Chapter 8
Chapter 8
At the auction, one priceless artifact after another had everyone gasping, but Sebastian kept spacing out.
When he saw an antique vase, he thought about the plastic bottles Mia used for her little plants. When he saw a crystal bracelet, he remembered the jasmine flower bracelet Mia had made for his wrist…
Every single auction item brought back memories of him and Mia.
“Seb, what’s wrong?”
Claire noticed him zoning out and waved her hand in front of his face.
“I’ve been calling your name like five times.”
“It’s nothing.” His eyes snapped back into focus as he forced a smile.
“See anything you like? I’ll get it for you.”
Claire immediately forgot about his weird behavior and sweetly said “okay.”
Sebastian looked down, but when the next item came up, his pupils dilated.
That white jade pendant-it was the only thing Mia had on her when she was found at the orphanage.
But years ago, when some asshole called him the Pierce family curse who got his parents killed, he’d beaten the guy so bad he ended up in the ICU.
Mia had pawned that pendant to pay the medical bills.
Sebastian didn’t hesitate. He started bidding.
Claire looked at him excitedly. “Seb, is this for me?”
“No,” he gripped the pendant tight, “it’s for Mia.”
The jade had a tiny crack in it, which suddenly reminded him of how dead Mia’s eyes had looked when she left.
Sebastian felt this weird panic rising in his chest as he looked at Claire.
“Sorry, I can’t do dinner tonight.”
He got up and bolted from the auction, leaving Claire sitting there totally confused.
She frowned, pissed off.
Nobody had ever ditched her like that.
It wasn’t until she confirmed with her dad that Mia had actually left town that she finally relaxed. As long as Sebastian wasn’t being stupid, he’d know she was obviously the right choice.
Something was pulling Sebastian back to the house-he’d never been this desperate to see Mia before.
But when he pushed open the front door, the place was totally dark. His heart dropped.
Chapter
Mia hadn’t left the porch light on for him.
He hit the light switch and immediately had to squint.
The huge crystal chandelier was way brighter than the cheap lamp they’d shared in that sketchy apartment.
He looked around, shielding his eyes, but Mia was nowhere.
Had she already crashed for the night?
Ever since moving in, she’d quit her him to get home.
The only thing she looked forward to
job at the fish market. With nothing else to do, she’d just chill on the couch waiting for
was talking to him.
But Pierce Corp had been getting hit from all sides lately, and one day when work had him completely fried, he’d lost it on her for the first time:
“I’m beat. Can you jus
eme
give me some space?”
They’d both gone dead silent.
He was totally out of line, but somehow Mia ended up saying sorry.
She was always covering for him.
Guilt hit Sebastian hard. He really wanted to hug her right now.
He quietly pushed open Mia’s bedroom door.
Everything looked normal, except she wasn’t there.
His chest tightened and he started freaking out.
He turned around, scanning the whole room.
Hold up, something was way off.
It wasn’t just that Mia was gone-all her clothes and stuff had basically disappeared too.
The white sheets were pristine, like nobody had ever slept there.
Like Mia had just been some fever dream that never actually happened.
That’s when reality smacked him in the face.
His panicked breathing slowly stopped as he went white, standing there by the bed.
Then he spotted something in the trash.
The matching keychain he’d gotten her.
Ten bucks for both, but Mia had been obsessed with it and took it everywhere.
Now it was just sitting there like trash, thrown away without a care.
Chapter 8
Mia… had actually bounced?
No freaking way.
They’d survived eight years of total chaos together, closer than most actual couples.
How could she just ghost him like that?
Sebastian tried to chill himself out.
But he tore through the entire house, checking every single room, hoping to find proof that Mia was just pranking him or something.
He collapsed on the couch in complete shock until his phone started buzzing.
Seeing Mr. Whitmore’s name, Sebastian grimaced.
If this was about Claire being pissed that he ditched the auction, he seriously couldn’t deal.
“Seb, get down to my office.”
Mr. Whitmore paused, then his voice got heavy.
“We finally caught a break on what really went down with your parents.”
