The Cursed Proposal

Chapter 19: Curiosity Scared the Cat

Sebastian felt a twinge of guilt for keeping Kaya confined to his office. He knew she wouldn't leave without informing him or Arthur first, and besides, she seemed to prefer her solitude within the mansion's walls. He had made every corner of this house as comfortable and safe as possible for whoever would share his life here. To Sebastian, Kaya's ease in this space felt like a sign—perhaps she was truly the one meant to be by his side.

After wrapping up his meeting with Margaret—who left for lunch with a knowing smirk—Sebastian returned to his office. His smile quickly faded. Kaya wasn't there, the door was unlocked, his desk was in disarray, and, most troubling of all, the archive room stood open.

Blood rushed to his heart creating a rush of pumping on his heart thinking someone dared to search his office. Sebastian's heart pounded as he crept into the room, half-expecting an intruder. But instead of a thief, he found Kaya, who squealed with excitement as she studied the shelves. Relief washed over him, mingled with exasperation. Her curiosity knew no bounds.

Sebastian felt torn. Part of him wanted to scold her for meddling in his family's secrets, yet another part couldn't help but admire the spark in her eyes, her relentless curiosity a stark contrast to his carefully guarded solitude.

An idea sparked, and he decided to have some fun with her. Might as well teach her a lesson. He was going to call her out until he noticed his father's old projection prototype on a nearby shelf, sparking a better idea to play along and give her a little scare. He quickly donned the old camouflage, adding touches of his father's projection to complete the look.

"Kaya... you shouldn't have come here."

He nearly broke character as she turned around, her face turning white as if she'd seen a ghost. Technically, she has, he thought with amusement, but he wasn't quite done with the game.

"Sir, I didn't mean to do this," she stammered, visibly shaken. But, her expression shifted into a sly grin, "Aha! I knew it was you, Bastian!" She yelled, pulling off his disguise, a proud look on her face as she exposed him.

Sebastian only grinned, shrugging off the remnants of his disguise. Well, so much for the scare tactic.

"Well, you still can't be here, Sunshine. This is my father's secret archive—no one should know about it." He folded his arms, adopting the look of a principal catching a student sneaking where they shouldn't.

"But I'm bored, Bastian. I need to do something while I relax," she replied, giving her excuse a casual tone. But he only narrowed his eyes, not buying her nonchalance. This woman would dive headfirst into an open fire out of boredom if I let her, he thought.

"Let's go, Sunshine. It's time for lunch. And leave everything behind," he ordered, already turning to the door. When he didn't hear her follow, he turned back. "Now what?"

"Shoo, I'm reading, and I'm still giving you the silent treatment," Kaya retorted, focused on one of his father's files about Project Orion. Sebastian's amusement faded, realizing that even this seemingly mundane file might hold something she shouldn't know about. He snatched it from her hands and gave it a quick scan.

"Where did you find this file?" he asked, an urgency slipping into his voice. Startled, she pointed toward the back, where boxes labeled "Project Orion" were stacked. He returned the file to her hands and began moving boxes aside, looking for whatever she'd uncovered.

Kaya held his phone's light as he dug deeper, finally finding a hidden lever behind a set of boxes. 'Of course, Father. You would make it a puzzle, wouldn't you?' He glanced at Kaya, her eyes wide with excitement. She nodded encouragingly, barely able to contain her anticipation. Taking a steadying breath, he pulled the lever.

The shelf groaned, shifting to reveal a dark, musty room beyond. The air was thick, the silence oppressive. He stepped inside, Kaya's grip tight on his arm. He groped the wall trying to find maybe a light switch or something. He switched something and the whole room created a noise as the lights turned on.

A voice suddenly echoed in the darkness, "Welcome, Theodore." Kaya's grip tightened further, and she pressed against him in fright. He placed his hand over hers, grounding them both. But inside, his heart was racing too. The room now glowed faintly with blue light, revealing a glass wall on one side. Through the glass, they could see rows of machines that looked like a server room, though why his father would need such a setup was beyond him.

***

"Bastian aren't you going to investigate the server room in there?" Kaya whispered knowing that the server room might contain some sensitive information that people couldn't know. She wasn't afraid of anything, but she easily got scared until she could prove there was nothing to be afraid of. The lady he couldn't comprehend much of the contradictory personality.

After closing the archive and ensuring its secrecy, Sebastian led Kaya back to his office. Dust clung to her clothes, and he brushed it off gently before perching her on the desk. He had an impulse to make her answer for sneaking into the archive, but more than anything, he wanted her story.

"I will investigate it later when I'm not that busy. Now I'm busy investigating you, Sunshine," he teased, bracing his arms on either side of her. "Tell me, how do you know about the archive and how to open it?"

Kaya fidgeted, a guilty smile tugging at her lips. He could see her brain working, clearly debating how much to reveal. The way her eyebrow furrowed like she was thinking of the best answer without letting him know the real way, or the way her eyelids kept closing and open to hide her gorgeous black eyes that Sebastian could get lost in a daze just by staring deep at them. Always the strategist, he thought, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"The thing is Bastian. I was bored, and I was mesmerized by your family painting. I couldn't help touching it," she began, clearly evading the direct answer. Sebastian barely kept a straight face as she batted her eyelashes, clearly trying to distract him. She was wily, he'd give her that. But two could play at this game.

"Aha, so this mess was you finding a clue about the code?" he pressed, wanting to make her admit to her mischief.

Caught, she bit her lip and now he wanted to kiss those luscious lips more. Her eyes darted up to meet his, a playfully guilty look that almost made him forget the archive altogether. But he couldn't let her win that easily.

"Yes. But look, I was just bored, after researching Robert Benson and the truck driver who hit him," she replied, folding her arms defensively.

Sebastian's brow furrowed. That wasn't the direction he expected, but something in her tone intrigued him. He encouraged her to go on with a silent nod.

Kaya launched into her theory, describing how odd it was that Benson, a man with no previous records, would end up in such an incident. "I know it's a stretch, but what if Benson's crash wasn't just an accident?" she murmured. "Maybe there's something hidden and the actual perpetrator didn't want him to reveal it."

Sebastian crossed his arms, not quite convinced but intrigued nonetheless. "So you think someone staged the crash to make sure he wouldn't talk?" he asked.

Kaya's eyes brightened. "Exactly! And it would explain why it happened so suddenly. A truck like that wouldn't just run a red light without reason."

Sebastian nodded slowly, considering her theory. It was audacious, and yet— maybe she had a point. But if she were right, then Benson's crash might have been part of something much bigger. But, what was so important about Robert Benson's hit-and-run that someone else needed to silence him right away?

To be Continued.