Sebastian's jaw was tightly clamped, the veins against his temples throbbing as he mastered his rising fury. Every syllable felt dragged through an iron vise.

The intensity caused her heart to tighten.

"Well..." Staring at the volatile fury of the formidable man before her, her logical mind suffered a momentary lapse, leaving her entirely at a loss.

"Wasn't that the exact parameter you initially proposed when initiating the contract..."

He couldn't possibly turn on his own terms now, could he...

Scarlett tracked Sebastian's expression, her pulse racing wildly out of pure nerves.

Sebastian locked his eyes onto her fair, translucent gaze, his voice trembling slightly as he demanded, "Do you truly, honestly not harbor a single shred of affection for my person?"

She genuinely lacked the capacity to deliver an answer.

Though she no longer harbored any instinctual fear in his presence and possessed a complete comprehension underlying his calculated actions, a distinct boundary remained between empathy and love.

Her heart had been thoroughly shattered and drained of life by her past; right now, drawing out a genuine emotional response was an exceptionally difficult struggle.

Must she force herself to conflate a deep, protective empathy with love once more?

She could clearly perceive the absolute expectation written across Sebastian's features, yet she was entirely incapable of offering a response: "Sebastian, my past has left me entirely terrified of sustaining further emotional trauma. I desperately require space to master my own thoughts entirely alone."

That was the single truth her mind could assemble.

"Very well. I will grant you that space."

…

Following their tensed departure that night, a full half-month transpired without a single line of communication or meeting between Scarlett and Sebastian.

Throughout these days, his silhouette would frequently invade her thoughts completely unbidden.

Perhaps due to having his constant presence anchored by her side for so long, his sudden absolute absence left her harboring a strange, lingering sense of nostalgia.

She found herself wondering what executive matters he was currently buried in...

Chapter 37

Thinking of him again, she quickly shook her head to dismiss her wandering thoughts.

Suddenly, a call came through; it was Sebastian.

He said, "Grandfather is in critical condition. He wants to see you."

In the sterile white hospital room, Scarlett saw his grandfather.

She had expected an elderly man worn down to a fragile, sickly state by his advanced age.

Yet as he lay on the sickbed, though his body was emaciated, his eyes glinted with an astonishing brightness.

She was momentarily frozen the very first second she saw him.

The sensation those eyes gave her was almost identical to the feeling Sebastian's eyes gave her.

She understood in an instant why, among the three children, only Sebastian could climb to his current position.

He was the one who resembled the family the most.

Grandfather lay on the bed, his ventilator being removed.

Sebastian was guiding Scarlett into the room precisely as this scene unfolded.

"Who permitted its removal?" His aura instantly turned formidable, appearing on the verge of erupting into fury.

The old man spoke up: "I ordered it."

His voice was weathered yet steady, sounding far from a dying man facing terminal illness; instead, he sounded full of vitality.

"I'm at death's door anyway, and I have no desire to suffer through that torment." The old man reached out his hand, gesturing for Scarlett to draw closer.

"Child, let me look at you..." The old man clasped her hand, studying her meticulously.

His deep, brilliant eyes glinted with the radiance of absolute wisdom, appearing capable of drilling straight through her mind.

"You are a good child," he said after studying her for a long moment.

Scarlett stared at him in a silent stun.

People had called her a competent assassin and a dutiful wife, yet absolutely no one had ever told her she was a good child.

"Is that so..." She lowered her head, mocking herself quietly, "No one has ever said that before."

The old man patted her hand and said, "You saved Sebastian's life, which makes you a good child."

Scarlett let out a quiet laugh, murmuring, "Perhaps."

The old man looked at her, a trace of nostalgia seeming to drift through his eyes as he said, "Sebastian has endured a bitter existence; I have failed him..."

Sebastian frowned, cutting off his words: "Grandfather, you have never failed me."

"In truth, I ought to have never brought you back to this household," the old man said, "the family is a den of wolves, devouring people alive."

"Yet I remained entirely dissatisfied with those fools outside, and only you proved to be exceptionally resilient... Thank you for your grueling efforts."

The old man's eyes grew wet for a fleeting fraction of a second. Looking at Sebastian, a complex smile of guilt and pride broke across his features.

Sebastian lowered his lashes, remaining silent.

The old man turned his smile back to Scarlett: "This child possesses a deeply calculated mind and operates with absolute ruthlessness; he requires someone to firmly anchor him."

"Thank goodness he found you, leaving him entirely willing to be anchored by your hand..."

"Grandfather, I am not..." She made a move to protest, but the old man smoothly cut her off, "Sebastian has already unburdened his thoughts to me; I respect your choice."

He pointed a finger toward her head, "In certain matters, rely less on your analytical mind," then he directed his finger toward her chest, "and master them with your heart."

The moment the syllables faded, appearing entirely exhausted by the effort, he leaned back against the pillows.

The room door was suddenly thrown wide open, and the rest of the household filed inside.

Scarlett caught sight of the wheelchair-bound second young master and Chloe, alongside a man whose facial structure bore a striking resemblance to Sebastian.

It was likely his father.

She rose to her feet, casting a brief glance over Sebastian.

Sebastian's expression was marked by a deep sorrow. Tracking the old man whose consciousness was gradually fracturing on the bed, the formidable aura around him completely receded like a falling tide.

"I will wait outside..." Before she could finalize the statement, Sebastian firmly caught her hand.

"Do not depart," his voice was drop-dead low.

Yet Scarlett caught the syllable seamlessly.

That single plea of "do not depart" triggered a memory of the torrential night when the youth had gasped out "save me."

She could no longer find the strength to turn around and leave him.

Within that absolute silence, Scarlett unraveled a truth: if she chose to release her grip on Sebastian's hand tonight, she would never find it again.

He might simply perish within that torrential night...

At this thought, she cast a final glance over him, interlocking her fingers tightly with his to transform their grip into a firm clasp.

Chapter 38

Sebastian's eyes never wavered from the old man resting on the sickbed.

The old man delivered his final mandates to the two younger siblings respectively, his breath growing increasingly faint until he could no longer articulate any sound.

As the heart monitor flatlined into a single, continuous tone, the old man closed his eyes for the final time.

Beep—

Panic erupted through the room. Medical staff rushed inside the perimeter, alongside an individual dressed as a corporate attorney.

Yet Scarlett paid absolutely no heed to the chaos.

Because Sebastian was clamping her hand in an iron vise, his grip so terrifyingly tight that it inflicted a sharp, physical pain.

Amidst the frantic panic and crushing sorrow, she stood anchored in the corner, observing the absolute spectrum of human behavior layout before her.

Desperation, grief, deception, and secret delight.

And beside her, a man whose entire world seemed to have suffered an absolute collapse.

His fingers remained clamped around her hand with a terrifying tenacity, the physical pain clearly registering in her brain, yet she harbored absolutely no desire to demand he release her.

Sebastian's breath hitched violently, his eyes widening as a profound agony completely consumed his gaze.

Scarlett found herself thoroughly infected by his grief.

Unable to restrain herself, her hand came up to rest against his back, murmuring softly, "Don't..."

Before she could finalize the comfort, she was violently pulled into a warm embrace.

Sebastian folded her tightly against his chest, holding her with a desperate ferocity as if attempting to fuse her silhouette directly into his own bones.

His arms locked around her form, burying his head deeply against the crook of her neck, his breathing frantic.

He looked on the absolute verge of weeping.

She mirrored his embrace, her hand gently patting against his back.

"...My condolences." Scarlett vocalized the words fruitlessly, her mind churning to assemble what ultimately amounted to a hollow, dry comfort.

Sebastian's ragged breathing hammered against the skin of her neck, the radiating heat exposing his chaotic, volatile state of mind.

"Grandfather functioned as the single individual who treated me with genuine goodness in this world..." His voice was drop-dead low, perfectly steady yet carrying a suffocating layer of despair.