The Cursed Proposal

Chapter 11: The Weight of a Gaze

Sebastian arrived at his office, flanked by reporters. His poker face was firmly in place as he strode forward confidently, guarded by his team who kept the reporters at bay as they bombarded him with questions. Sebastian was determined to win this case and wouldn't let them see him falter.

"Is Ms. Lane using you to climb the social ladder? She seems like the type who gets close to powerful men for favors," one reporter sneered. Sebastian stopped and slowly turned to face the source of the comment.

A hush fell over the crowd, the air growing heavy with the chill of his silent fury. The reporter's confidence wavered under Sebastian's piercing stare. He swallowed hard, trying to maintain eye contact but faltering under the weight of Sebastian's gaze.

Sebastian stood firm, his posture unyielding, one hand slipping into his pocket as he regarded the reporter with a devilish smile. Without a word, he turned and continued inside, leaving the reporter rooted to the spot, as if turned to stone by the weight of his unspoken warning.

Sebastian was boiling inside but knew he couldn't worsen Kaya's reputation by reacting to the reporter's mockery. He needed to be strategic and cunning. The news kept pouring in like water through a broken dam, flooding the area and drowning everything in its path. He was deep in the mire of his bad reputation, but he was determined to keep his "sunshine" safe and untouched by the corruption surrounding him.

"At last, the young boy is here. Office hours start at 8, boy. Did your nanny forget to wake you up?" A voice jolted Sebastian from his thoughts. Victor Hale sat in Sebastian's chair, glaring at him as if he owned the place.

"I see, I'm late. Fortunately, the company still runs smoothly, even if I am. But don't worry, I'm sure it's thriving under your watchful eye in my absence." Sebastian confidently strolled down the hall, as if he were on a fashion show runway. He stood beside Victor's chair, subtly applying pressure to make him relinquish it. It seemed to be working splendidly.

Victor, clearly unsettled but determined to win this round, said, "Make sure you don't drive this company into the ground. I mean, you missed out on the Chinese deal. If you can be nice to me, I might work some magic for you."

Sebastian chuckled lightly, leaning in just enough to make his presence unavoidable. "Victor, if your magic involves sabotaging opportunities, I'd rather we stick to reality. The Chinese deal is just one of many, and I'm not in the business of begging for favors—especially not from someone trying to claw their way up by sitting in my chair. But if you're really so eager to help, I'm sure we can find a role that suits your... expertise."

Victor's face flushed with anger. As he stormed out, he bumped into Margaret, spilling hot tea on himself. Margaret tried to apologize, but it only fueled Victor's rage as he yelled about how she would be fired if he were her boss. Sebastian laughed, and Margaret joined him.

"Well, if he were my boss—wait, that will never happen because I quit," Margaret said with a playful tone. Sebastian chuckled, reflecting on how much had changed. His life, once all about seriousness and professionalism, now seemed filled with unexpected cheerfulness. His polished secretary was now a cheerful, childish girl, and his serious butler had become a teasing old man.

"Hey Margaret, have you always been like this?" Sebastian asked, curious if something had changed or if he was just seeing her differently now.

"What are you talking about, boss? I've never changed. You are," Margaret replied with a smile, preparing her tablet for the morning brief. Sebastian's smile faded as he wondered, Was he the one who had changed?

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Sebastian was finishing his work when he got an email from Oliver about the result of his investigation. Apparently, the one who wrote about the first scandal news was a reporter named Dimitri Malcolm. According to Oliver, he was a small reporter who became big after he wrote about Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's separation before anybody else. However, he wasn't the one who wrote about Kaya.

Sebastian flipped to the next page, where a photo of a woman appeared - Hannah Doyle. Oliver wrote that it was Hannah who wrote about Kaya having an affair with Alex. The page mentioned that Hannah worked at Hainz Publishing Company, and a CCTV picture showed Hannah talking with another woman identified by Oliver as Jade Alonski, Kaya's previous editor or supervisor. Apparently, Alex fired Jade discovering she was responsible for spreading rumors about an affair between Alex and Kaya. Jade uses her position to eliminate her competitor in the office and her last victim was Kaya. Oliver concluded his investigation with Jade's detailed address and phone number.

Sebastian called Alex to discuss Oliver's finding. Alex who didn't remember firing anyone agreed to come to Sebastian's house to talk this through with everybody. Sebastian then texted Ethan, Liam, and Jackson, asking them to come over that evening and quickly finish his work.

                                                                                             ***

As the sun began to set, Sebastian arrived at his house with the others, except for Alex and Emily, who had arrived a bit earlier. Ethan and Liam greeted Sebastian and asked about Kaya's condition. Ethan was already boiling with anger over the reporters. He even mentioned that he had prepared lawsuits to sue all the reporters for defamation and bullying. Sebastian appreciated Ethan's effort but was concerned about his well-being since he was very protective and short-tempered. Although Ethan had never lost in court, Sebastian worried that his intensity could be a drawback.

Everyone entered the living room, and Sebastian went straight to where Kaya was. Kaya welcomed Sebastian warmly into her arms. Jackson followed Sebastian, as he was the only one who hadn't met Kaya before.

"Kaya, this is Jackson Darer. He is the last of us that you didn't meet at Alex's gala," Sebastian introduced. Kaya extended her hand to shake, but Jackson pulled her hand and kissed it. Sebastian was taken aback; he hadn't anticipated Jackson making a move. He closed his eyes tightly, mentally repeating that Kaya wasn't his, trying to convince himself.

"Yes, how do you do Mr. Darer," Kaya replied, shifting a bit closer to Sebastian. A smile unexpectedly appeared on Sebastian's face as he realized Kaya didn't appreciate Jackson's touch. Every girl usually loved Jackson's flirtatious behavior, and sometimes Sebastian wished he had Jackson's confidence with women, but right now, he was glad he didn't.

After the introduction, they moved to Sebastian's study to discuss Oliver's findings. Every time, Sebastian talked about anything relating to Alex's company, Kaya became angry with Alex for not knowing anything. Emily had to calm both Kaya and Alex down and remind them of the peace treaty they had just agreed on. Ethan suggested setting a trap at the location where Hannah and Jade would have another meeting to gather hard evidence.

"But, why would Hannah believe Jade's accusation? I mean, Hainz is a respectable publishing company, which means there must be some evidence that Hannah found out by herself about the affair," Liam said. It made sense, Sebastian thought. If Jade had written the article herself, it would be based on her experience and knowledge, but to have someone else write about it meant Jade had provided evidence to support her claims.

"Oh, I know what happened. Hainz has lost the publishing company appreciation award three years in a row to Titan Ink Press. This year is the worst because the article that Hainz lost was to Kaya's piece about Japan's new AI development in medical care. One of the judges for this year was Prince Matthieu Van Der Meer of Belgium. See I remember something," Alex explained with a grin, as if to prove that he knew something about his company.

"But, the evidence? How did Jade convince Hannah to write about your scandal?" Ethan asked the same question as Liam since Alex hadn't answered the crucial part.

"Duh, the picture from when we received the award. Kaya and I held hands when we were on stage and after Kaya hurt her ankle, I had to be her nanny for the rest of the night. Next time, don't wear stilettos if you can't handle them," Alex said with a mocking tone, referencing Kaya's footwear choice. Sebastian had to hold Kaya by the waist to prevent her from starting a brawl with Alex before they finished making the plan.

The discussion concluded with Sebastian outlining how the plan would proceed and what each person's tasks would be. Since Sebastian's company would hold an event next week, it would create an opportunity to expose Hannah Doyle and Jade Alonski, as the event would be open to the public.

To be Continued.