51 The Price of a Favor
Trode back to the city in a daze, my fingers tracing the cool jade of my mother’s bracelet. The weight of it on my wrist was both comforting and unsettling–a piece of my past returned, but at what cost?:9%
Three hundred million dollars. The sum was so enormous it didn’t feel real.
My apartment felt empty and cold when I finally arrived home I kicked off my heels
and collapsed onto my couch, staring at the ceiling. Images from the night kept replaying in my mind: Sebastian’s calm authority at the auction. Ivy’s blood–stained lips, Alistair’s resentful glare as he followed his wife to the ambulance
I couldn’t sleep. At dawn, I drove to the cemetery where my mother was buried. The morning air was crisp, dew glistening on the grass as I approached her headstone with fresh flowers.
I got it back, Mom,” I whispered, kneeling beside the grave. “Your bracelet. I couldn’t
let them take this from us too.”
I stayed until the morning grew warmer, telling her everything–about Sebastian’s unexpected intervention, about witnessing Ivy’s collapse, about the strange mixture of Temptiness and relief I felt.
“I don’t know what to do now,” I admitted. “I’m in debt to a man who could buy and sell my entire existence without blinking.”
The breeze rustled the leaves overhead, offering no answers.
Back at my apartment, I showered and changed for work. The weekend had been draining, but Monday morning still demanded my presence at Evening Gala’s design
studio.
Walking into the office. I immediately sensed something was different. Conversations halted as I passed. Heads turned. Whispers followed in my wake.
“Morning, Hazel, my assistant Cherry greeted me, eyes wider than usual. “How was
your weekend?”
“Eventful replied, hanging my cont “Why is everyone staring?
Cherry’s expression transformed into one of dishehet. “You don’t know? You havent
seen H?
“Seen what?”
The video It’s everywhere: She pulled out her phone, fingers flying across the screen. “Someone at the auction recorded when Sebastian Sinclair bought that jade bracelet for you. I went viral overnight
My stomach dropped. “What?”
Cherry turned her phone toward me. The screen showed a thumbnail of the auction hall, with a bold headline: “BILLIONAIRE BACHELOR SEBASTIAN SINCLAIR SPENDS $300M ON JEWELRY FOR MYSTERY WOMAN.”
“I’m not–we’re not-“I stammered, feeling heat crawl up my neck. “It wasn’t like that at all.
“The internet disagrees,” Cherry said, scrolling through comments. “People are calling it the most romantic gesture they’ve ever seen. You’re trending”
I snatched the phone from her hand, skimming through the article with growing horror. The writer had spun an elaborate romance, suggesting Sebastian and I had been secretly dating for months. There were even “inside sources claiming he’d sworn to get my mother’s bracelet back for me at any cost.
“This is complete fiction,” I hissed, returning her phone. “He barely knows me
Then why would he spend three hundred million dollars on you?” Cherry asked. genuinely confused.
I had no good answer for that. “It was just a favor.”
A three–hundred–million–dollar favor, Cherry emphasized each word. “Nobody does that without wanting something in return. Hazel.
My fingers unconsciously went to the bracelet beneath my sleeve 1 fully intend to pay
him back
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That’s possibir said, looking over her shoulder “Things don’t just disappear from
The find youre Sebastian Sinclaw apparently: Cherry muttered, showing the her search results Nothing about the auction appeared anymore. No videos no articles, nd trending handtags. It was as if the entire incident had been wiped from existence
Asin ran down my spine What land of power did this man have to erase every trade
aamal story chernight?
“Maybe it was alle munderstanding Cherry suggested weakly
Author my head slowly, understanding dawning. “No, it happened. He just doesn’t
wt why help me no potibicly, only to hide it afterward? Was he embarrassed to
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What wow you going to do? Cherry asked
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be bewordet felt heavier on my wrist now laden with implications I couldn’t begin to example. A pf? A loan? A trap) had no idea what his motives were, and that terrified me more than the astronomical sum i now owed him
My phone hused with a text from Vera. Have you seen what happened onime? Everything about the auction disappeared Only one person could have that kind of reach
texted back know I don’t understand what game he’s playing
Vera responded immediately: “Maybe it’s not a game. Maybe he just wants to help you.
I stared at her message, unconvinced. In my experience, powerful men didn’t help women without expecting something in return. Alistair had taught me that lesson painfully well
I need to talk to him.” I typed to Vera. “Find out what he wants from me
“Be careful.” came her reply. “Men like Sebastian Sinclair operate in a different world than the rest of us
She was right. I was out of my depth, swimming in waters too deep and dark to navigate safely. But I couldn’t ignore what had happened or the debt I’d incurred.
I opened my desk drawer and pulled out the business card Sebastian’s assistant had given me. The heavy cardstock felt like a summons to a world I didn’t belong in, a world of unimaginable wealth and power.
My finger hovered over his number, hesitation gripping me. What would I even say? Thank you for spending a fortune on my mother’s bracelet, but why did you do it? When can I start paying you back the impossible sum?
Before I could decide, an email notification pinged on my computer. From an address! didn’t recognize, with only a subject line: “Regarding Saturday’s Auction
My heart pounding, I clicked to open it
The message was brief, formal, and completely unexpected
Shisa Shaw.
Mr. Sinclair would appreciate the opportunity to discuss recent events with you. A car
arrive at your office at 7 PM this evening, if that is convenient for you
Regards
Thomas Reed
Chief of Staff to Sebastian Sinclair
1 read it three times, my mouth dry. He wanted to meet. Tonight
The price of his laver was about to be revealed.
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