Chapter 74 BLAIRE “Letshow you to your room,” Sebastian offered as soon as we left the room.
“There's no need for that. I'm fine staying in Blaze’s room,” | answered.
“The doctors and nurses will cand go in that room. You might not be able to take a rest,” he said.
“It’s fine. I'd prefer it that way so | can always be updated about Blaze,” | insisted.
“If you want, you can take the room adjacent to Blaze’s room. There's a connecting door there,” he continued to convince me.
| frowned as | tried to weigh his offer. I'm sure he’s not offering that out of goodwill. There's probably a catch in the middle of that offer. It didn’t take too long forto remember which one of these rooms has the adjacent door to the room that Blaze was using.
“Ha-ha. Nice try,” | said, rolling my eyes at him. “Thanks, but no thanks,” | declined when | realized that the room we used to share was the only room that had an adjacent door next to Blaze’s room. It's also the room where Sebastian is currently staying.
“Are you sure? The room is huge, and the bed was big enough to accommodate the two of us,” he insisted with a glint in his eyes. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
“I'm not sharing a bed with you, Sebastian. We had a deal. So, leavebe, okay?” | said this before walking past him.
“Where are you going?” he curiously asked.
“I'm going to find myself a room,” | answered without looking back as | continued to walk along the hallway. It's been years since | last stepped foot in this house, but every corner of it was imprinted in my memory. This was the house where | first dreamed about my future with Sebastian. This is where | planned what my life would be as Sebastian and | created our family. | smiled bitterly as | recalled how | wanted to have a big family to fill this huge house with laughter and squeals.
But as | recall the sweet memories brought by this house, | can’t help but also remember how my world and dreams were shattered in this very shouse.
| opted for the guest room located at the end of the hallway. It’s a little bit far from Blaze’s room, unlike Sebastian’s room, which was right beside it.
However, this arrangement works well because it means my room is also a little bit far away from Sebastian's.
As | settled into the guest room, a sense of worry hung in the air. Despite Sebastian’s reassurances and the doctors looking after Blaze, | couldn't shake off the feeling of unease.
Looking out the window, | saw the sun setting, making everything dark. It felt like my hope was fading as well. | don’t see what the future holds for us now that Sebastian has becaware of Blaze’s existence. He already showed interest in keeping him, and I’m not sure where | fit in the picture.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt| would do anything just to be with my son. | can’t live without him. And with Sebastian now in the picture, I'm not sure what the outcwill be for both of us.
Feeling tired, | sat down on the bed, feeling worn out from the day's events. Even though | tried to stay strong, | couldn't help but feel drained.
In the quiet room, | felt a mix of emotions-scared, angry, and unsure. But deep down, | was determined to keep my son safe and face whatever challenges cour way.
I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about our situation. | have no idea how long he is planning to keep Blaze here. He said | can stay here with them if | want to. | hope it was as easy as that. | kept thinking about all the possibilities in our current situation. Should | compromise for the sake of our child? | don’t want to expose myself and be vulnerable around Sebastian once again. But this isn’t aboutanymore. There's another person involved in this scenario, and that person is my child.
As Blaze continued to grow before my eyes, it dawned onthat the twould cwhen he'd start asking questions. Questions about his father, about our past, and about the world around him. And as his mother, | couldn't deny him the right to know his father and to have a relationship with him.
Yet, as | watched Blaze’s innocent curiosity, a nagging doubt gnawed at the corners of my mind. Was Sebastian truly worthy of that chance? Could | trust him with our son’s heart and with his well-being? The weight of this decision bore down onlike a heavy burden, pullingin conflicting directions. On one hand, | yearned for Blaze to have the love and guidance of a father figure in his life. But on the other hand, | couldn't ignore the shadow of doubt that loomed over Sebastian's intentions.
It wasn’t just about my own feelings towards Sebastian anymore.
After a couple minutes of contemplating our situation in this house, | decided to take a warm bath to relax my mind so | could formulate a better plan for Blaze and me. | can’t remember when the last t| took a shower was. I've been busy taking care of Blaze for the past few days, trying to make up for the days that I didn’t get to take care of him.
As soon as | stepped inside the bathroom, | realized that | had no extra clothes with me. | was so occupied with finding Blaze when | found out that he was not in the hospital, and | completely forgot to bring my things with me.
go 1 could back to the hospital and pick it up myself, but I'm not comfortable leaving Blaze here with Sebastian. Though Sebastian has already made it clear that he has no intention of keeping Blaze away from me, | still don’t trust him. With everything that happened between us, he can’t blme if | don’t really take his word for it.
| went out of the room and looked for Brad, one of Sebasian’s men, who had pickedup from the hospital. | was planning to ask him if he could grab my things from the hospital.
The whole house was awfully quiet. | go to Blaze’s room first to check up on him. | slowly opened the door and saw that Blaze was already fast asleep. He still has an oxygen tube and a vital monitor attached to him, but everything appears to be fine. Once | made sure that Blaze was settled and comfortable, | went downstairs to look for Brad.
| didn’t have a hard tfinding him. He was downstairs, giving instructions to the others. | waited for him to finish before | approached him about my concern.
“Excuse me, can | ask you for a favour?” “Yes, how may | help you, Miss Banks?” he Miss Banks?” he responded.
“Please callBlaire,” | suggested. “Would you mind if | ask you to pick up my things from the hospital?” “That wouldn't be a problem, Miss Banks. I'll have someone grab your things for you,” he said.
“Thank you,” | said, smiling. “And please, | would really appreciate it if you stopped calling“Miss Banks. “I feel like you're calling my mother.” | chuckled. “I'm fine with Blaire,” | added.
“Oh, I'm sorry, M-Miss. | mean...” It seems like even he was having a hard tcallingby my name. He keeps glancing above my head as if he were scared of something. He cleared his throat and strengthened his back. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Miss Banks. But we are not allowed to call you by your name, so | apologize. Regarding the matter that you were asking for, I'll see to it that we'll get your things back. Have a nice evening, Miss Banks,” he said before he left.
FD | frowned, feeling confused about his reaction. | decided to trace the location where he was looking upon his sudden change of demeanour. | roll my eyes when | find Sebastian upstairs, leaning on the railings, watching us from there. I'm not surprised at how Brad looks so terrified while I'm talking to him. Sebastian was glaring at us with darkness in his eyes. He seems pis sed. | rolled my eyes at him one last tbefore | went ahead and looked for Candice.
| was planning to borrow sclothes from her while waiting for my things to arrive. | found her in the kitchen, organizing the inside of the fridge.
“Hey, Candice,” | said, trying to catch her attention.
“Oh, hi, Blaire! Do you need anything?” she asked.
“Would you mind if | borrowed sclothes from you? | left my things in the hospital, and | wanted to take a shower,” | explained.
She tilted her head to the side while staring atwith a confused look in her eyes. “Why would you need to borrow clothes fromwhen you have a whole wardrobe upstairs filled with your clothes?” “What do you mean?” “Remember when | told you Sir Sebastian didn’t want to change even a tiny detail around this house? That includes the clothes that you left behind when you and Sir Sebastian got divorced,” she explained. “It’s still in the room where you left it.” | was left dumbfounded. I'm not really sure how to react upon hearing that.
“Haven't you checked your room?” she asked again.
“I'm not staying in Sebastian's room,” | answered.
“Oh...” She smiled as if she fully understood my situation. “Do you wantto go to his room and grab you sclothes?” she offered.
| smiled. “No need. I'll get it myself. Thank you,” “You're welcome. Just tellif you need anything, okay? And when | say anything, | mean anything. I'm on your side, and if ever you decide to do anything, you can count on me,” she said.
“Thank you, Candice. That means a lot,” | replied.
After that, | went upstairs and headed towards Sebastian's room. He wasn’t in the splace where he was standing a while ago. | asshe already went inside his room, so | went straight ahead to his door and gently knocked. | waited for a few minutes, but no one answered. | tried knocking once again, but all | got was the sresult. I'm sure he hasn't been sleeping since it hasn't been a few minutes since | last saw him. | figure he’s probably busy, so | decided to cback later.
As | headed back to my room, a distant voice caught my attention downstairs. Leaning over the railings, | scanned the area, searching for the source. Before long, | spotted Sebastian and Brad in a corner of the living room. Brad's head was lowered, while Sebastian appeared to be delivering a stern lecture.
| couldn’t hear them clearly from where | was standing. Brad slowly lifted his head and immediately sawwatching them. He then lowered his head quickly, as if trying to avoid my eyes. Sebastian probably noticed that, so he followed the direction Brad was looking a while ago.
I’'met his icy, penetrating gaze immediately, sensing a connection with Brad's interaction a while ago. As Sebastian noticed me, he swiftly dismissed Brad, who promptly departed. With Brad gone, Sebastian ascended the stairs. | lingered outside his room, steeling myself to confront him.
“What was that?” | confront him.
“What, you're now interested in how | manage people?” He asked sarcastically. He's obviously not in a good mood.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“I'm not. But | hope managing your people doesn’t include prohibiting them from having a casual conversation with me,” | said straightforwardly.
“They're not supposed to have a casual conversation with someone they are working for,” he insisted.
“They are not working for me,” | said, raising my eyebrow as if challenging him to justify his reason.
“You're my wife.” “Ex-wife,” | quickly corrected him.
He was stunned for a second before he finally composed himself. “You're the mother of my child; thus, they are working for you as they work for me.” | scoff, “You're not making any sense. You don’t get to bully your people just because you can.” “Are you siding with him?” he asked, his expression clouded with annoyance.
“No. And if | were to pick a side, it certainly wouldn't be yours,” | retorted firmly.
He glared at me, his jaw clenched tightly, but he remained silent. | raised an eyebrow, refusing to be intimidated by his fierce gaze.
After a few minutes of tense silence, | decided to speak up. “By the way, | need sclothes, and Candice mentioned that there are still sof mine left in your room. Could you grab a pair for me?” “Go get it yourself,” he retorted coldly, then entered his room, leaving the door ajar.
| rolled my eyes in annoyance before | followed him inside. | watched him sit on the couch a few feet away from the bed. He grabbed his laptop and focused his eyes on the screen. He was frowning the whole time, and his face looked dark.
Disregarding his cold demeanour, | brushed past Sebastian and slipped into the walk-in closet, planning on getting a few essentials while waiting for my belongings to arrive. Stepping into the familiar space, a rush of nostalgia enveloped me, transportingback in tto where this used to be mine.
The closet greetedwith a sense of familiarity, shelves, and racks adorned with my belongings just as they had been before. Rows of clothes hung neatly, each piece a reminder of moments past. My shoes stood in orderly rows while my bags rested on their designated shelves.
As | scanned the familiar sight, a bittersweet feeling washed over me. Despite the years that have passed, this closet remains the sas it was before.
| shook my head, trying to get back to my senses. There’s no point in taking a trip to memory lane. That part of my life with Sebastian was over.
| began selecting a handful of clothes and grabbed a pair of underwear from the closet. While rummaging through the items, my gaze fell upon a familiar jewellery box tucked away on the shelf. Intrigued, | moved closer to have a better look at what's inside. My curiosity piqued.
FD To my astonishment, nestled within the box were a pair of rings—our wedding rings. A rush of emotions swept overas | realized that Sebastian had kept them all this time.
| jumped at the sound of a deep baritone voice behind me. “Have you found what you need?” Turning abruptly, | saw Sebastian leaning casually against the doorframe, his hands tucked into his pockets. He regardedwith a curious expression, noting my surprise.
“Are you okay?” he inquired, his concern evident in his voice as he moved closer to me. Anticipating his approach, | sidestepped away.
“I'm fine. I've got what | need. Thanks,” | replied briskly, swiftly making my way past him and out of the walk-in closet. | was holding my breath as | tried to leave his room as soon as possible. What | saw back there was too much to bear.
| entered my room and swiftly closed the door, leaning against it for support as my legs weakened, threatening to give way beneath me.
“That means nothing, Blaire,” | whispered, trying to convince myself.
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