Chapter 234 Listening To Your Heartbeat

"Wow, Madelyn. I didn’t expect you to have this trick up your sleeve." This time, Josiah was thoroughly impressed.

At that moment, Madelyn was panting heavily. Dismissively, she waved her hand and said, “What’s the big deal? If I wasn’t worried about making enemies, I’d have loved to pick a fight with them.”

After she finished speaking, Madelyn glanced around and noticed a faucet not too far away.

Immediately, she walked over and vigorously washed her face a few times with the scoops of water she collected.

“Come on, is this really necessary?” Josiah was grumbling on the side, finding it hard to watch. “Can’t you wash up after we go home?”

Madelyn, however, waved her hand. “No, I can’t go home looking like this.”

Having said that, she thoroughly washed her face several times with great effort. She then took out a mirror from her bag and checked, ensuring that she had completely removed her makeup. Only then did she consider it done.

By the time they returned to the Thornton residence, it was well past midnight.

Madelyn, carrying her change of clothes, swiftly entered the house. It had been an exhausting day, and she needed to get some sleep as soon as possible.

The moment she pushed open the room’s door, she was shocked! The bag she was holding, filled with her disguise, almost slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor.

“S–Sebastian, why are you here?” Madelyn asked, her voice faltering inexplicably, a hint of unease creeping into her tone due to her guilt.

At that moment, Sebastian was casually seated on the couch, his legs crossed. The way he looked at Madelyn was particularly intent.

“Why did you return so late? Where have you been?” Even his voice was icy cold to the extreme.

In reality, ever since Sebastian couldn’t find her at Lockhart Villa in the afternoon, he had been waiting over here for her.

From seven in the evening to the stroke of midnight, a total of five hours, he had been quietly waiting for her right here….

Madelyn bit her lip helplessly, feeling utterly embarrassed.

However, just yesterday, she had promised Sebastian she wouldn’t go to the black market. If she were to admit she had gone there now, wouldn’t Sebastian be furious?

With this in mind, Madelyn took a deep breath, steeling herself before saying, “I… I’ve been rehearsing at school all this time.”

She was lying.

It seemed like she was hiding something from him again.

Where could she have possibly gone in the middle of the night?

Could she have visited a place she shouldn’t have?

However, upon careful thought, he didn’t recall the people Harriet had sent to trail her reporting anything to him.

Sebastian could only muster a faint smile. “It’s good that you’re back.”

Hearing him say this, Madelyn finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, I guess I’ll go take a shower first then. I’m all sweaty.”

After speaking, Madelyn went to fetch clothes from the wardrobe. Seizing this moment, she swiftly stashed the bag she was holding into the closet. Then, she took out her usual pajamas and hurried into the bathroom.

Sebastian had always been keenly observant, so there was no way he hadn’t noticed her subtle actions.

He simply didn’t expose her.

At that moment, taking advantage of Madelyn’s absence as she went to bathe, Sebastian couldn’t help but squint his eyes. He rose from his seat and walked toward the wardrobe.

Upon opening the wardrobe, he spotted the bag.

Sebastian crouched down, slightly opening the bag to take a peek inside. What he saw was a chaotic mess, filled entirely with props used for disguises.

Wigs, studded leather jackets, leather pants, earrings, eyeshadow, and so on…

Has she gotten involved in the underworld?

Sebastian couldn’t help but slightly furrow his brows. Then, without any hint of emotion, he quietly returned the object to its original place and closed the wardrobe. He then continued back to the couch, resuming his focus on his laptop, pretending to be oblivious to everything.

After a while, Madelyn finally emerged, having finished her ablutions.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she walked over and sat down on the couch. Leaning over, she comfortably nestled herself into Sebastian’s embrace.

While wrapping her arms around his waist, she playfully cooed, “What brings you all the way here today? Could it be that you’ve missed me?”

Sebastian was being held so tightly that his whole body felt somewhat stiff.

With a slight clearing of his throat, he admitted awkwardly. “I came today because of business matters. As you know, our families‘ companies have always had ongoing business dealings. I was here to discuss those affairs. Dad asked me to stay for dinner, so I just decided to stay here.”

“Huh? So that’s why…” Upon hearing this, Madelyn was visibly disappointed. “I thought you came specifically to see me. It seems I was overthinking it.”

Sebastian gave a slight smile, not saying a word.

“Right, your injury! How’s your injury? Let me take a look,” Madelyn suddenly said with concern.

Without paying any heed to Sebastian’s expression, she proceeded to unbutton his shirt.

His impressive and well–defined muscles were perfectly displayed before her eyes. However, Madelyn showed no interest in admiring them. Her gaze fell directly on his arms and chest, for she remembered that he had been injured there before.

Seeing her so anxious, Sebastian actually felt somewhat comforted.

“Huh? The wounds have healed already. How did it happen so quickly?” Madelyn thoroughly inspected him once more, finding to her astonishment that there were barely any injuries left.

At that moment, her gaze finally settled upon his nearly perfect masculine form….

“Um, since you’re all right now, let’s go to sleep quickly." As soon as the words fell, Madelyn’s face turned red from bashfulness. She quickly slid into the bed and burrowed under the blanket, leaving only her head out.

Sebastian found it rather amusing.

Following that, he also removed his coat and lay down.

To his surprise, the very next moment, the woman beside him latched onto him like an octopus.

Her slender legs instantly wrapped around him, and her hands were draped over his body as Madelyn held onto Sebastian tightly.

“Could you… maybe loosen up a bit?”

Sebastian felt somewhat helpless at her lack of control over her strength. Was she trying to strangle him to death?

Madelyn, however, nestled in his embrace while chuckling softly. “No, I want to hold you tight. You have no idea how overjoyed I am that you came here. Now I won’t have to spend sleepless nights missing you.”

She couldn’t sleep because she was missing me? Is that really true?

Sebastian found it somewhat hard to believe.

At this moment, Madelyn seemed to be tired. Suddenly, she changed her position, laying directly on top of him.

Sebastian couldn’t help but grunt softly. Although Madelyn was petite and light, the weight of her entire body pressing down on him was still noticeable.

Suddenly, Madelyn whispered softly. “Sebastian… is it okay if I just lay on you like this?”

Sebastian was slightly taken aback.

At that moment, Madelyn shifted slightly, resting her face against his chest. With a sweet, infatuated smile, she said, “Listening to your heartbeat is truly comforting.”

A wave of warmth coursed through Sebastian at the words.

A thought suddenly struck Sebastian, about how wonderful it would be if this moment could last forever.

However, in the very next moment, he felt uneasy.

His lower body was clearly reacting to the position!