Chapter 265

“Why won’t you look at me?” Sebastian asked with a faint chuckle, lounging back in bed, his tone light and subtly pleased.

Abigail feigned annoyance and complained, “The R&D department has been such a letdown lately, not hitting a single standard. Their product ideas are downright awful.”

“Not everyone’s as sharp as you,” Sebastian said with a smile in his eyes. “But you can train them. These people live off project bonuses–the more they earn, the more loyal they’ll be to you. Once you’ve got the core team on your side, those old geezers on the board will have no choice but to do things your way.”

Upon hearing this, Abigail looked at him and said, “Actually, the R&D department has been in good spirits lately because they have projects to work on. I’ll work with them later and see how it goes.”

Right now, she was tied up with a case and couldn’t get away. Sebastian reached out, mimicking a gentle head pat through the screen. “I’ll help you with it when I get back. Don’t worry about the case.”

Seeing his gesture, Abigail murmured, “It’s alright. It seems your family matters must be quite tricky, too.”

Sebastian flashed her a mischievous grin. “Who says it’s tricky? Just wait a couple of days and you’ll see for yourself why I’ve been away so long.”

Just by looking at him, Abigail knew he was up to no good again.

“I’ve been following your case the whole time,” Sebastian said. “Don’t worry, Ivy was handpicked by my grandfather. She’s much sharper than Marcus.”

Sebastian suddenly leaned closer to the screen, his deep eyes shimmering with anticipation. With a playful smile, he asked, “Did you miss me?”

“Just a little,” Abigail replied, meeting his gaze.

“Just a little?” Sebastian looked genuinely surprised. How could it be just a little?

She picked up the tablet and looked at him squarely: “Isn’t a little enough?”

After all, no matter how deeply Sebastian might feel for her, the truth was… they hadn’t known each other that long. They definitely liked each other, but it wasn’t a particularly intense attraction.

Sebastian let out a soft sigh, “It’s enough… yet somehow not enough. But that’s okay.”

That made Abigail laugh. “Well, even so, I’m not letting Ms. Prescott have you.”

They chatted a while longer. After hanging up, Abigail felt oddly content. Even the maddening code on her screen didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.

Her days went on as usual. But things weren’t nearly as peaceful on Sebastian’s end. One afternoon, while playing chess with Dorian after lunch, Sebastian’s phone burred repeatedly.

“Why aren’t you picking up? It’s ruining my game,” Dorian grumbled.

Sebastian took out his phone, glanced at it, and said, “It’s the old man. I’m not answering.”

“With all the mischief you’ve caused, do you really think ignoring him will let you off the hook?” Dorian toyed with a chess piece, his aged voice tinged with idle amusement. “Be careful–he might just storm into Cobridge and take your girlfriend hostage.”

Finally, Sebastian answered the call. Before he could even speak, the grating voice on the other end barked, “You could’ve discussed this with the Prescotts! Blair was just doing this for fun anyway. But hacking her parents‘ phones and leaking their private info? You think that’s acceptable behavior?”

“I’m giving her parents a warning; if they can’t discipline their child, then let the world teach her how to behave,” Sebastian said coolly, nonchalantly blocking one of Dorian’s pawns on the chessboard.

Dorian glanced up and noticed that Sebastian didn’t show a thread of fear or concern.

“So you’re serious this time? You fell for a scarred girl whose whole family is about to end up behind bars?” William's voice dropped, laced with disdain.

Sebastian caught the shift immediately. After a long pause, he asked, “Did you ever love my mother?”

William scoffed, “Aren’t you a little old to be asking that kind of question? A man who lets himself get consumed by emotions will never get far in life. You’re my only son, Sebastian. I won’t let you turn out like your mother.”

“The fact that I’ve stood by Mom all these years proves I’m just like her. Did you ever love her?” he pressed.

William said, “In a family like ours, love always comes second to interest. Your mother knew that, yet she still chose to throw everything away for something as childish as love.

“The moment she jumped into that river, she became nothing but a fool in my eyes. I could never love someone so stupid.”

Sebastian gritted his teeth, his voice cold. “Then let me make this perfectly clear–I want nothing to do with you. Stop acting like we’re family.”