Warning: This chapter contains content that may not be suitable for some readers
Sebastian was half annoyed while dressing up cause even Sam was not around in the other house. Sam had informed him he would be at Lucky Clover for the day. He dragged himself home to get ready when a text message from his lawyer came.
It was the piece of news he had been waiting for, informing him that they had received his divorce papers from Janice. For a moment, he thought he read it wrongly. He re-read the text message several times but still doubted the fact. He could not help but feel like it was all a trap or a plot to a hidden agenda.
However, he still let the fact dawn on him that he was finally getting a divorce, whether it was a trap or not. He smiled at his reflection in the mirror before trying to call Violet, whose phone was turned off. It disappointed him again as he texted her to inform her of the happy piece of news, but still no replies came even after an hour, when he was about to head into a talk show with Wayne on their new movie.
He wondered if she was still on the plane or stuck somewhere. He could not check with his sister, Carrisa, in Kung Tap like that because he wanted to tell her he was dating Violet face to face and explain personally to avoid any misunderstandings. Besides, he was not sure if she was heading to Kung Tap since the exams were in Phut Bi.
The thought of heading to Kung Tap soon when he finished his contract with the agency crossed his mind as he smiled to himself. Wayne noticed Violet was not around as he nudged Sebastian, who nodded with his chin pointed out as though asking what he wanted.
"Alone?" Wayne checked, watching Sebastian's smile diminish to a pout as he nodded.
"Good luck…" Wayne said before leaving, noticing Fang Li coming up to Sebastian.
"So, you're back working with me. Here's the summary of schedules…" Fang Li's voice was so ignorant of whether he was listening or not that he was ignorant of whatever she was talking about before filtering out her voice.
All he could catch was that he needed to report everything to her, which he ignored, but the last part caught his attention. "Because Violet will not be returning from now on. Make sure you report everything to me." Fang Li repeated twice, which annoyed the hell out of his disoriented self the whole morning for not being able to reach Violet.
"She's returning…" He corrected, but Fang Li sternly told him "no" several times.
"What's your problem?!" He blasted at Fang Li, who scoffed at him.
"You had no idea, didn't you? She made a deal with Mr. Cao. She is leaving for good; otherwise you're not going to have such a relaxing schedule. Mr. Cao is scheduling more shows and advertisements for you to work on to make his money spent on you worth it." Fang Li's revelation made Sebastian want to retaliate, only for Penny to stop him discreetly by pretending to accidentally knock a packet drink hitting him to distract his attention before apologising profusely. Fang Li then left him to check with Sam while Penny lingered around him to ensure he did not act rashly.
"What do you mean you don't know?!" Sebastian's mood was clearly getting more foul as Sam, who was waiting for Jade while working on Maliwei's upcoming comic launch, began to divert his attention to her uncontactable sister.
"Alright, I will track her down and get back to you. Meanwhile, don't act rashly. Keep your cool." Sam's warning made Sebastian take a shuddering deep breath as Penny hesitated in wanting to let him know the truth for fear it might spoil Violet's plans.
Sam had no clue at all that Violet was up to something. While trying to reach her to no avail, Jade arrived at his office doorstep.
"I'm all yours now!!" Jade greeted him before leaping into his open arms. Sam was very delighted to hold her in his arms after so long. He kissed her on the forehead, but she noticed he was distracted and upset.
"What's wrong? I came at the wrong time? Work?" She quickly checked as he sighed.
"No, no… It's just Vi…" He sighed heavily. "What happened? What's wrong?" She too began to panic as he explained the situation to her.
"I'm sure she knows best. You need to trust her to deal with the situation herself since she had decided to deal with it this way." Jade tried to be rational with Sam.
"I know you're worried about her safety… Just check on her occasionally within the day, and hopefully she replies. I will also reach out to her, alright?" Jade continued to coax him as he finally took a good look at his fiancée before smiling.
"You must be so tired… You should be asleep now instead of worrying bout me…" He lamented while holding on to her cheeks, to which she smiled sweetly.
"Nothing beats seeing your smile and holding you again! I have waited so long for this! I finally did it. That win was everything the career Jade wanted, but you… You are everything the human Jade wants from the very beginning. Thank you for never giving up on us. Thank you for not pushing me away… Thank you for saving me…" Her tears welled as he pulled her in for a passionate kiss.
"So… What can I help with as your new colleague?" Jade questioned the moment they broke away from their kiss, to which he shook his head.
"Get some rest first with the little one. You should be sleeping a lot for him or her to grow during the first trimester…" Sam reminded her before they were interrupted by a phone call.
It was an emergency. While Sebastian was about to head in for the show, he was caught off guard by reporters asking him about his recent cooking show.
Did you use a stand-in?
Do you really know how to cook?
Did you know how to build a fire?
Can you tell us the right way to start the fire on a charcoal pit?
The questions were as though they had not watched the whole episode, cause he was very sure there was an up close of him chopping and cooking, with his half body shown. It agitated him even more that there was still no response from Violet.
While being taunted by doubted truth if violet was leaving for good, he realised popping some anxiety pills earlier was either too late, that it was not working this time or entirely useless, as though they were expired or just simply ineffective anymore. In fact, he also took one sleeping pill, which he often misused to make his anxiety pills more effective, though he knew it was wrong to mix his medication dangerously that way.
However, he still failed to control his anxiety, and everything reminded him of Violet. Instead of staying calm, he began to fear the thought of losing her and could not help but suspect that all of it had something to do with the agency.
While trying to cope with all that was on his mind and the reporters, he subconsciously gave in to his anxiety before collapsing from a panic attack.
Violet was diligently studying the whole time. Even having lunch did not keep her off her notes. However, the news on the television in the cafe she was in reporting breaking news of Sebastian fainting earlier that day redirected her attention to it.
That was when she hastily remembered to switch on her phone to find Sam's message.
Return for a night. Let him see you for assurance and explain to him whatever you did.
P.S: He is having a breakdown from anxiety and being caught off guard by your unannounced permanent departure.
She knew it was serious. Her greatest fear started to surface. All she could think of was Sebastian and his mental well-being. She dropped everything and booked the next flight back while anxiously checking the news.
The newspaper headline shocked Violet, thinking Sebastian really was committing suicide from overdosing on sleeping pills due to his divorce saga. If it were not for Sam, who had pre-empted her about the reporters exaggerating the news, she might really be the next to suffer from an anxiety breakdown.
Upon arrival at the hospital after a rushed flight, she had no time to think or put on her disguise as she texted Sam to tell him of his arrival. It was her first time in the longest period ever to see Sam's haggard, distressed look again.
Tears stung her eyes, wondering how severe the case was this time. Sam gave her a tight comforting hug before staring right into her worried gaze.
"You were threatened, weren't you?" He asked sternly, to which she closed her eyes and shook her head.
"It's really for the exam. I was going to return… I was studying the whole day! What the hell just happened? I was really telling the truth that I am to be away for …" Violet paused when she noticed Sam gave her a look like he knew everything.
"You knew?" She mumbled at the dissatisfaction of being unable to hide anything from him.
"Penny spilled everything… Why didn't you tell me?" Sam pestered, but she was more worried about Sebastian to the verge of breaking down.
"Vi… He is fine. Are you fine?" His simple question swept her storm of emotions to rest as she finally realised she had been lying to herself.
She shook her head before tears welled.