Chapter 49: Chapter 49

When Sebastian got back to his room, he found Carol fast asleep in his bed. She was lying on the covers in her pajamas, which incidentally, she had worn to dinner before the events of the evening had taken place. He went to take a hot shower, after which he wore his pajamas, and stood contemplating whether to get into bed beside her or not. After a while, he got into bed with her, after all, she was practically his wife, even though they did not act like it. Besides, they had shared a bed in Paris and nothing had happened.

“Yeah well. Remember that then, you were not this attracted to her.” A voice in his head told him, but he shrugged it off. As soon as he climbed into bed, Carol rolled over, murmured something in her sleep, and made herself more comfortable by leaning fully against him, her back molded to his front. Sebastian froze in place, wondering if he should move away.

This was clearly not a good idea, no, not when he was beginning to get so attracted to her that he was finding it difficult to think with her so close and her scent in his nostrils. She needed comfort though, and he would provide it for her, even at his own detriment, he decided. He put his arms around her and held her tightly, relishing the sigh of relief and contentment that she heaved in her sleep as soon as he did that. It had been a long time since he last held a woman in his arms and felt at home. He had felt that way with Jessica before her disappearance, but not in the flings that he had had since then. It was a blissful feeling.

***

Carol opened her eyes to darkness, feeling disoriented for a second. She was lying in a bed that she was certain was not hers, and there was a weight around her middle, as though someone was holding her. Immediately, she realized what it must be. After she had come to Sebastian’s room and he went down to talk to her parents, she had fallen asleep in his bed, and sometime later, he came back and joined her in bed. It was his arm that was around her middle. Carol lay perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe for fear of him moving away. She felt like she could just lay here in Sebastian’s arms forever and be content with it. Soon, however, she could not hold back any longer and had to answer nature’s call, which was what had woken her up, incidentally. Gingerly, she took Sebastian’s arm from off her waist and got off the bed to pad into the bathroom, trying her best not to wake him up. Once she was done peeing, she tiptoed back to the room, but she found that she was so restless that sleep eluded her, so she got up and walked out of the room silently.

She still did not feel like sleeping alone, so she did not go to her room, but went downstairs to get a glass of whiskey. Before she got there, she could see that the light was on in there and was tempted to go back, but decided to go in anyway. She needed answers, and whoever was in there would provide her with them, even if it was Belinda who was there. On getting to the dining room, she saw that it was her father who was in it, looking as drunk as a skunk. Even then, he was still drinking. He looked up at her as she came in, sent a drunken sad smile her way, and downed the remaining contents of the glass in his hand before pouring another one.

Carol sat down in the chair directly across from him and looked at him balefully, but did not say anything to him. She took the glass of drink that he had just poured and downed its contents in a go, grimacing as the hard drink stung her throat and brought tears to her eyes. She relished the burn though. Her father poured her a drink with his cup without her asking and stood up on shaky legs to get another glass for himself before sitting back down in front of her. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke.

“So, I’m guessing you want to know everything.”

“Can’t force you to say anything you don’t want to say.”

“No. it’s already out there, so there’s no point just ignoring it.” He said.

“If you say so.”

“Look, Carol. I get that you are angry, and rightly so. However, you have to know that I was doing what I thought was right for you.”

“Maybe it will help if you started at the beginning. You’re just talking in parables, so I don’t understand what the fuck you’re saying. I just need to know one fucking thing. What the hell was that woman talking about? Is she the one who gave birth to me or not?” Carol spat, taking another sip of her drink.

“Okay. Um, well…uh, no. Not in the right sense of the word.” He stammered, looking everywhere but at her.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Carol asked, staring at him with a penetrating stare until he had no choice but to look back at her.

“Jeez, Carol! This is not easy at all. It’s not how I ever imagined I would tell you this.”

“Just answer the damn question!”

“Oh, okay. Well…if you mean that is she your birth mother, well, the answer is no. B…”

“Wow! Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Well…”

“Never mind. Don’t answer that. So that’s why she hates me.” Carol stated.

“Oh no. your mother does not hate you. I know that as much as I know…”

“Shut the hell up!” Carol yelled at him in anger, not caring if she woke the whole house up. Her father slammed his mouth shut as though he was being controlled by a remote, his eyes going wide. He hardly ever saw her in this mood.

“The last thing you need to be doing right now is supporting that woman. I would not have that. So who are you then? Are you my birth father? No? Where did you guys get me from, then? From your trashcan? Who was the bitch who dumped me there?” Carol continued her tirade, tears of anger and hatred pouring down her face. Her whole life had just been revealed to be a lie to her and she was feeling the hurt from the wells of her heart.