Virtue & Vanity (23 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

The bright sunlight woke me up and the first thing I saw was a pair of piercing green eyes staring at me. 
Sebastian was watching me sleep. 
He had to have been awake for a while, because he was already fully dressed and prepared to leave.
I waited for him to say something and break the awkward silence, but to my misfortune, he had no intention to ease my discomfort and kept observing me with an undecipherable expression on his face. His usually dominant posture was slightly threatened by something and he almost looked like he was hurt. He tapped his fingers on the nearby table and I knew he was still thinking about what had happened between us the previous night. So was I.

“I have to go to a meeting,” he said in a voice that was stripped of any emotion, but the deep dark hole in his eyes gave out his inner turmoil. “I’ll be back around seven. Make sure you’re ready for the fundraiser by then.” He looked at me, asking for a confirmation and I nodded in response.

Then he stood up, took something from his wallet and laid it on the table. I was confused by his action, but I diverted my gaze from him and didn’t say anything about it.

“If you want to go shopping, you can use the credit card I left on the table,” he said softly.

I glanced at him with what had to have been an incredulous look on my face. After our conversation last night, I had no intention to spend as much as a cent of his money.

“I don’t want to go shopping,” I asserted.

He looked defeated, like I had offended him. “Please, don’t take this the wrong way. I just thought you might want to do something on your own today.” He gulped to compose his now tormented voice.

Suddenly I wanted to amend for my harsh reaction. “I know. Thank you,” I said quietly and forced a weak smile.

His eyes danced on my face before he tore them away from me and looked towards the window. Seconds passed by and he stared at the sky like he was frozen in space and time. The sight in front of me was surreal and I was starting to freak out.

“Sebastian...” I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but the moment my eyes collided with his icy gaze, I swallowed the words and stared at him confusedly.

He sighed and started walking outside. “Be ready by seven,” he said before shutting the door behind him.

***

After he left, I took a long shower and observed the city panorama from the balcony. Sebastian’s weird behavior was a constant on my mind, and I knew I had to do something to distract myself from thinking about it. The weather was beautiful, so I decided to go outside and explore the city for a while.

As I walked through the sunny streets of Las Vegas, something tightened around my heart. Everywhere I looked, there were happy couples who were in love, excited tourists, or people who simply enjoyed a nice day out with their friends and I had never felt so alone in my entire life. People who surrounded me seemed to have embraced life and decided to explore it to the fullest. They were living, whereas I merely existed.

“Excuse me,” a chirpy woman’s voice traveled in my direction.

I turned towards this unknown woman who held a camera in her hands and smiled at me.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you could take a photo of me and my husband?” she asked, her smile unwavering.

“Yes, of course.” A short smile twisted my lips while she explained how the camera worked.

They hugged each other, smiled broadly and raised their thumbs. Her husband was a typical middle-aged man. He was a bit chubby, with traces of gray in his brown hair and he had a moustache. She was blonde, thin and a lot shorter than him. Nevertheless, they looked like they belonged together—like they were meant to be.

“Cheese,” I said before taking a beautiful picture of them.

Returning the camera, I showed them the picture and they burst into laughter. It was nice to see that they were so happy together. There was a time when I dreamt of finding someone to take goofy pictures with, but those dreams were long gone. I almost turned around and walked away, when she looked at me again.

“Thank you. We love the photo. You would make an excellent photographer,” the woman teased me.

“You’re welcome.” I smiled at her, preparing to leave.

“I’m sorry, but... Can I ask you something?” Suddenly she became serious.

“I guess,” I said, confused.

“Kate, please!” Her husband seemed uncomfortable and he tried to pull her away from me.

“No, I need to tell her,” she reassured him.

I was beyond confused when she took hold of my right hand and looked into my palm. I wondered what on earth this stranger was doing to me.

“You know, I feel things and I can see you’re distressed. Did something bad happen to you?” she asked, but she seemed to have known the answer already.

Ridiculously, my cheeks blushed and I ripped my hand away from her in shock. I just stared at her and my chin started trembling while I tried to compose myself.

“It’s okay. I can see you’ve suffered through a traumatizing experience not that long ago. Someone has hurt you.” Certainty rang from her voice.

“How can you possibly...?” I was stunned.

She smiled at me again. “We all have our little gifts.” She lifted her head towards the sky. “You’re also talented, but you seem to be stuck in one place because something is holding you back.”

She seemed to be lost deep in thoughts like she could actually see everything she was talking about. I wrapped my hands around my middle and started shaking my head at her. That was all I could do, because she made me feel completely uncomfortable. She started saying something else, but her husband stopped her when he noticed that all the color had drained from my face.

“Kate, please. Can’t you see you’re freaking her out?” He was persistent.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said warmly. “I just thought that you needed to know that things are not as bad as you think. You shouldn’t worry. Everything will fall into place. There are great things waiting for you in the future.” She winked at me as her husband lost all of his patience and she started walking after him.

“One day you’ll remember my words,” she said before they disappeared into the crowd.

My legs wouldn’t move and I stood frozen in one place needing to process everything that woman had told me. I didn’t believe in fortune tellers, psychics or whatever she was, but I couldn’t help being a little shaken by the experience. Maybe she was just a crook, but in a way, I knew she had told me exactly what I needed to hear. A disbelieving smile curved my lips and I tried to decide whether or not meeting that woman had been some kind of an omen. Struck by my unusual experience, I slowly walked back to the hotel.

***

At seven o’clock sharp, the door to the room opened and Sebastian stormed inside. As usual, he was in the middle of a business phone call, scowling at somebody who didn’t do their job right. He picked up the credit card which had remained in the exact same spot where he had left it and sighed before returning it to his wallet. When he hung up the phone, he shortly glanced at my simple black dress, informed me that we were leaving and ushered me towards the door. He seemed to be detached and lost in thought.

“Isabelle...” He stopped me by the door to tell me something, but when I turned around he just looked at me like he wanted to share something delicate, but didn’t know how.

“I’ll try my best not to embarrass you,” I said quietly, convinced he wanted to warn me about my behavior just like at his parent’s house.

He looked at me with what seemed to be surprise on his face. “That’s not...” He sighed. “You couldn’t embarrass me,” he said in a soft voice and let go of my elbow.

Astonished by his words, I didn’t know what to say and we remained on the same spot for a few moments, staring at each other.

“We should go.” He finally regained his dominance and put himself together.

***

The ride to the fundraiser went by in a gloomy atmosphere. Both of us were lost in our own world. That woman’s words that everything would turn out to be okay troubled my mind. I glanced at Sebastian, wondering if it could be even partially true, but the look in his murky eyes didn’t give me much hope.

After minutes of awkward silence in the car, we arrived at the location where the fundraiser was held. Instead of being relieved, I freaked out when I saw all of the reporters around our car and in front of the building. Sebastian got out first and then took my hand, helping me out of the car. He gently placed his hand on the small of my back and I felt goose bumps from the contact. Reporters screamed his name, begging him to answer only one question or to allow them to take one shot of us, but he kept ignoring them and led me straight inside.

The feeling of not belonging swept over me the very second we entered the magnificent hall filled with conceited high-class society members who always managed to intimidate me. Maybe I had a wild imagination, but I got the impression that a lot of people knew who I was and I could feel them staring at me with stern condemnation.

“Relax. I’m here,” Sebastian whispered in my ear when he noticed I was distressed.

It was easier said than done, because when we sat at our table, all I could think of was that Sebastian would leave me alone like he had at his parent’s dinner party. Luckily, his evil sister wasn’t lurking around with her vile plans to humiliate me, but I also didn’t have anyone else I knew around me. I was dependent solely on Sebastian and that made me uncomfortable. Despite my fears that he would leave me by myself in a room filled with stuck-up, rich people, he didn’t leave our table at any moment. Several people had approached him and he had introduced me to them. They all congratulated us on our marriage and he thanked them with a smile that seemed to be so genuine that even I believed it. His abilities to deceive people were extraordinary. But even though he was very talkative and nice to those people who would come to greet him, his coldness would return the moment we were left alone. He observed me the entire time like he was intensively thinking about something.

“Well, if it isn’t the notorious Sebastian Everett. Long time, no see.” I heard a deep baritone voice and when I looked up I saw a young man standing next to our table.

“Ethan Shaffer, you, of all people, call me notorious?” Sebastian teased the man. “It’s been a long time since college indeed. How’s the oil business?” I realized the man was Sebastian’s colleague from college.

“Flourishing!” Ethan laughed and Sebastian joined him. I’d never actually seen him laugh before and he seemed to be a completely different person when he was carefree. “But I don’t want to talk about business. Who’s the lovely lady?” Ethan smiled at me and looked at Sebastian.

“My wife,” Sebastian replied simply.

“Oh, did it happen at last? I’m Ethan.” He offered his hand and just when I was about to say my name, he forestalled me. “Nice to finally meet you, Cora.”

I momentarily froze at his words and deep blush covered my cheeks.

Sebastian became serious and looked at Ethan with an upset look on his face. “Her name is Isabelle.” A courteous smile twisted his lips.

Ethan seemed to be flabbergasted, ashamed and confused at the same time. “I apologize. Please forgive me, Isabelle,” he told me and returned his attention to Sebastian. “I just thought... you know since college, when you said...” He felt uncomfortable about his hasty assumption about who I was.

Sebastian shrugged. “Well, it didn’t work out.”

“Yes, well... You certainly don’t need to feel sorry about that when you have this beauty sitting across the table from you.” He laughed again trying to remedy the bad situation his comment had caused, but Sebastian’s cold demeanor gave the impression that he didn’t think Ethan’s comment was funny. “Again, I apologize for my mistake. I have to go to my table. It was nice to see you again, man. We’ll keep in touch!” He patted Sebastian on the shoulder and rushed away.

I was still blushing because of Ethan’s comment and Sebastian observed as I struggled with my discomfort.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently. “I should have introduced the two of you immediately and then he wouldn’t have made that wrong assumption.”

I took my time to compose myself and then I said something stupid. “I’m sorry as well. I know you would have been a lot happier if Cora was the one sitting across the table from you right now.” The words spilled from my lips before I got the chance to think about what I was saying.

His murky eyes suddenly looked at me in a threatening manner, like they were condemning me with their green depths. “You should stop trying to decode what I think or how I feel, because you’re doing a very lousy job at it.” His voice was like fire that managed to melt me and I found myself wrapped up in a tangled web of his mesmerizing words.

I care. 
The remembrance of his admission came back into my mind with a full force that swept over me. For a few short ridiculous moments, I struggled to come up with something to say, but nothing came to mind. I was speechless. 

The rest of the evening went by in painful slowness. Sebastian and I didn’t share another word, but he never took his eyes away from me and the more he looked at me, the more I was intrigued by the man that lay behind that icy cold, arrogant surface. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about him was different. Something had changed.