Chapter 68: Chapter 68

The next day dawned bright and early. Carol and Sebastian saw Mr. James and his wife off to the airport, after which they came back to the hotel. Carol was mostly quiet, especially when they were coming back after bidding Mr. and Mrs. James farewell. Sebastian regarded her thoughtfully, wondering what the hell was wrong with her.

“Are you up for an adventure today? I plan to go on a tour today.”

“No, I don’t.” She told him, avoiding his gaze. He did not know that she had heard a part of his conversation the previous night, and she had no intention of letting him know.

"You did not even ask what kind of tour it was before deciding that you are not going."

"I don't think that's necessary. I think I’ll just stay in the hotel and sleep for most of the day."

“Hmmm. That’s boring.”

“I know. I’m boring. Deal with it.” Carol replied, wondering why she should be so angry. Technically, Sebastian had not done anything wrong because all that she had heard him say was the truth, and there was no reason why she should be angry at any of it. He had told his uncle that he did not want a wife, and he had told her that fact too. In fact, she had been on the same page until recently, when her stupid heart had begun to long for him a little too much. Now, her traitorous heart refused to see reason, no matter how many times she tried to remind herself of the fact that Sebastian was only pretending for his uncle's benefit. Now that he had revealed the truth to his uncle, she wondered if he would still be as caring and attentive to her as he was before, or he would go back to being the asshole that he was in the beginning.

“Whoa. What’s the attitude for?” Sebastian asked, lifting his hands in mock surrender. By this time, they were getting close to the entrance of their hotel.

“Hello, Carol.” A voice said, and she whirled around to find the girl that she and Mrs. James had had a spa session with the evening before making her way hastily towards them.

“Hey, Melissa. How are you doing?” Carol said, pausing and smiling at the lady. Normally, Carol did not really care for the lady, but she was in desperate need of a diversion from Sebastian’s handsome face and addictive touch. Despite how mad and sad she was about what she had heard the previous night, Carol had been shocked to find herself responding this morning with as much fervency to his touch as she had the last times they had had sex, if not even more.

“I’m good, and you?” Melissa asked, looking pointedly at Sebastian, who stood by waiting patiently to be introduced.

“Melissa, this is my husband, Sebastian. Sebastian, this is Melissa. We met a few days ago. She’s vacationing here too.” Carol introduced them.

“It’s nice to meet you, Melissa,” Sebastian said, his voice betraying his surprise to find that Carol had a friend here. She had not mentioned anybody to him.

“Yeah. You too, Sebastian. Are you not a millionaire or a model, or something?” Melissa asked, looking at him appraisingly in a way that neither Carol nor Sebastian liked.

“Uh…yeah,” Sebastian answered vaguely.

“Listen, I’ll like to borrow your dear wife for a while. I have some shopping to do, and I could use a female friend. Oh, and before you protest about it, Carol, I know that you’ve not done any shopping since you got here. Which female does not shop at the first chance she gets for chrissakes? What on earth are you going to use as your memento for this vacation? Next time you go on vacation, you might want to go someplace else, after all, there’s a great part of the world that you’ve not yet explored, so it is good you get things to remind you of this place.” Melissa said, her tone indicating that she was not there for any argument.

“You know what? I think Melissa is right. I’ll like to get some things to remind me of our stay here, so I’ll just go with her.” Carol informed Sebastian, who nodded, agreeing with her.

“Of course. I also think that it's much better than just sitting in the hotel and sleeping all day. Do you need some money?” He asked.

“No, thank you. I got it.” Carol replied, waving at him and following Melissa, who took her to the lobby while she ordered a ride.

“We’re going to have so much fun, you’ll see,” Melissa told Carol, who highly doubted that fact but said nothing. All she wanted right now was to be with Sebastian, but for her own sanity, she had to curb that want. She had grown to have some feelings for him, which she still stubbornly refused to define, and she did not want them to escalate… that is if it was not already too late. The outing with Melissa proved to be good for her, and in the end, she was glad that she had gone. Melissa was a fun person, although she was extremely rude and mean to people, at the end of the day, Carol realized that she had warmed up to her a great deal than before. They bought numerous items, although most of these items were for Melissa. Carol got some jewelry, clothes, and shoes that she saw in a store that she liked.

“So, I was wondering if you will like to escort me to a party sometime, like maybe tomorrow or the next,” Melissa informed Carol as they sat outside a local restaurant drinking a local drink that Carol found delicious, although she could not remember its name. Their parcels were scattered at their feet, and they were just relaxing before Carol went back to the hotel.

“Oh? What kind of party is that?” She asked Melissa, not sure that she would be able or even willing to attend it.

“Just a regular party. It’s taking place in one of my friend’s hotels. Nothing too fancy though. I just thought that we’ll have a girl’s night out, partying and stuff like that. The fact that you’re married does not mean you won’t have fun, right?”

“I thought you didn't have any friends here,” Carol said, raising one eyebrow.

“I didn’t say that. I’m here with my friend, remember? What I said is that I don’t have any female friends here.”

“Right. I don’t know about that, though. About the party, I mean. I’ll let you know if I can make it, though. I have to consult my husband first and make sure that he does not have anything planned.”

“You should try. It would mean a lot to me. I’m doing everything I can to forget my ex and not slip into depression.” Melissa intoned sadly.

Carol was about to say something, but at that moment, her phone rang. Her heart began to pound furiously, as she was certain it was Sebastian who was calling her, and she tried to keep it still to no avail. Would he demand that she come back and that he was missing her? How sweet would that be? However, she also knew that it was wishful thinking. She rummaged in her bag and picked up her phone to find that it was not Sebastian who was calling her, however, but her father, and slowly, her traitorous heart returned to its normal pace.

“Are you going to take that or not? Who is it? Is it husband, dear?” Charlotte asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I was getting to it,” Carol replied, answering the phone.

“Hello, dad. How are you doing?” She asked. He called her regularly and they spoke as normally as they had before all the things that had happened before she came on this vacation. She had not heard from Belinda since then, however, not that she cared so much about that.

“I’m not so good, Carol. How are you?”

“I’m fine, dad. What is it? What is wrong with you? Are you sick or something?” Carol asked immediately, panic gripping her. Ever since she found out that Mr. James was critically ill, she realized just how easy it is for anyone, especially older people, to fall sick and worse, develop complications because of their sickness. She didn’t think that she could bear it if anything happened to her father. He was the only family she had in the world, as far as she was concerned, except for Sebastian, and she was not sure that Sebastian regarded her as his family, after all, he wanted his ex back in his life.

“No, no. it’s nothing too drastic like that. It’s just that we haven’t seen or heard from your sister in a while, and we’re getting really worried. Have you heard from her yet?”

“Oh, yes. She called me when I just got here. That would be about two weeks…going to three weeks ago.”

“Oh…and you’ve not heard from her since then?” Donald asked.

“Um, well no, but that’s no big deal. We talk maybe once or twice a month, except she needs something from me. Most times, she doesn't take my calls, although I haven't called her in a while.”

“It’s a big deal. She talks to your mother and I every other day, but we haven’t heard from her in more than three weeks now. Her number does not go through either, and her friends have not seen or heard from her.”

“Hmm… that’s strange,” Carol said, beginning to feel unsettled when she recalled the last conversation that she had had with her sister. Victoria had sounded scared and strange. She had even refused Carol’s offer to give her money, something that now that Carol thought about it, was very strange, to say the least. Victoria always needed money and never turned it down. however, Carol did not want to frighten her father any more than he already was, so she tried to cheer him up and promised to do something, although she did not know what on earth she would do.