The person before her drew closer and closer, and Sydney Sawyer felt a wave of panic wash over her.
In the next second, Sebastian Lockwood suddenly raised his arm and reached for her. She instinctively leaned back, but he gripped her wrist tightly, preventing her from pulling away.
His fingers were already gently brushing aside a stray lock of hair by her ear.
"Your hair is a mess."
Sleepiness clung to his voice, making it husky and deep.
It was like sandpaper grazing her ear, making it itch.
"Oh," Sydney Sawyer nodded in acknowledgment.
But after a few seconds, the hand lingering by the side of her face didn't pull away. Instead, he gently tucked her hair behind her ear, his fingertips unintentionally brushing against it...
Warm, soft.
Already on high alert, Sydney Sawyer was like a startled cat, wanting to shrink back.
But Sebastian Lockwood was still holding her hand, so her attempt to dodge resulted in a pull.
Caught completely off guard—
she was suddenly yanked forward. But Sebastian Lockwood's glasses were still clutched in her hand. If she fell on him just like that, the temple arm would surely get bent or broken.
To prevent that from happening, Sydney Sawyer subconsciously braced her hand on the back of the sofa, next to his head.
Sydney Sawyer's intention was to support herself and avoid falling on him, but she had forgotten about the soft cushion on the sofa's backrest.
As she pushed down, her hand sank into the soft cushion, offering no support at all, and her body went down with it...
With no time to break her fall, her lips touched his forehead.
Then, the tip of her nose brushed against his face before finally coming to rest against his jaw.
!?
Sydney Sawyer's mind went completely blank.
She could feel that Sebastian Lockwood seemed to have frozen as well. From her current angle, she had a clear view of his Adam's apple, its distinct outline bobbing noticeably.
And his scorching breath...
washed over her face, completely overwhelming her.
It was hurried and fervent.
It mirrored her own chaotic heartbeat, which pounded so hard it was suffocating.
A dark glint flickered in Sebastian Lockwood's eyes. Given their current position, it looked as if Sydney Sawyer had him pinned against the sofa.
"I'm sorry..." Sydney Sawyer's mind was in chaos as she scrambled to get up.
Sebastian Lockwood let go of her wrist, but in her frantic haste, she seemed to forget about the glasses in her hand. With a SNAP—
one of the temple arms broke.
Sydney Sawyer wanted to cry but couldn't. It was a classic case of Murphy's Law.
"Sorry, the glasses... I think they're broken."
Sebastian Lockwood took the glasses from her. One of the temple arms was hanging precariously.
He shook them slightly, as if to check the extent of the damage. The arm, which hadn't completely broken off yet, let out another crisp snap...
and broke off completely.
'Now they're really broken!'
"It's fine," he said with a small smile.
'Now that I've confirmed the identity of the 'underpants kid,' what's a broken pair of glasses?'
'Besides, I had an unexpected gain tonight.'
"I'll buy you a new pair."
"Sure."
"It must be inconvenient for you to see and walk around without your glasses. Do you have a spare pair at home? I can go get them for you."
"A spare pair..." Sebastian Lockwood raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so."
Sydney Sawyer frowned. 'How come I remember him having a black-framed pair in addition to the gold-rimmed ones?'
But since he insisted he didn't, Sydney Sawyer couldn't press the issue.
Just then, Sebastian Lockwood stood up, seemingly preparing to head home. But he was squinting, looking as if he couldn't see a thing.
Sydney Sawyer frowned. "Are you sure you can get home like that?"
Sebastian Lockwood nodded. "It should be fine. It's my own home, after all."
The implication was:
Even if he couldn't see clearly, it wouldn't be a problem.
In Sydney Sawyer's experience, people who wore glasses all the time usually had a strong prescription. She felt uneasy about him going home alone, so she tentatively suggested, "Why don't you sleep in Chester's room tonight?"
"Would that be convenient?"
"It's no trouble at all, as long as you don't mind."
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
**
Later, after Sydney Sawyer finished a quick cleanup and lay down in bed, she still felt a bit dazed.
'Sebastian Lockwood is actually sleeping over at my house?'
That brush and graze on the sofa had left her mind in a fog. Everything that happened afterward felt like a dream.
It all happened in a flash, and she didn't even have time to process it. Now, as she tried hard to recall, more details began to magnify in her mind. His warm breath seemed to still linger around her.
'I actually pinned Sebastian Lockwood to the sofa.'
'I'm going crazy!'
After letting her thoughts run wild for a while longer, she remembered to check her phone. The vibration from earlier had been a message from Chester Sawyer.
Sydney Sawyer ignored the content of his message and replied, telling him to get some rest.
But Chester replied:
[Sis, with your charm, I think if you just put in a little effort, your brother-in-law will be all yours.]
Meanwhile, sleeping in the next room, Sebastian Lockwood subconsciously touched his forehead, picked up the glasses with the broken temple, and smiled silently.
He sent a message to Donovan Sheridan, asking about Chester's condition.
Donovan Sheridan had just gotten destroyed in a game. Receiving the message fanned the flames of his anger:
[Sebastian Lockwood, are you even fucking human? I pulled an all-nighter yesterday, and knowing you weren't here, I brought them breakfast and dinner. Is this how you treat me?]
[Thank you.]
Donovan Sheridan was dumbfounded when he saw the thank-you message.
They had studied under the same mentor and had known each other for many years, but Sebastian had never been this polite.
[Whatever, it wasn't a big deal.]
[To thank you, I'll treat you to a meal some other day.]
[Now you're talking like a decent human being!]
[You didn't get to drink much at the last gathering. This time, I'll have a proper drink with you.]
Donovan Sheridan gritted his teeth:
[Sebastian Lockwood, screw you! Just be a decent person, for once!]
Chester Sawyer was playing on his PSP. He caught a glimpse of Donovan Sheridan texting with gritted teeth and frowned, assuming he had gotten destroyed in his game again...
He had sworn up and down that they would play together, that he would carry him and crush some noobs, but in the end, they were the weaklings getting crushed.
'So old, yet he's all addiction and no skill!'
"Mr. Shaw, do you have a girlfriend?"
Donovan Sheridan was mentally stabbing a voodoo doll and cursing someone when the sudden question made him pause. "No."
Chester Sawyer nodded. "You're about thirty, right?"
"What about it?"
"You're so busy with work all the time, you shouldn't get addicted to games. You really need to pay more attention to the important matter of settling down."
Donovan Sheridan was flabbergasted:
'Holy crap!'
'What's with this underage kid talking to me with the tone of a concerned old father?'