Chapter 196

Holding Stephanie in his arms, Sebastian carried her downstairs. He glanced at her nightgown, then casually tossed her his jacket from the couch. She caught it and wrapped herself up; the fabric was still warm from his body.

"What are you doing up this late?" Sebastian asked.

Stephanie hesitated. She wanted to say she was hungry, but wasn't sure if Sebastian would allow it. He was strict about food and mealtimes—late-night snacks had always been off-limits. But right now, she couldn't bear it any longer.

"I'm hungry," she admitted pitifully.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "You already ate plenty at dinner."

Stephanie, though she'd only had a bowl of noodles, had also eaten several side dishes. It wasn't a small meal, exactly. She blinked up at him, her eyes wide and pleading.

Sebastian felt a wave of heat rush through him. He hated it when she looked at him like that—it made him want to tease her. "You really that hungry?"

She nodded earnestly. "Starving."

Elliot, who had been silently observing, finally spoke. "Maybe we should just let the chef make something." The poor girl looked like she was about to faint. He'd seen firsthand how strict Sebastian was with Stephanie's diet; honestly, it wouldn't surprise him if she was never truly full.

As expected, Sebastian shot him a look. Elliot quickly turned away. "Miss Stephanie is really hungry." He understood the agony of trying to sleep on an empty stomach—it was pure torture.

Stephanie shot Elliot a grateful look—rarely did he ever take her side. Sebastian noticed, of course. Without warning, he pulled her into his arms. "That settles it. No crazy dieting." He still remembered the last time Sofia had tried to lose weight. The doctor had said she was severely lacking in essential nutrients from long-term malnutrition. Since then, Sebastian had been paranoid about Stephanie pulling the same stunt.

"I won't," she promised.

"She's not the type to gain weight easily anyway," Elliot added. It was true; Stephanie had always carried a little baby fat, but she never seemed to get any thinner—or heavier.

Sebastian pinched her cheek. "Tell the chef to make you something."

"Okay!"

Relieved that Sebastian wasn't stopping her, Stephanie rushed off to ask the kitchen staff for a bowl of beef pasta. She was starving. She noticed the kitchen staff had changed but didn't think much of it.

When she returned, she overheard Sebastian and Elliot still talking about Fred. Sebastian let out a cold chuckle. "Fred really thinks he's clever, huh?" Sending him that sickly girl, Olivia? What kind of joke was that?

Elliot shook his head. "I didn't see that coming either." Hearing that Fred planned to keep Chris from ever seeing Olivia again, Elliot realized they must have misunderstood something.

Sebastian took a sip of water, his gaze dark and unreadable. Elliot asked, "So what do we do on our end?"

Sebastian smirked. "Tell them to keep her."

"Got it," Elliot replied. Sebastian would never accept someone like Olivia—sickly or not, she was beneath his standards.

"But keeping Chris away from her? Now that's a solid idea."

Elliot hesitated. "That might make the Chris family think there's something between you and Olivia."

Sebastian scoffed. "If they're dumb enough to believe that, that's their problem. Besides, putting Chris through a little hell sounds fun."