Chapter 5
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Sebastian rushed to the security office, begging to check the surveillance footage.
The security guard didn’t even look at him. Everyone knew Sebastian had fallen from grace–broke and down on his uck.
But when he slapped a thick stack of cash on the table, the guard finally moved and pulled up the footage.
There, on the screen, was Emma leaving the complex with her suitcase. Not long before that, Jared had been seen en- ring.
Without a second thought, Sebastian sped through the night to Jared’s place and pounded furiously on the door.
red opened it, bleary–eyed, still half–asleep, only to be greeted by a flurry of Sebastian’s punches raining down like a
orm.
Wait! Wait! Let’s talk, okay?” Jared cried, shielding himself as best he could.
bastian yanked Jared by the collar, eyes blazing.
id you take Emma? Is she here?”
red grabbed Sebastian’s wrists, trying to calm him down.
mma? She’s been avoiding me for years! Why would she come to me?”
pastian’s brows furrowed at the way Jared quickly distanced himself from the situation.
Edn’t you get her in college? I saw her leaning on your shoulder, laughing like she didn’t have a care in the world. s that all fake?”
ed gave an awkward grin.
et her’? Please. Courtney slipped her something that night—some sleeping pills or whatever. I didn’t do anything
ous.”
chuckled, eyes gleaming with a sleazy smirk. “Not gonna lie, she was way hotter than Courtney. You were too ob- ed with Courtney to see it. Honestly, man, you missed out.”
moment those words landed, Sebastian’s mind went completely blank–like a bomb had gone off in his head.
hat Jared said was true… If Emma never betrayed him, if everything was just part of Courtney’s scheme….
n all those years of ignoring Emma, mistreating her, blaming her–they weren’t just wrong. They were unforgiv-
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Chapter 5
Without another word, Sebastian turned and drove straight to Courtney’s place.
As soon as she opened the door, he grabbed her hand and tried to drag her out, not caring at all that she was pregnant.
“Sebastian, what are you doing?”
Courtney clung to the doorframe, panicking.
All Sebastian could see was Emma–her pain, her humiliation, the injustice she’d suffered. It made him want to punch himself in the face.
But first, he needed answers.
“That time in college, you told me Emma went to a hotel with Jared. What the hell was that about?”
Courtney had never seen Sebastian this furious. Her face turned pale. “Why are you asking me? Go ask her why she betrayed you!”
J
Sebastian had no patience left. He pulled out his phone and played the recording of Jared’s confession.
As the recording played, Courtney’s face turned darker and darker. When it ended, she muttered under her breath, “What a coward. Can’t even keep a secret.”
“Sebastian, I only did it because I loved you so much. You kept ignoring me, and I…”
Slap!
A crisp slap echoed through the apartment.
Sebastian’s eyes were bloodshot.
He looked at his hand, then started laughing–and crying–at the same time.
“You gave Jared the key today, didn’t you?
“You ruined me. You made me lose Emma for good. You pushed her straight into hell.”
Before Courtney could react, Sebastian tightened his grip on her wrist and dragged her toward the door.
He kept muttering to himself as he drove.
“This baby can’t stay.
“If there’s no Courtney and no child, Emma will forgive me. She has to.”
He wasn’t watching the road. His mind was spinning, and in a split second, the car slammed into the guardrail with a sickening crunch. The front end of the car crumpled on impact.
When Sebastian woke up, the sharp smell of antiseptic filled the air. He was in a hospital bed.
Next to him were Mark and Casey, their eyes red from crying.
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Chapter 5
Courtney stood nearby, her baby bump intact, her arm wrapped in a bandage. She hadn’t been seriously hurt.
288 Vouchers
Sebastian reached out, voice raspy. “Courtney, you’re already at the hospital. Good. Get rid of the baby. I don’t want it. If the baby’s gone, Emma might come back…”
He reached out again to grab her, nearly falling out of the bed.
Casey punched him hard in the chest.
“If you regret it so much, why did you do it in the first place?
“I only pushed you two to get married because I thought Emma was a good girl and didn’t want you to miss your