Chapter 3
Cassandra helped with Sebastian’s parents’ funeral.
On the day of their burial, Sebastian locked himself in the wardrobe again.
Cassandra found him, but she didn’t force him to come out. Instead, she opened the door and climbed in to sit with him.
“Cassie, is it this dark and cold inside a coffin, too?” he asked with red eyes. “I dreamed my mom asked me to join her in the coffin. She said she was cold and scared, all alone in there.”
“That was just a dream,” Cassandra reassured him. “Don’t worry. You’re not going anywhere. I won’t let anyone take you away from me.”
Sebastian hugged Cassandra tightly as he whispered in her ear, “As long as you’re with me, I wouldn’t be scared, even if I were locked in a coffin.”
…
It seemed like Cassandra still remembered what Sebastian had said.
She misunderstood. She thought he was using the cryogenic coffin as a roundabout way to confess his feelings.
“If you don’t like it, I’ll choose a different product,” Sebastian said softly. “It’s just a summer assignment. Don’t be mad.”
Cassandra kept a cold expression and didn’t respond. Keith, on the other hand, chuckled and tried to lighten the mood. “Yeah, you probably should. Coffins are quite morbid, don’t you think? Young people shouldn’t have such dark thoughts. Be a bit more positive.”
Sebastian picked up the scattered papers from the floor and tossed them all into the trash in front of Cassandra. Only then did her expression soften slightly.
Later that night, once everyone had gone to sleep, Sebastian quietly got up again and dug through the trash to retrieve the papers.
As he returned to his room, Keith emerged from Cassandra’s room, wearing a robe. His chest was covered in unmistakable marks and scratches.
It didn’t take much imagination to know what he had done with Cassandra in the room.
Sebastian forced himself to look away, repeating in his mind over and over not to dwell on it. Keith was Cassandra’s fiancé, so what they did wasn’t wrong.
Cassandra loved Keith, and he could give her happiness. That was what mattered.
“Why can’t you look at me, Sebastian?” Keith’s voice was mocking. He was completely different from just a few hours ago. “Are you still struggling to accept that Cassandra loves me and not you?”
Sebastian lowered his gaze. “No, I’ve accepted it.”
“Stop pretending. I can see right through you.” Keith sneered. “The way you look at Cassandra is not normal.
“Sure, she’s not related to you by blood, but she raised you. She’s like a mother to you… Sebastian, are you some kind of psycho?”
Sebastian bit his lower lip hard, remaining silent.
Was he really a psycho?
No wonder Cassandra had started to loathe him once she realized his feelings for her. To the rest of the world, his feelings were something to be ashamed of.
“I heard the reason you became an orphan is because your mom snapped and stabbed your dad over a hundred times in the middle of the night, killing him.”
Keith slowly stepped closer, deliberately provoking him. “No wonder you’re messed up. It’s in your blood. Your mom was a twisted psycho, and so are you.”
Sebastian could tolerate Keith insulting him, but he couldn’t let him trash his late parents.
“Shut up!” He lunged at Keith and grabbed him by the throat. “You don’t know the full story. You have no right to—”
Before he could finish, a sharp voice interrupted, “What are you doing, Sebastian?”
Cassandra had woken up at some point. She stood in the doorway, glaring at Sebastian.
