Chapter 75: Chapter 75

The party had been held in Sebastian's house in honor of his uncle, whose birthday it was. Prior to this time, Sebastian had become really worried about his uncle's sudden hatred for his fiancée, Jessica, whom the man had loved to bits and treated as he would a daughter before. He would have a talk with his uncle about it, he decided. Many wealthy people, most of them billionaires like Sebastian and his uncle, had been invited and the party was going really well. Sebastian walked around, playing the perfect host and greeting people, most of whom were investors in his company. Sebastian had just finished having a small discussion with one man and his heavily perfumed wife when he realized that he had not seen Jessica for a while now, and his uncle too was nowhere in sight.

The last time he had sighted Jessica was when she was surrounded by a group of wannabe models like herself who had come to the party, no doubt hoping to snag a spot with the famous model manager who had been invited too. The man had made and managed top models in the modeling industry and was well respected. Sebastian had met with the man some days before the party and discussed Jessica with him, and the man had agreed to take her under his wings. He knew that Jessica would be more than delighted with this news and planned to tell her about it tonight, but right now, he needed to find his uncle, and probably give him a speech about how rude it was to disappear from your own party. He would look for Jessica later and ask her not to disappear from the party again, after all, it had all been her idea for them to host this party for his uncle. She knew how much he hated having to host anything, but he had just gone along with it as he saw that she was desperate to get back in his uncle's good graces, so he did not get why she was elsewhere now, instead of playing the perfect host.

He quickly walked away from the room where the party was being held and walked around the house to where he thought he would find either or both of them. Sebastian did not think that he would find them together, judging by his uncle's recent hostility towards his fiancée. Shaking his head, he decided he was going to have a serious talk with his uncle if he continued to behave in this fashion after the party. He, Sebastian loved Jessica and that was that. If his uncle could not accept her for who she was or forgive her for whatever he felt that she had done to him, then that was his personal problem.

A quick search of the whole house showed that neither of them was in it. By this time, Sebastian was becoming really pissed, considering that searching the whole of this big house was no mean feat. Despite the coolness of the evening, he was already sweating from rushing around the place, and the fact that he was putting on a tuxedo did not help one bit. Totally exasperated, he went back to the party room to see if he would find them there, but they had not yet come back from wherever it was that they went to.

Deciding to check outside, he went towards, greeting people who were standing outside and having a smoke, or just discussing. By the time he had searched for a minute or two and did not find them among the few guests outside, it occurred to him to call the both of them. Cursing his folly at not thinking of this sooner, Sebastian pulled his phone from his pocket and was about to call his uncle when he heard faint voices coming from the direction of the garden. The owners of the voices, one male and the other female, judging by the sound of them, seemed to be quarreling. The voices sounded familiar, and when another burst of conversation came from them, Sebastian realized that they were indeed the people that he had been looking for.

Gritting his teeth, he headed in that direction, ready to give them a piece of his mind. How dare they leave him alone to be the one to socialize with all those people at the party? Jessica's voice came again, causing Sebastian to pause at what he heard her say.

"I know it doesn't look like it, but please I beg you, give me another chance. I can assure you that no woman will love Sebastian as much as I do." She said, sounding as though she were crying. Sebastian's brows furrowed in anger. His uncle was at it again, torturing the poor girl for reasons best known to him. He began to stride towards where they were standing in anger when his uncle spoke.

"I'm not going to give you another warning, Jessica. I want the best for my Sebastian, and you are not it. I just want you to know this. If you refuse to disappear from his life on your own, I can make you disappear in a minute. You know this as well as I do."

"That's enough, uncle." Sebastian spat as he got to where they standing. Jessica was on her knees pleading with Mr. James while he looked down at her with something akin to contempt.

"Don't raise your voice at me, my boy. You know that everything that I do, I do it for your own benefit."

"Jessica, get up immediately. Well, this is not to my benefit. Why do you keep torturing my fiancée? What on earth has she done to you that is so unpardonable? I love her and I'm marrying her. If you can't bear that, then maybe you don't want us to be a part of your family. I'm sorry, and I don't want that, but it is the truth. She even organized this party for you as a way of making peace with you, but this is how you pay her back? I know that you love me very much, and believe me, I love you too, but I'm no longer a little kid, and I will not allow you to choose a life partner for me." Sebastian informed his uncle angrily, going over to put an arm over Jessica's shoulder where she stood with tears running down her cheeks.

"If you say so, Sebastian, but trust me, I'm doing this for your own good. She's not the one for you. I won't say more than that." Mr. James said and spun on his heels to go back to the party.

"I'm so sorry about that, babe," Sebastian told Jessica, rubbing her shoulders and trying to get her to stop crying, but the tears kept falling faster, ruining her makeup and staining her fancy dress. Sebastian cursed his uncle in his mind. This was all his damn fault.

"Common, don't cry. He cannot come between us no matter what his reasons are. Did you do anything to him to make him change towards you so suddenly?" He asked.

"No, I didn't. I've tried everything to make him like me, but it is not working." Jessica lied, praying to God that Mr. James would never tell Sebastian why he disliked her.

"Okay guess what? I have a surprise for you, but if you don't stop crying, I won't tell you about it." Sebastian told her. Jessica took in a deep, shuddering breath and tried to get herself under control.

"What is it?" She asked shakily, trying to summon up a smile for his benefit.

"I discussed you with the model manager and sent him your portfolio without your notice. He is interested in having you model for him." Sebastian said triumphantly, expecting her to be happy, but she burst into a fresh bout of crying, causing him to pause in confusion. At that moment, Jessica hated herself and rued her actions. The man she had slept with, in the hopes of advancing her career was not even half as influential as the man that Sebastian was talking about, but she had cheated on Sebastian with him, and look where that had got her.

"Thank you so much, Sebastian. You don't know how much this means to me. Alright, give me some minutes to get myself together. You go back to the party. I'll join you in no time... after I touch up my makeup." She told him, deciding that she would come clean to him this night and hoped desperately that he would forgive her. She did not think that she could live without him.

"Alright. Don't be too long, otherwise, I will come back here and drag you with me kicking and screaming, if possible. Don't worry about my uncle. He will come around in the end, okay? I love you very much and you love me too and that's all that matters." He told her, kissing her softly before he left. That was the last time he saw her, until now.