111 The Wedding Gift Returned
Hazel’s POV
“So,” I said, watching Sebastian’s amused expression, “all of this because I once saved your life?” The pieces were finally coming together, forming a picture that was both startling and oddly comforting.
Sebastian leaned against the balcony rail. “Twice, actually. Don’t sell yourself short.”
“And the cooking skills? Also part of your military training?” I asked, changing the subject.
He laughed, the sound warm in the night air. “Hardly. That’s just a natural talent.”
“Now you’re just showing off,” I teased.
“I’m really not,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s basic survival. I can cook five dishes well. The rest is just edible.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Only five?”
“Five is plenty,” he insisted with a grin. “Rotation is key.”
The tension that had coiled inside me for days was finally unwinding. The Sinclairs weren’t stalkers or criminals with mysterious intentions. They were simply repaying a debt I’d forgotten I was owed.
“You know,” Sebastian said, his voice softening, “you should see your face right now. You look like someone just told you the monster under your bed was actually a friendly puppy all along.”
I felt heat rise to my cheeks. “I didn’t think you were a monster.”
“No?” His eyebrow arched playfully. “What was your working theory then? Mafia?
Secret government agents? Obsessive billionaire stalkers?”
“Maybe the last one,” I admitted with embarrassment.
Sebastian’s laughter rang out. “And here I thought I was being subtle.”
I ducked my head. “I’m sorry for thinking the worst.”
he Wedding
Returned
“Don’t be,” he said, waving away my apology. “Your caution is completely justified. A strange family suddenly taking an interest in your life? I’d be suspicious too.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I asked. “About the river, about knowing me before?”
Sebastian’s expression grew more serious. “At first, you clearly didn’t remember. Then when I found out who you were at university, you were already with Everett.”
I flinched slightly at Alistair’s name.
“The Everetts and Sinclairs have a complicated history,” Sebastian continued. “I didn’t want to intrude on your relationship or create problems for you by revealing our connection.”
That made sense. The Everett family was notoriously protective of their business interests and personal relationships.
“And later?” I pressed. “After the wedding was called off?”
Sebastian turned to face the moonlit garden below. “You had enough to deal with. And then you fell into trouble with Marcus Chen.”
The memory of that night at the club made me shudder.
“By then, I couldn’t stay in the shadows anymore,” he said simply. “Not when you needed help.”
The cool night breeze brushed against my skin, but I felt warm inside.
“One final question,” I said.
Sebastian turned back to me, his expression open. “Ask away.”
“Why did you come to my wedding? The one that never happened?”
Something flashed in his eyes-an emotion I couldn’t quite place.
“I came to offer my blessings,” he said after a moment. “To give a gift to the bride who once saved my life.”
“A gift?”
A mischievous smile played at his lips. “A rather substantial monetary gift, actually.”
My eyebrows shot up. “How substantial?”
111 The Wedding Gift Returned
“660,000 dollars,” he said casually, as if discussing pocket change.
I nearly choked. “Excuse me?”
“Six hundred and sixty thousand,” he repeated. “Sixty for each of my years since you saved me from drowning, times ten for good fortune. It’s a significant number in my family.”
My mind reeled at the amount. “That’s-that’s insane.”
“Perhaps,” he acknowledged with a shrug. “But I thought it appropriate.”
“So you brought this… this fortune to my wedding?” I struggled to wrap my head
around it.
“I did.” His smile turned wry. “And when I discovered you weren’t the bride, I took it
back.”
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I stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. “You took it back? Just like
that?”
Sebastian joined my laughter. “Just like that. The wedding planner was quite shocked. I believe her exact words were, ‘Sir, that’s not how wedding gifts work.”
I couldn’t stop laughing, picturing the scene. “Did you explain why?”
“I simply said there had been a mistake, and I was there to celebrate the wrong bride.”
The thought of Alistair and Ivy missing out on such a windfall because of their betrayal felt like poetic justice.
“I would have paid good money to see their faces when they realized what they lost,” I said, wiping tears of mirth from my eyes.
Sebastian’s smile was gentle. “They lost far more than money that day, Hazel. They lost
you.”
His words hung in the air between us, simple yet profound. For the first time since the betrayal, I felt truly valued.
A soft knock interrupted the moment. A butler appeared at the balcony entrance.
“Excuse me, Master Sebastian. Your parents are asking for you in the study.”
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Sebastian nodded. “Tell them I’ll be right there.” He turned back to me. “Will you be alright alone for a bit? I can send Miranda up to keep you company.”
I opened my mouth to refuse, but Sebastian was already moving toward the door.
“Don’t worry,” he said with a reassuring smile. “She’s been dying to meet you properly. And unlike me, she can actually cook more than five dishes.”
Before I could protest, he slipped away, leaving me alone on the balcony with the night breeze and the strange but comforting knowledge that I had unwittingly secured the protection of one of the most powerful families in the country through a simple act of childhood courage.
I looked up at the stars, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. For the first time in weeks, the future didn’t seem so bleak.
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