Chapter 320: It Was Such a Failure

Madelyn felt unfairly aggrieved and frustrated. "I pleaded with you, yet you refused to hear my explanation? It was all just a misunderstanding!"

She hadn't been in touch with Christopher for a long time, nor did she harbor any lingering feelings for him. Moreover, she was certain Sebastian was aware of that. But why didn't he trust her? "Forget it," she thought, "I don't care what he thinks of me anymore!"

Madelyn was fuming. Suddenly, a thought struck her. "Wait a minute," she mused. "Is there a chance something happened without me knowing?"

She believed that, under normal circumstances, Sebastian wouldn't have acted so impulsively and refused her explanation. "Did I do something stupid and upset him?"

With this in mind, Madelyn immediately reflected on her recent behavior. Yet, she couldn't figure out what went wrong, even after racking her brains. Left with no choice, she hailed a cab and returned home.

That wasn't the outcome Sebastian had expected. As he watched Madelyn walk away, a wave of guilt washed over him. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had been too harsh. However, whenever he recalled their earlier embrace, Sebastian found it hard to contain his irritation.

"Sebastian, are you all right?" Wesley noticed something was amiss and stepped forward.

Sebastian could only shake his head helplessly.

"Do you still want to go home tonight?" Wesley asked, offering a suggestion. "Given the situation, going home might not be the best option. How about we go out, have some fun, and blow off some steam?"

"No thanks," Sebastian replied coldly.

Completely drained of energy, Sebastian had lost any inclination for entertainment. He turned silently and walked away.

Wesley could only watch helplessly, sighing deeply. It's often those who pour their heart and soul into a relationship that end up bearing the deepest wounds. "What's so unique about Madelyn anyway?" he wondered. "How did she manage to enchant someone as indifferent as Sebastian? Did he develop genuine feelings for her, even though he approached her with an ulterior motive?"

Wesley believed that not even Sebastian himself could answer those questions.

After returning home, Madelyn lay in bed at two in the morning, restless and unable to find peace. Sleep eluded her despite tossing and turning. Fixated on the wall clock, she watched the time pass.

The more Madelyn thought about it, the more overwhelmed she felt. The last thing she wanted was to escalate the conflict. A simple explanation could have easily resolved the misunderstanding, but instead, the situation spiraled out of control. Time was passing, and it was growing late. Madelyn wondered whether Sebastian would come home. "Does he not care to comfort me? How could he be so heartless?"

With these thoughts, Madelyn felt aggrieved and frustrated. "You're going to be in deep trouble if you don't come back, Sebastian Lockhart!"

The outcome was not unexpected. Madelyn drifted into a fitful sleep, only to awaken at dawn. The unsettling silence confirmed Sebastian hadn't returned all night.

She sat on the edge of the bed, the weight of disappointment and anger pressing down on her. With a surge of frustration, she hurled her pillow to the floor, muttering through clenched teeth, "Sebastian, you've crossed a line. I can't believe this. I hate you!"

Following that outburst, Madelyn got out of bed and began packing for school.

Once she arrived on campus, Madelyn's furious expression signaled to those around her that she was a ticking time bomb. Upon noticing her from a distance, Josiah and Tristan intuitively stepped aside, deeply afraid she might vent her anger on them.

Jillian, however, summoned the courage to ask, "Madelyn, what's gotten into you?"

"I'm fine," Madelyn responded with icy indifference. She nonchalantly pulled out her textbook and began to study.

After glancing at the book, Jillian remarked awkwardly, "Madelyn, your book is upside down…"

Momentarily unsure how to respond, Madelyn swiftly flipped the book over and resumed pretending to be nonchalant. However, her act was unconvincing. Her grim expression betrayed her foul mood.

"Madelyn, did you have a fight with Mr. Lockhart?" Jillian sighed. No one could upset Madelyn as deeply as he did.

Madelyn set down her textbook and nodded, appearing disheartened. With a helpless expression, she sighed. "Jillian, I've really tried my hardest to get along with him. I genuinely wanted us to work things out, but for some reason, I just can't..."

Yet, she was surprised and disheartened to realize that Sebastian still maintained his guarded demeanor, even after all this time. "He still doesn't fully trust me!"

Madelyn was utterly helpless. "If something as simple as a misunderstanding could make him doubt me so easily, how can we possibly spend the rest of our lives together?"

Witnessing Madelyn's sorrowful expression, Jillian felt a pang of discomfort. In a gentle tone, she comforted Madelyn, "Don't overthink it, Madelyn. I don't think the situation is as dire as you imagine. Perhaps you're just feeling a bit anxious and impatient."

"Maybe," Madelyn responded, overwhelmed with despair.

Jillian continued, her voice soothing. "I think you should take a break and relax. Why not come over to my place tonight? I've been experimenting with baking. We could whip up some snacks together. You could even take some back for Mr. Lockhart. Who knows, it might brighten his mood?"

Madelyn wasn't keen on baking cookies. However, realizing she had nowhere else to go, she decided to take up Jillian's suggestion. With these thoughts in mind, Madelyn nodded in agreement.

The two then headed to Jillian's house after class. Seeing them hail a cab, Tristan asked curiously, "Where are you two off to?"

"I'm taking Madelyn home to bake cookies together," Jillian replied with a grin.

"Wow!" Tristan's eyes lit up. "Count me in too!"

"You? Do you know how to bake cookies?" Jillian asked skeptically.

Tristan nodded earnestly. "I don't know how, but I can learn!"

"All right, let's go together then," Jillian agreed with a grin.

"Don't you have better things to do?" Josiah interjected disdainfully. "If you want cookies, just buy them. Why waste time watching two women bake? Boring."