Chapter 72: Chapter 72

Feeling a bit tired, no doubt from the activities of the day, Sebastian walked around, looking for a somewhat quiet place to sit down while he waited for Carol to come back, but everywhere was noisy. It was amazing how much he had come to like Carol, and if he was being truthful to himself, it was beginning to become something more than likeness, but since there was no point to it, he shut down such thoughts and refused to let them blossom. Finally, he decided to go out to the beach area to get some air, as the hotel was beachfront. There were some tables and chairs arranged around, so he chose to sit on one of them, while he texted Carol to let her know where he was so that she could come to meet him as soon as she was done being introduced to people like her friend wanted.

Sebastian did not really like the friend, Charlotte, and he could tell that the feeling was mutual. It seemed Carol did not like her either, but he knew Carol, she hated to hurt anyone's feelings and just pretended to like the girl since according to her, the girl's boyfriend had jilted her. Nursing his drink, he surveyed the area carefully, as always checking out for any potential threats. His uncle had drummed the need to always be cautious into him as far back as when he was still a child and to date, he was always very careful. Ever since Jessica disappeared, the need for him to always be cautious had become even more paramount, because she had disappeared right inside his heavily guarded compound. If such a thing could happen when there was security around, how much more when there was none? Thinking about Jessica made him sad. He was finally getting over her, something that he had been afraid would happen when he started liking Carol. Even worse was the fact that he did not feel as bad about it as he should and that was saying something.

He turned his chair to face the entrance of the hotel so that he would see Carol if she came out looking for him. The entrance was a little distance away from where he was sitting, and as he looked at it, he saw a woman come out cautiously, as though she did not know where she was and why she was there. She looked around the dimly lighted place as though she was searching for someone and happened to glance in his direction, after which she began to make her way over to him slowly.

"Oh, no." Sebastian groaned inwardly. The last thing he needed was for some strange female to come up to him trying to make conversation while he was waiting for Carol to come out. He was about to avert his gaze to show that he was not interested when something about the woman caught his attention. She was slim...very slim in a way that was bordering on unhealthy, and he could not make out her face, but there was something vaguely familiar about her. She was still making her way slowly and hesitantly towards him, the night breeze blowing the baggy t-shirt that she wore and looking as though it was going to blow away her slim frame to sea at any minute now.

The closer she got to him, the surer Sebastian as that he knew this woman from somewhere, although that was ridiculous. He did not know anyone around here, neither had he made any friends since his arrival, so there was no way that he could know the woman, but he could not shake the feeling that he knew her, and very well too.

Finally, she got to where he was sitting and with her head bent, pulled out one of the chairs at his table and sat down, before raising her gaze to his, causing his heart to almost stop beating immediately. Sebastian stared at her in shock, his heart which had nearly stopped beating starting to beat and pound as furiously as though it was going to beat out of his chest at any minute now.

"Hello, Sebastian," Jessica said in a shaky voice, tears filling her eyes immediately.

Sebastian still stared at her with his mouth agape, unable to form words no matter how hard he tried. It was as though he was seeing an apparition, and his mind told him to do something, anything, but his body was frozen into place. It was Jessica, his Jessica, quite alright, even though she looked like she had been in a detention camp and was only just starting to recover from the starvation that she had faced there. God! She was so thin.

"Are you not going to say anything? Are you not happy to see me, Sebastian?" Jessica asked, her voice breaking, as she raised one hand to swipe at the tear that fell from her right eye.

That singular action broke Sebastian's frozen state and he breathed one word, wonder filling his voice.

"Jessica? Jessica... is it really you?"

"Yes, it's me, Sebastian. I never thought that I'll see you again."

"What's going on? How come you're here? Where on earth have you been? What on earth have you been doing?" He asked in a rush of words, not giving her time to answer before asking another question. Automatically, he used his eyes to scan the area, wishing that he had not given his bodyguard the night off. There was something very wrong here. He could feel it in his bones.

"You did not even wait for me or look for me, Sebastian. I thought that we were in love? How could you marry another woman within months of my disappearance?" Jessica asked, the hurt and betrayal that she had felt since learning that Sebastian was married all coming to the surface and threatening to overwhelm her.

"Jessica, you do not understand. It's all so complicated, but I'll explain everything in a bit. Answer my questions first...okay maybe I was too fast. Let me start again. Where have you been?"

"I was kidnapped, Sebastian. I've been locked off for so many months now."

"What? Oh my God, Jessica. What did they do to you?" Sebastian asked, tears filling his eyes too as he raised a finger and caressed her bony cheek, wishing to God that he could wipe away her tears and pain.

"They kept me locked up for months, Sebastian. I was starved and tortured. God, it was really horrible, Sebastian." Jessica said, beginning to cry in earnest. This was not a part of the script that Charlotte had written for her, but she could not help the pain that she felt. Before she knew what was happening, Sebastian had stood up from his chair and was lifting her to stand up so that he could take her into his arms. Jessica shrieked and backed away from him, remembering that explosives were strapped to her body, and she had no idea if they would go off if he touched her. The pain that she saw in Sebastian's eyes at her backing away from him looked too real to be faked. He probably thought that she was mad at him or that she had been so abused that she was so afraid to be touched or something.

He raised his hand to caress her face again and spoke as gently as though he was talking to a wounded animal, "Tell me who they are, Jessica, and I swear that I will make them pay with their lives, even if it is the last thing I do."

At that moment, the device that Jessica was wearing, that made it possible for her to communicate with her kidnappers crackled to life and she heard one of the men's gruff voices in her ears.

"It's time to come back. His wife is coming. You have the next two minutes to get back here or you know what happens." The man said in her ear.

"Tell me, Jessica. Please." Sebastian pleaded.

"I will. I'm still in hiding because I escaped and I'm afraid, but meet me here later by midnight. I'll tell you everything then. But for now, I have to leave. I don't want to cause any problems between you and your wife." She told him, backing away.

"Jessica. Please wait." Sebastian begged, wondering if he should go after her, but deciding against it. She seemed to be so skittish and he did not wish to drive her away.

"Meet me here by midnight. Please, Sebastian. I need to get away from here, otherwise, they will find me. Promise me. Promise me that you'll come by midnight. I need you to help me make plans on how I'm going to get away if nothing else. You owe me that, Sebastian."

"Are the people who kidnapped you here, Jessica? Is that why you're so scared?"

"Promise me," Jessica said almost desperately, ignoring his question and Sebastian sighed.

"I promise." He said at last, and she turned and walked away. He did not follow her.