Chapter 13

Maurice sneered. “What? Are you still trying to deny it? I even got my hands on your hospital records—the surgery record from when you gave birth. That’s solid proof!”

Eleanor narrowed her eyes. She knew Maurice—he didn’t seem like he was framing her with that attitude. It seemed the surgery record truly did exist. They’d grown up together, and there’d been a period when their relationship had been harmonious—when they’d been in high school. At the time, they’d even had subtle, youthful crushes on each other. They’d only been one step away from getting together.

However, Maurice’s attitude toward her had suddenly changed during the summer after they’d graduated. He’d hated having to do anything with her and had started sleeping around with any woman who wanted him. That had disgusted her. That was when their relationship had deteriorated. They’d only reconnected out of necessity—they’d both needed a marriage alliance to gain power. That was why they’d struck a deal.

So, was this why Maurice’s attitude had changed so abruptly back then?

Eleanor released him and tried her best to stay calm. She held out a hand and said, “Show me the surgical record, wherever it is.”

“Why should I?” Maurice couldn’t help getting mad at the mention of this incident. He growled, “A cheap slut like you only deserves to be with a bastard like Sebastian!”

With that, he turned and strode off.

Eleanor had never been insulted like that in her life, so her blood boiled. She stormed after him, snapping, “Stop right there!”

He didn’t. He headed to the stairs to go down. However, as he reached the landing, he suddenly lost his balance, either because the floor was too slippery or he’d missed a step. He rolled down the steps while howling at the top of his lungs.

Eleanor was shocked. Was this karma in action?

Maurice rolled all the way down to the first floor. The servers there hurriedly surrounded him, looking worried. “Mr. Porter!”

A tall, regal figure appeared and looked imperiously at Maurice as he writhed on the floor in pain. He curled his lip, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he said, “I was just passing by. Did you need to show me such respect?”

Maurice clutched his left leg, suspecting that it was broken. He’d turned ashen from the pain, and his blood boiled as he looked up to see Sebastian towering over him. “You bastard, Sebastian. How dare you—ah!”

Sebastian stepped on his left leg. The pain was so intense that Maurice almost passed out.

Sebastian bent down and rested his hands on his thighs, his handsome face devoid of emotion. “You’re rolling around on the floor after falling instead of getting to your feet like a proper gentleman. Think about how you’re disgracing your family by acting like this in public.”

“Sebas—argh!”

Sebastian stepped harder on Maurice’s leg. The latter was in so much pain that he couldn’t make another sound. Sebastian warned, “Watch your mouth next time, or you’ll lose your leg.”

He looked Maurice in the eye, his gaze so sharp that it filled the latter with fear. Then, he raised his foot and signaled to the servers around them. “Escort Mr. Porter out of here.”

They helped Maurice up. His leg was definitely broken—the slightest movement sent excruciating pain shooting through him. He shouted, “Get an ambulance! Now!”

He was taken away by the ambulance that soon arrived. Brenda had no idea what had happened because she’d been waiting outside the restaurant. She thought Eleanor had pushed Maurice down the stairs and snapped, “I won’t let you get away with this!”

Then, she hurried after the ambulance.

Eleanor couldn’t care less about Brenda, but she was shocked by how Sebastian had acted. She approached him and asked in disbelief, “What gave you the courage to act like that?”

She was vindicated by how he’d stomped on Maurice, but the latter was still the Porter family’s precious heir. Wasn’t Sebastian afraid of them coming after him for treating Maurice like that?

Sebastian looked down at her, concealing his earlier sharpness. Instead, his eyes darkened. “He fell down the stairs himself. What does that have to do with me?”

She smiled. She was in a good mood because he’d helped her teach Maurice a lesson. So, she put her hands behind her back and stood on her tiptoes as she said, “Don’t go to the Porter residence for now, and avoid the Porters at all costs. I know Maurice well enough—he won’t let you off the hook for this. If you run into any of the Porters and can’t resolve the situation, call me. I’ll protect you.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by her words. The faintest hint of a smile flickered in his eyes.

She held her head high, looking haughty. It wasn’t despicable, though. She was too beautiful to be detested, like the most eye-catching flower in a bouquet. He couldn’t help smiling at the sight.

“Oh, right. What are you doing here?” Eleanor asked.

Sebastian said, “I came to back you up. Victory Tech’s contract is meant for you—no one can take it away.”

“Back me up? How were you going to do that?” She wanted to laugh at the mention of that. “Would you have charged into the room and beaten Mr. Jones up if he’d given the contract to Brenda? Would you have ordered him to sign the contract with me?”

He said, “I wouldn’t have needed to do anything. He wouldn’t have dared to give anyone but you the contract once he saw me standing beside you.”

Eleanor laughed. Sebastian asked, “You don’t believe me?”

“I do.” She laughed again, her eyes crinkling with amusement. She couldn’t help thinking that he was putting in a lot of effort to cheer her up.

She linked arms with him, sounding coquettish because of her good mood. “Alright, let’s go.”

They left the restaurant together. Sebastian asked, “Are you going back to Sandberg Group?”

Eleanor shook her head. “Nope. I don’t have anything to do this afternoon; I’ll demand my appointment letter tomorrow.”

“What are you up to now, then?”

“Nothing. Let’s go home and take a nap.”

Sebastian didn’t ask any more questions. He told the valet to bring Eleanor’s car around.

They loved driving an iceberry pink sports car, not that it could display its full potential in Jorstone City’s traffic. She always had to crawl along at 40 mph or get stuck in an endless sea of…

Eleanor still drove it without fail, though. She was willful and indulgent; she only did things that made her happy.

Sebastian drove while she rode shotgun. She rested her elbow against the window and propped her chin with her hand, her earlier exuberance tempered down to indifference.

The so-called surgery record was most likely in Maurice’s hands. Sooner or later, she would make him show it to her. Still, she knew her body best. How could she not know whether or not she’d had a child?

Maurice wasn’t an idiot, though. He wouldn’t have believed such an outrageous surgery record was authentic without verifying it. He had to have checked it and made sure it was genuine. He wouldn’t have grown to hate her and insult her without doing that.

So, what exactly had happened? In fact, what had she done the summer she’d turned 18?

Eleanor had only fallen asleep at the break of dawn after she and Sebastian had made love multiple times. Her lack of sleep and exhaustion slowly made her eyelids droop as she tried to process the situation.

By the time she woke up, the car had already stopped moving. She turned to find Sebastian staring at her. She had no idea how long he’d been watching her; his expression was unreadable.

She mumbled, “Are we home?”

Eleanor turned to look out the window, only then realizing they weren’t at Minharton. Instead, they were halfway up a deserted mountain path. She was confused. “Where are we? Why’d you bring me here?” She stretched while yawning. “Are you going to murder me and dump my body here?”