couple couldn’t get enough of their long-lost daughter.
They wished they could make up for the past twenty-plus years all at once.
Isabella knew.
Her parents had exhausted themselves searching for her all these years.
Their health had suffered.
Looking at their aged faces.
Remembering how the old lady’s eyes were damaged from crying…
Her heart ached with sorrow.
“It’s so late already without us realizing.”
“A-Min, you should go rest.”
Florence held her daughter’s hand.
Crow’s feet gathered at the corners of her eyes.
Isaac also smiled and said.
“Your mother and I aren’t going anywhere.”
“We finally found our daughter.”
“We won’t lose her again no matter what.”
Isabella nestled against her mother.
Just like when she was a child.
“Okay, you should get to sleep early too.”
“Tomorrow I’ll take you to see the places I’ve lived these years…”
“Goodnight, Mom and Dad.”
She closed the door.
And returned to the master bedroom.
David Sullivan was still awake.
He waited for her in his pajamas.
“Are the elderly folks asleep?”
“Yes.” Isabella nodded gently.
“Are they comfortable here?”
“Is the blanket thick enough?”
“I…”
Isabella pressed his hand.
“Stop fussing.”
“They’ll speak up if they need anything.”
David scratched his head.
He grinned sheepishly.
“Right, why would they be formal in their own daughter’s home?”
Isabella sat on the edge of the bed.
David looked at her red-rimmed eyes.
His heart ached for her.
But he said nothing.
He simply opened his arms and pulled Isabella into an embrace.
His large hand gently stroked her hair.
He couldn’t help but sigh softly—
“Tired from crying?”
“It’s alright now, you’ve finally found your birth parents.”
“From now on, my A-Min is also a child who is loved.”
At that moment.
The emotions Isabella had held back all day finally broke.
Tears fell like rain.
…
Elsewhere.
Sebastian declined Isabella’s kind offer.
He did not stay overnight.
Instead, he chose to check into a hotel.
He found a bar.
As soon as he sat down, he ordered several bottles of strong liquor.
He drank one glass after another.
During that time.
Several women came to hit on him.
But without exception, he sent them all away.
Sebastian drank until his face was flushed.
Only when his vision began to blur.
Did he return to the hotel.
Along the way.
His mind was hazy.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Sophia’s face.
He didn’t understand.
Why was he always one step too late?
In the past.
He lost to Ethan Roscente.
Now.
He lost to this damned “cousin” title.
Hah…
Heaven had never shown him any favor!
Getting out of the taxi.
Sebastian staggered into the hotel.
As he exited the elevator.
A sweet fragrance wafted into his nostrils.
Then a soft body pressed against him.
Her chest brushed against his arm intentionally or unintentionally.
A bold provocation.
Her voice was sickly sweet.
“Handsome, why are you alone?”
“You seem drunk.”
“Shall I go back to your room with you…”
Due to the alcohol.
Sebastian’s reactions were slower than usual.
But ultimately, he raised his hand and nearly threw the woman to the ground.
“Get lost!”
“Don’t touch me!”
His disgusted reaction was as if he had touched something filthy.
The woman was humiliated and angry.
She couldn’t help but pout.
She spat.
“How dare you push me?!”
“A drunk.”
“Probably got dumped by someone.”
“What’s so great about that?!”
Little did she know.
Her words struck right at Sebastian’s sore spot.
He sneered.
Lifting his chin slightly.
The coldness in his eyes seemed enough to freeze someone.
The woman shrank back.
In the end, she didn’t dare say more.
She turned and ran.
Sebastian lowered his brows.
He suddenly wanted to call Sophia.
But taking out his phone.
He realized it was already past one in the morning.
His thumb hesitated.
In the end, he didn’t press the call button.
Just then, two hotel staff passed by.
Seeing he was seriously drunk.
They stepped forward to ask if he needed help.
Sebastian took out his key card.
Gesturing for them to take him back to his room.
One staff member supported him.
The other used the key card to open the door.
They helped Sebastian lie down on the bed.
Then the two turned to leave.
“How much did he drink?”
“To be this drunk?”
“Even people staying in executive suites have worries.”
“Need to drown their sorrows?”
“How do you know he drank a lot?”
“Couldn’t you smell the strong alcohol on him?”
“We hadn’t even gotten him to the bed yet.”
“He was already passed out drunk.”
“Isn’t that a lot?”
“Hey, did you hear him muttering something just now?”
“Sounded like… ‘Nian Nian’?”
“Whatever, as long as he’s delivered safely.”
“We should still report it to the front desk later.”
“Keep an extra eye on this suite…”
…
The morning in the city was full of life.
There was a large market near the villa district.
Before eight o’clock.
Some early-rising elderly folks were already coming out of the market with full shopping bags.
Even in the villa area.
Many people were heading over in small groups, pulling their grocery carts.
“It’s all about the freshness!”
“Young people these days.”
“All they know is how to make money.”
“What do they know about picking vegetables or choosing meat?”
“Don’t they still rely on us mothers?”
“Going to the market is a tradition passed down by our ancestors.”
“Let those who love supermarkets go there.”
“I don’t like them anyway.”
“I love picking and choosing at the market.”
“Bargaining over a few cents!”
“Hehe, me too!”
“But my daughter and son-in-law don’t like it.”
“They always go to those imported supermarkets.”
“Expensive and not even tasty.”
“How can they compare to the fresh local produce at the market?”
Irene Valdemar had just gotten out of the car.
She looked at the villa district not far away, which had a decent environment.
But what reached her ears was a group of aunties sharing their grocery shopping tips.
She couldn’t help but frown.
A faint sense of disdain rose in her heart.
This city…
To put it nicely.
It was a “city.”
But how different was a prefecture-level city from a county town?
Both were small places.
What kind of golden phoenix could a small place produce?
Even a real phoenix that ended up here.
Would most likely be assimilated by the common chickens.