Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Once they had gotten rid of Melissa, Carol and Mrs. James hurried back to Mrs. James's suite to find Mr. James being tended to by a local physician that they had brought in, as the man stubbornly refused to go to the hospital. A somber-faced Sebastian was there too and he looked up at Carol as she and his aunt entered the room. Just looking at him made her whole body tingle, making her long for more of what they had shared this afternoon, but it would be callous of her to think about such a thing now. She averted her gaze as soon as he met her eyes, suddenly feeling very shy.

“How are you feeling?” She heard Sebastian ask, and raised her gaze to meet his to see that it was her he was directing the question at. She knew just what was referring to, and glanced hurriedly at Mr. and Mrs. James to see if they understood, but Mrs. James was busy with her husband, much to Carol's relief.

“I’m fine thank you, and how are you feeling?” She asked in turn, referring to the fact that his uncle was somewhat bedridden.

He shrugged, but Mr. James spoke before he could get a word out.

“I guess you wanted to direct that question to me, seeing as I’m the one who is bedridden. Not so, Carol?” He tried to joke, but his voice sounded so tired and he was obviously in a lot of pain.

“Of course, uncle. How are you feeling?”

“I’ve had better days, my dear, but I’m doing as well as can be under the circumstances.”

There was some silence as the doctor did his thing, and during that span of time, Carol kept stealing glances at Sebastian, who was staring at her openly, in an assessing kind of way. She did not understand why he was looking at her like that, but it made her feel uncomfortable suddenly. It was as though he could see into her soul and knew things about her that she herself did not know.

“Carol. I was thinking that we should leave with my uncle tomorrow. What do you think?” Sebastian asked.

“Oh no. I would have none of that. You’re both going to stay here and enjoy your vacation without minding an old man. What are you going to go home to do anyway?” Mr. James asked before Carol could agree.

“Yes, Sebastian. There is no reason why you and your wife should not enjoy your vacation. Your uncle is not going anywhere, you know. You can come to visit him after the vacation is over.” Mrs. James put in, winking at Carol and going to sit by her husband’s side on the bed. She placed a tender kiss on his forehead and then just sat rubbing his head with her hands, something which he seemed to like very much. Carol sighed, suddenly imagining her and Sebastian being old and still in love. She cut off this line of thinking immediately, her heart slamming as she processed the thought that had just entered her mind. She and Sebastian still in love? They weren’t even in love now so where had that thought come from?

“Alright. You young ones can go now. My wife and I are leaving early tomorrow morning, so we need to get some rest as soon as the doctor finishes, which it seems he has.”

“Alright, uncle. Good night.” Sebastian said, squeezing his uncle’s hand affectionately. He took Carol’s hand and led her out of the suite towards their own suite. Despite what had happened between them in the afternoon, or maybe because of it, Carol was more nervous than she had ever been with Sebastian. Her palms were clammy, something she was sure that Sebastian noticed because he kept rubbing them with his own palms. They walked together in silence and when they got to their suite, Sebastian closed the door and turned to face her.

“Carol… I didn’t know that you were a virgin. You should have told me about it.”

“Well, it’s not a big deal.”

“Do you have any regrets?”

“Not at all… although I have something to say,” Carol said, her heart pounding. She was never this bold about stuff like this, but she had to start from somewhere. Sebastian’s face took on a serious expression, and he came to take her hands in his, looking earnestly at her face.

“What is it, Carol?”

“I’d like to do it over and over again,” Carol told him. As soon as she said the words, a big smile broke out on his face and he gathered her into his arms, giving her a tender kiss, after which he took her in his arms, and made sweet passionate love to her again.

***

It must have been around midnight when Carol woke up disoriented while she tried to figure out what had woke her up. With a huge smile on her face, she turned around to cuddle up to Sebastian, only to find his side of the bed empty. Placing her hands on his side of the bed, she found out that it was cold, meaning that it was a while since he got out of bed. Thinking to herself that he must have gone to use the restroom, Carol sighed softly and just lay there in bed, thinking about the sex she and Sebastian had had before she had fallen asleep in his arms. Maybe if she had known that having sex was this enjoyable, she would have tried to have it since. As this thought was in her mind, she heard voices coming from the balcony of her suite. Although the voices were low, she could recognize Sebastian’s voice as one of them. The other one sounded very familiar too. Wondering who he was talking to at this time of the night, Carol padded out to go and investigate when something that Sebastian said captured her attention.

“I know, and I’ll miss you so much when you’re gone, uncle. I’m glad you finally decided to tell me about your sickness. Now, I know that this might sound insensitive of me, but I really need to know if you have come up with anything regarding what we’ve been discussing.” Sebastian said. Carol paused in her tracks. Sebastian was discussing with his uncle? Wasn’t his uncle supposed to be in bed resting after the scare that he had given them just this evening?

“What are you talking about, my dear boy?” Mr. James asked, sounding so tired and weary, as though all he wanted to do was to lie down and sleep. “You have to hurry up. I’m so tired. I only came out here to let you know that I have limited time left so that you don’t feel bad about me not telling you when I’m gone, even though I knew that you already know.”

“Yes, yes. You’re right uncle, but you know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Jessica. What news do you have about her?” Sebastian asked. Carol’s heart started to beat where she was standing and eavesdropping on their conversation. Why was Sebastian still asking about his ex-fiancée? Everyone thought that she was dead.

As though Mr. James had heard the question that carol asked herself, he said aloud, “Don’t tell me that you’re still thinking about that girl, Sebastian.”

“I can’t help it, uncle. I need to find her and I need you to urge your people to do it faster before it’s too late. Please, uncle. This means a lot to me.”

“What do you mean by before it’s too late?”

“I mean before whoever took her kills her, you know. Besides, when you're gone, who is going to help me find her? I don't have the connections that you do.”

“I told you that almost everyone believes she’s dead.” Mr. James said in a hard tone.

“I know, but I don’t believe that for one minute. Alright, even if she’s dead, which I know she isn’t, I want to see her dead body, uncle. You owe me this one thing because you promised that you’ll help me find her.”

“What about Carol?” Mr. James asked in a low tone.

“What about her?” Sebastian asked in turn.

“You know that the poor child is in love with you, don’t you?”

“And whose fault is that huh? I told you that I didn’t want a wife, but you decided that you know what’s best for me even though I’m a grown man who can make his own goddamn decisions. I already told Carol in no unclear terms that the marriage is only going to last for one year and six months and she was on the same page. I'm sorry that you had to find out now that Carol and I are just faking it because I wasn't going to let you know. I guess you've not been the only one keeping secrets, after all. Anyway, there is the contract and now, I’m glad I insisted on it because you seem hell-bent on refusing to hold up your part of the bargain. Look, we’re not talking about Carol here, but about Jessica…”

Carol did not wait to hear more, but turned and walked back to the bed to lay in it, tears filling her eyes and a terrible ache in her heart. She was beginning to believe what Mr. James and his wife kept saying… that she was in love with Sebastian. That was the only thing that would explain this ache and heaviness in her heart at her hearing him say those words.