Chapter 31
Chapter 31
When Chris walked out of Cloudridge Valley, his head was buzzing, his mind in turmoil.
Kevin had been waiting downstairs. The moment he saw Chris‘ dark, stormy expression, and the bruises on his face, he couldn’t help but gasp.
“So, Miss Giovanni still refused, huh?” he asked.
Refusing to marry was one thing, but hitting someone? Kevin shuddered, thinking about Stephanie’s fiery temper.
Chris shot him a sharp, icy glance. Kevin instantly knew–another failure.
With a sigh, Kevin muttered, “You can’t just force these things. Women need to be coaxed.”
“Coaxed?” Chris sneered. The word dripped with sarcasm.
11
Kevin fell silent. Honestly, with Stephanie’s stubbornness, no amount of coaxing would work. People saw her as fiery–small in ability, big in attitude.
“Kevin,” Chris didn’t continue the topic. His eyes narrowed dangerously and spoke up. “Find out who that man she’s been spending time with is.”
Kevin blinked. “What? Another man?”
He stared at Chris in disbelief. “Miss Giovanni with another man? Impossible! She is always by herself. Even if someone is with her, it’s Miss Turner.”
In Kevin’s eyes, Stephanie was someone who wouldn’t even bother leaving the house.
She was definitely a couch potato, living off others, too proud to step outside. How could she possibly have another man around?
If it weren’t for the Hart family, she probably wouldn’t even have Chris, the only man around her.
Seeing Kevin’s disbelief, Chris‘ gaze grew colder and chimed in, “I ran into him. Do you think I’m lying?”
Kevin froze. “You… ran into him?”
Chris‘ mind flashed to Sebastian’s cold, dangerous eyes, and that face, which felt strangely familiar but he couldn’t place.
Then there was the gun… That guy was just insane.
“He’s probably one of those underworld types,” Chris said slowly.
He was determined to find out who this person was–someone like that even existed in Long Harbor. Whoever it was, he’d make sure to tear them apart.
Kevin’s confusion deepened. “That can’t be right,‘ he thought to himself. ‘With Miss Giovanni’s temper, how could she mix with someone like that?‘
Upstairs, the chaos had completely shattered Stephanie’s nap.
Her thoughts were jumbled, especially with Sebastian exuding danger from every pore.
She was sitting in his lap now, feeling the tension rise in the room.
1/2
* 76%4
Chapter 31
Sebastian seemed to love holding her close, as if in his mind, she was still the little girl he used to spoil. But she wasn’t a little girl anymore she was grown.
And now, there was no trace of that gentle affection. Instead, his every move radiated danger.
Stephanie lowered her head, glancing at him. “Can you just ask whatever it is you need to? Please?”
Blame it all on Chris. She’d already explained everything, and now this idiot was making it all for nothing.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “You were protecting him just now?”
Stephanie shook her head. “No, I just didn’t want my home, the place I’ve lived for two years, to be ruined.”
She felt the deadly seriousness in his presence. He was someone who could kill without a second thought.
She had felt it before, back when he shot without hesitation during the kidnapping incident of her years ago. That was when she realized–beneath his soft exterior lay a heart as dangerous as a predator’s.
If Chris hadn’t left, she was certain he would’ve done the same thing.
“You can’t carry a gun around in Long Harbor,” she said quietly, her voice almost apologetic.
Sebastian smirked, “Are you giving me a lecture, Stefi?”
Stephanie pursed her lips. “I’m just saying, the reason I even agreed to marry Chris… Just, don’t go hurt anyone, okay?”
thing, but murder was
Stephanie knew that revenge was one her hands.
something else. She could never stomach the idea of blood on
Her body stiffened as she thought about it. Sebastian knew that the kidnapping incident had left deep trauma on her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so easily intimidated by the Casalini family’s threats.
-Seeing the fear still lurking in her eyes, the coldness around Sebastian’s mouth softened, replaced by the gentleness of an
older brother.
“We’ll
“Alright,” he said softly, a slight smile touching his lips, be good citizens. You happy now?”
Stephanie didn’t fully buy it. She simply hummed in response.
Sebastian tousled her hair gently. “Still not sleepy?”
“No,” Stephanie shook her head. After everything that happened, sleep was the furthest thing from her mind.
“Alright,” Sebastian said. “If you’re not sleeping, then let’s go.”
“Go? Where?” Stephanie asked, glancing out the window.
The sun rose late in Long Harbor. It was pitch black outside, and the clock read 6 a.m.
2/2
田
