A single "good night" was enough to give Sydney Sawyer a sleepless night...
Around midnight, she sent a text to her friend, not expecting her to be awake. But the friend called her right back. Sydney Sawyer cleared her throat. "Why are you still up?"
"I'm working on my presentation for my thesis defense. But what about you? You said you were going on a blind date, but then you went radio silent all day. How was it? Was he handsome? Did you like him?"
"No."
"Then why are you still up so late? What's on your mind?"
"I'm into his uncle."
After two seconds of silence, the voice on the other end of the line exploded. "Sydney Sawyer, I knew you were destined for great things!"
"..."
"I've been obsessed with older-man romance novels lately. Does his uncle just ooze that mature man charm? Older men are the best! They're mature, reserved, and easy to push over. World-weary and full of flavor. The taste of an older man... is simply divine."
Sydney Sawyer's head was starting to ache. 'Where does she even learn this stuff?' She cut her off.
"His uncle is Sebastian Lockwood."
"?" The friend paused for several seconds before saying, "You mean... your first love?"
"Yeah." Sydney Sawyer sighed and then recounted the day's events to her in painstaking detail.
Her friend analyzed the situation seriously. "So the reason you're not sleeping is that you're planning to wait for him to fall asleep, climb through the window to the apartment next door, launch a midnight sneak attack, and pounce on him, right?"
"I am not!" Sydney Sawyer was at her wit's end. 'What is going on in her head?'
"I think you should give it a try."
"..."
"It's been so many years. Running into him again is amazing. But is he married? Does he have a girlfriend? Don't tell me he even has kids..."
The question stopped Sydney Sawyer in her tracks. Lost in the shock and joy of reuniting with Sebastian Lockwood, she had overlooked the most critical detail:
Was he still single?
She couldn't ask him directly, and it would be even more awkward to ask the Wyatts. She truly didn't get a wink of sleep that night.
In a daze, she dreamt of the Sebastian Lockwood from years ago...
Dashing and high-spirited, he radiated an untamable wildness.
A world of difference from the scholarly-looking man with a roguish charm he was now.
She even dreamt she had turned into a cat, snuggling against him in his arms and meowing nonstop...
**
The next day, Sydney Sawyer was woken up by the sound of the window next door being sealed.
It was already past ten when she woke up. She realized she hadn't drawn the curtains last night. The bright sunlight streamed directly into her bedroom, a little blinding. She fumbled for her phone on the nightstand to check it.
She had several missed calls, one from her father, Edwin Sawyer, and another from Regina Lockwood.
Regina Lockwood was likely just feeling that she hadn't been a good host yesterday and wanted to make it up to her by inviting her over.
"Auntie, I just moved into my new place and I'm a bit busy. How about I visit you in a couple of days?" Sydney Sawyer politely declined her invitation.
"That works too. Let me know anytime if you need help with anything."
"Thank you. I appreciate you thinking of me."
After hanging up, Regina Lockwood couldn't help but sigh, which made Andrea Wyatt, who was beside her, frown. "Mom, I don't like her. You can stop wasting your energy."
Hearing this, Regina Lockwood's anger flared. "Do you really think you're such a catch? Didn't you understand what she said back then? She's not interested in you at all!"
"If she's not interested, then why did she even show up yesterday?"
"I swear, you've let romance rot your brain. You and that Kiara Dillon are a perfect match—one of you is brainless, and the other has something wrong with her head."
Andrea Wyatt's face turned pale, completely speechless.
Regina Lockwood continued, "She's considerate and only went because she didn't want to embarrass me. If her mother found out her daughter was treated so poorly, she would definitely demand an explanation from me. Given what you did, isn't it only right for you to apologize to her?"
"You saw your uncle's attitude yesterday. If you don't handle this well, it's hard to say what will happen to our Wyatt Family in the future."
The mention of Sebastian Lockwood finally made Andrea Wyatt turn serious. "It's usually hard to even get a meeting with him. Why did he suddenly show up yesterday...?"
Seeing that he was finally taking this seriously, Regina Lockwood went on:
"I don't need to explain the reasons why our family has been able to develop so well over the years. Even though he's a doctor, you know exactly how much influence he has in the Lockwood Family. Don't let him think you're just some love-struck fool who's unfit for important tasks."
Andrea Wyatt nodded. He knew full well which was more important: romance or his future.
**
The Emperian
Sebastian Lockwood was off today. The handyman had already sealed the window. Timmy Lockwood was lying in his arms, seemingly having strong objections to the sealed window. It stood by the window, meowing nonstop.
"You want to climb through the window to the apartment next door that badly?" Sebastian Lockwood chuckled.
"Meow—" Timmy Lockwood paced back and forth by the window.
Something outside seemed to have caught its attention, and it was looking for a gap to get out.
Sebastian Lockwood walked over and scooped Timmy Lockwood up from the floor. Only then did he notice Sydney Sawyer downstairs, likely just returning from shopping.
"You like her?" Sebastian Lockwood asked, stroking the cat.
"Meow."
"You don't have to climb through the window to go to her place. We can use the front door in the future. Or..." Sebastian Lockwood stared at the small figure downstairs, "...we can have her come over."
Timmy Lockwood seemed to agree wholeheartedly with this suggestion, burrowing deeper into his arms.
...
Meanwhile, Sydney Sawyer was in a daze all day due to her lack of sleep.
She went to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities she was missing. The whole time, she was either yawning her head off or sneezing nonstop. 'Could I be coming down with a cold?'
She groggily made it through the day. That evening, she discovered some red spots on her neck.
She didn't think much of it at first, but when she woke up from a nap, the red spots hadn't faded. In fact, there were more of them, and some had even appeared on her arms. They were a little itchy, too.
After letting out another unexpected sneeze, she frowned slightly.
'I remember what Sebastian Lockwood said in the car... plane tree fluff?'
'Could I be having an allergic reaction?'
Sydney Sawyer wasn't sure what was causing the rash and didn't dare take any medication randomly. After hesitating, she registered for a dermatology appointment at the nearest hospital the following afternoon.
She was bundled up securely, wearing a hat and a face mask.
The closest hospital to The Emperian was the Municipal First Hospital.
This hospital was nationally renowned for its oncology and cancer treatment, with people from all over the country coming for its reputation. It was close to the end of business hours, so it wasn't too crowded.
Sydney Sawyer followed the signs to find the department.
There weren't many people taking the elevator, as most were used to coming for appointments early in the morning.
But she never expected that when the elevator doors opened, she would see a familiar figure. He was wearing a face mask that revealed the high bridge of his nose, along with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. His eyes were long and narrow, upturned slightly at the corners.
His white coat was exceptionally well-fitted, making him look even more coolly detached and serene.
At that moment, he noticed Sydney Sawyer as well. Although she was wearing a hat and mask, her eyes were particularly striking.
They seemed to hold fragments of light, gentle and beautiful.
Sebastian Lockwood's gaze fell on the registration slip clutched in her hand, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
Beside him were a man and a woman, both in white coats but without masks. Seeing Sebastian Lockwood staring at the young woman outside the elevator, the female doctor asked in a gentle voice, "Is that someone you know?"
"Mhm." Sebastian Lockwood nodded.
The male doctor chuckled. "We've known each other for so many years, and we're practically inseparable at work, but I've never seen you say you're familiar with any young lady. Who is this...?"
Sydney Sawyer pressed her lips together. Her voice came out muffled through her mask as she called out, "Uncle."
The two of them froze. "..."
"I never knew you had a niece this old," the female doctor said, smiling at Sebastian Lockwood.
The way she looked at him gave her away. A woman's intuition told Sydney Sawyer that this female doctor liked Sebastian Lockwood. Her friend's words came back to her:
'Is he still single?'