Chapter 93: Chapter 93

By the time it was ten in the morning and Sebastian had not called Carol back or even come home, she was seriously pissed and irritated. What was he feeling like anyway and why was he suddenly acting the way he used to when they just newly got married? So all this while, he had been using her as a substitute for his beloved Jessica, after making a song and dance about how he wanted he and Carol to at least be civil to each other? Now, the second Jessica came back into his life, he discarded Carol as though she were a sack of hot potatoes, and it was now so bad that he could not even be bothered to be polite enough to return her calls?

Although everything inside Carol urged her to try calling him again, she did her best to resist the urge. She refused to act like a pathetic, attention-starved puppy who would manage whatever scraps of attention that the almighty Lord Sebastian managed to dole out to her. If she was being truthful to herself though, she knew that she missed hearing his voice, being in his arms, and kissing and touching him more than she cared to admit. Melissa had texted Carol to let her know that she would be at her house by twelve prompt to pick her up so that she could get ready. Carol took her time selecting a cloth that made her look really sexy, doing her makeup and her hair so that by the time she was done, she could hardly recognize herself in the mirror. She looked extremely beautiful, even if she did say so herself, and resolved to dress and look like this more often.

She had just finished putting finishing touches to her makeup when Jessica called her to let her know that she had left her hotel and was on her way to come over to pick Carol up.

"I'll be there in less than fifteen minutes, so better make sure you're ready. I don't like to be kept waiting. It's hot outside today, you know."

"Okay. No problem. I'm done dressing and all. I'll meet you at the gate." Carol informed her, picking up her bag, and taking one last look in the mirror before leaving her room to go downstairs. She felt so confident and beautiful with the way she was looking. If Sebastian did not like her and decided that Jessica was more his cup of tea, that was his damn loss.

"Yeah. Keep kidding yourself." A voice inside her told her, but she stubbornly shrugged it off, and with her head held high, she walked out of the house and located one of the drivers, whom she asked to drive her down to the gate.

"Just the gate, ma'am? Why is that?" The man asked worriedly. Carol fought the urge to roll her eyes. These drivers were becoming something else in her opinion.

"What do you mean by just the gate?" Carol asked, getting into the car and assuring Jessica, who called at that moment to inform her that she was already at the gate, that she was on her way.

"I mean, I can take you anywhere you want to go."

"I know that, and the gate is where I want to go, so please take me there immediately and stop asking ridiculous questions."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. It's just that the boss..."

"Screw you and screw your boss. You better do as I ask this instant otherwise you'll be really sorry." Carol told the man angrily. He gulped and did not say anything else. In less than a minute, Carol felt really horrible for taking out her annoyance with Sebastian on the man. It was not his fault that Sebastian was acting like such an asshole, but she was not about to apologize. The last thing she needed was to be treated like a child. She was a full-blown adult and would do whatever the hell she wanted and go wherever she wanted with whomever she wanted. She certainly did not need Sebastian's permission, neither did she need to be babysat by his drivers or bodyguards. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. Once they got to the gate, the man spoke again, avoiding her gaze.

"Ma'am, are you sure that you don't want me to drive you or at least that you don't want to go with a bodyguard? The boss might fire me for this, ma'am. Please, I don't want to lose my job. I have a wife and three kids to take care of. Let me take you, ma'am."

Carol felt sorry for him, but she was not ready to have anyone following her around. Besides, it felt so good to flagrantly flout Sebastian's wishes.

"Don't you worry about that. Your job is perfectly safe. Sebastian will do nothing of the sort. I assure you of that fact. I'm just going to have lunch with a friend...nothing too serious. Sitting in a house all day without anyone to talk to is not good for anyone, you know. Alright then, I'll be off now. See you later." She said and waved gaily at him as she sashayed to the place where a car with tinted glasses was parked. She could not see who was inside, but she had no doubt that it was Melissa. The passenger side door opened as she got to the car and she poked her head in to see a beaming Melissa sitting at the wheel.

"Damn! Are you not a sight for sore eyes? You look so beautiful and sexy that I could gobble you up right now." Melissa said, looking Carol up and down admiringly as she got in and closed the door.

"Thank you. You don't look bad yourself. Where are we headed?" Carol asked, glancing behind her to make sure that the driver was not following them.

"We'll go and have a meal first. I hope you're hungry. What's wrong?" Melissa asked, following Carol's gaze before quickly looking at the road again.

"What?"

"You're looking back as though you're looking for something."

"Oh, it's just one of our drivers. I'm making sure that he's not following us."

"Why would he be following us?"

"Well, Sebastian ordered them not to let me leave the house on my own. I'm to have at least a bodyguard and a driver with me at all times." Carol said, rolling her eyes.

"How misogynistic!" Melissa sneered. "Some men are just bloody fools."

"It's not that way," Carol said with an edge to her voice, jumping to Sebastian's defense immediately. She took objection to Melissa calling him a bloody fool.

"What way is it then? I hate it when men decided that women are property or nitwits that they can just order around and tell what to do."

"This case is different. He's doing it for my safety, and I absolutely understand his fear. After all, his ex-fiancée was abducted from his very own house. Look what happened to my sister too. Some people are speculating that it is because her sister married a billionaire. Besides, the world is evil nowadays, and when you're rich or associated with the rich, it's very easy for bad things to happen to you."

"You have a point, I guess. No need to sound so angry. I was just talking about men in general and not your husband. Anyway, I'm sure it must be weird to have those people hanging around you all the time."

"You know it! That is why I decided to just have a peaceful lunch and fun with a friend without them trailing me everywhere. After all, it's not as though I'm famous or anything." Carol said.

"So how are things between you and your husband?"

"Um, they're fine. Why would you ask that?"

Melissa rolled her eyes at this question. "It's obvious things are not that fine. You don't like me ... I know you don't, but you decide to go out with me, and not only that, you took the pain to dress this way and even took great pains to do your makeup."

"There's nothing wrong with my dress."

"No, there's not. I'm just saying. Your husband's ex-fiancée, whom he loved so much and even married you just because he wanted to find her, comes back into your lives out of the blues. You see that she's a very beautiful lady and your husband still seems to have feelings for her. Of course, you're going to feel threatened and try to look more beautiful than her, or at least try to make him jealous. It's only natural and you do not have to be ashamed about it."

"That is not what I'm trying to do at all." Carol protested, her face going up in flames. Even the words sounded weak to her ears.

"Huh-uh. I hear you." Melissa said, smiling mischievously. Carol looked out the window at the scenery as they drove by. Was Melissa right? Was that what she had been trying to do unconsciously? Suddenly, something Melissa had said struck her.

"Wait, how do you know that Sebastian married me to find his fiancée, or that he still seems to have feelings for her?" Carol asked incredulously.