The Curiosities Concerning Fate

∷ Chapter 39 ∷

SEBASTIAN SAT IN his study, staring at his phone. The house was eerily quiet at two in the morning, yet he couldn't seem to fall asleep with too many thoughts crowding his mind. For some reason or other, he couldn't stop thinking about Michael Griffith and his agenda for murder. It worried him that his wife's safety was at stake.

He hated Michael Griffith for abusing Adine. He hated the man for hitting her so many times, the result of which caused a tumour to form in her brain. He hated him for being so deluded by his mind, that he'd wish death upon his child for a purpose that held no weight.

But for all that he hated in Michael Griffith, he realised that he too shared similar qualities.

He wanted revenge on a man who had destroyed his father's career and tainted his good name. It wasn't simply revenge he wanted, it was death. He wanted the man to die, and he wanted to be the one to strangle the life out of him.

Sebastian had spent years of his life focused on the idea of revenge, he hadn't actually lived. Everything he did revolved around his need to kill Jeremy Eaton. He would do anything at the expense of ruining his life if it meant a chance at ruining theirs in the process.

But as he sat in his office in the early hours of the morning, he found himself doing something he was unaccustomed to: he hesitated.

He wanted very much to blame his stupid fixation for all the turmoil ravaging his mind, but he couldn't. Not really. Because if it wasn't for his desperate need for revenge, he would never have met Adine, and he would never have married her.

As unbearably cliché as it sounded, she was by far the best accidental regret to have ever happened to him in all his miserable years of living.

He hated Michael Griffith . . . But if he carried through with his plans for murder, wouldn't that make him just as bad? What right did he have to face Adine if he was equal to her father whose only sole purpose in life was to end hers?

Yet, he couldn't bring himself to forgive and forget. He spent years of his life planning the perfect murder, the perfect end for a despicable person like Jeremy Eaton. He simply could not toss everything away that easily.

Sebastian remained lost in his thoughts, staring at the ceiling when a sudden occurrence hit him. He didn't have to commit murder, but that didn't mean he couldn't avenge his father's death. There was more than one way of ending a man's life as Jeremy had so willingly expressed all those years ago.

But what would be the perfect way to frame the bastard?

Sebastian clasped his hands, mulling over the details of his new plan. He couldn't think of something concrete just yet, but he had a vague idea of what might work. He grabbed his phone, scrolled through his contacts and called the person he had in mind; oblivious to the time.

The call went straight to voicemail but Sebastian wasn't in the mood to talk to a machine. He called a second time, and a third, before the line clicked and a groggy voice mumbled a greeting on the other end.

"What took you so long to answer?" Sebastian asked.

"What . . . ? Who is this?"

"Sebastian."

There was a pause as though his identity was being registered before Sebastian heard the sounds of rustling sheets.

"Seb . . ." Parker groaned, his voice much more alert now. "It's almost three in the morning. Why are you calling me?"

"I need your opinion."

"You couldn't wait until a reasonable time to call?"

"No. This is important."