<h4>Chapter 253: Chapter 253 A Castle Full of Secrets</h4>


    Author’s pov


    Just beyond the emotional battlefield outside that hallway, another storm was quietly building.


    Inside the room, Dahlia stared at Sebastian with undisguised fear.


    "Why... " she stammered, "why did you rescue me?"


    Sebastian’s lips curved into a cold smile, his eyes glittering with dry amusement. "Maybe I’m just a naturally kind person?"


    Mrs. Dahlia flinched. She had been part of the machine that broke his mother.


    The idea that he’d save her out of kindness was almostical.


    "You saved me because I’m useful," she said slowly, her voice gaining steadiness. "You want to use me against Maggie Locke."


    Sebastian let out a cold chuckle. "You’re not quite as clueless as you look."


    He settled deeper into his chair, crossing one leg over the other. "Maggie’s been looking for you like a woman possessed. Apparently, your continued existence keeps her up at night."


    Mrs. Dahlia went pale. The memory of being shoved into her own car and driven straight toward the reservoir surfaced like a nightmare. Her lungs tightened. Her hands began to tremble.


    She didn’t want to die.


    "Alpha Sebastian," she whispered, desperation creeping into her voice. "I’ll cooperate. Just protect me, please."


    Sebastian remained still. His voice was razor-sharp. "Whether you live or die depends entirely on how useful you’re willing to be."


    Mrs. Dahlia’s lips tightened. She lowered her head, wringing her perfectly manicured hands.


    "I’ll tell you everything," she said atst. "Everything I know."


    She took a breath. "Last year, a friend introduced me to Maggie Locke. We started spending more time together. One day she invited me sailing. There were a bunch of guys on the boat. Young, good-looking, and wild. I drank too much. I made poor decisions. She filmed it all."


    "She used the footage to ckmail me into joining the Moonveil Ascendancy. She made me use my Denver connections. If she’d leaked those videos, my life in society would’ve been over. I didn’t have a choice."


    "The masquerade ball was nned two months ahead. Maggie asked me to befriend your mother, make her feelfortable. That night, the masks were dosed with something meant to disorient and manipte.The n was to get her alone, wait until she passed out, and then... "


    She faltered.


    "But the mask n fell apart. We had to pivot. Maggie disguised herself as the tarot reader. She still meant to drug your mother, but something went wrong. She lost control. You know what happened next."


    "That’s all I know."


    Of course, that wasn’t the whole truth.


    Maggie had run this ybook before and Dahlia hadn’t just watched.


    What began as disgust became curiosity, then pleasure, then partnership.


    She became addicted to the money, the thrill, and the secrecy.


    Now, the fantasy was crumbling.


    Silence fell over the room.


    Sebastian’s fury was quiet but suffocating. The kind that made the air in your lungs feel thinner. Mrs. Dahlia sat frozen, terrified that this would be thest room she ever saw.


    Without another word, Sebastian stood and walked out.


    He gave a shortmand to the two guards in the hallway. They nodded and stepped inside to take his ce.


    Cecilia’s pov


    I approached from the end of the corridor, just as Sebastian exited the room.


    "So when you said you were bringing someone back to Denver," I said quietly, "you meant Mrs. Dahlia? How did she end up here?"


    "Maggie Locke tried to kill her," he said without emotion.


    My eyes widened. "What? I thought they were allies."


    "She must’ve realized Dahlia might flip on her."


    "And her solution was to silence her permanently?"


    "In her world, dead people don’tplicate things." His tone was colder than the stone walls around us.


    The realization sent a chill down my spine.


    Just then, Amara appeared. Her voice was controlled, but her eyes betrayed the storm inside her.


    "Are we heading back to Denver?"


    Sebastian didn’t even look at her. "Yes. Europe’s beautiful. You should stay and explore."


    Amara gave a brittle smile. "What about your promise? When will you keep it?"


    "I don’t have time now. Maybe after Cece and I are free."


    Her expression shifted. "You’re bringing her... on our date?"


    "Yes. You never said I couldn’t bring someone. I assumed you wouldn’t mind."


    Amara looked like the ground had just dropped beneath her.


    I said nothing. Sebastian was being cruel, but I understood why. It was his way of burning the bridge she refused to stop crossing.


    After a long pause, Amara’s voice cracked. "Forget it. I’m not sitting through some cringey third-wheel dinner. Watching you two y house in front of me? Consider it canceled."


    Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Fair enough. Canceled."


    And then she broke.


    She lunged forward, throwing her arms around him in a desperate hug.


    Sebastian immediately tried to push her off, his expression unreadable.


    "Just ten minutes," she whispered. "Let me hold you for ten minutes. After that, I swear I’ll disappear."


    Sebastian didn’t flinch. He pried her arms away and stepped back.


    "Goodbye," he said, and walked past her without another nce.


    I followed. Slowly.


    Ten minutes wasn’t much. But it would have be twenty. Then an hour. Then a lifetime of "what ifs."


    He did the right thing.


    "Cece, unless you’re nning to sleep in the hallway, I suggest you pick up the pace," Sebastian called from ahead.


    I hurried to his side.


    He reached for my hand. His was warm and dry. Mine was ice-cold.


    "Let’s go home," he said softly. "Back to Denver."


    We walked forward together.


    --


    As we made our way down the stairs, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.


    "So... I’ve got a question," I said. "Was there ever something between you and Amara? I’ve heard the rumors—childhood romance, tragic breakup, noble sacrifice for your brother’s sake. The usual drama."


    Sebastian nced at me. "Where did you hear that?"


    I wasn’t about to throw Tang and Sawyer under the bus. "Office gossip."


    He tilted his head. "So you believed all that and never thought to ask until now?"


    "Well, it felt a little impolite," I said, shrugging.


    We walked a few more steps before he answered.


    "All of it’s fake. There was never anything romantic between us. No love. No hate. No grand betrayal."


    I blinked. "But she speaks like you were her one great heartbreak. She talks like your ex."


    "She made it up."


    I stopped walking for a second. "Wait. She... imagined the entire rtionship?"


    Sebastian turned and gently tapped my cheek with his knuckles. "Stop looking so shocked. You’re my first girlfriend."


    I looked at him. Then back at the stairs.


    The world was full of strange people. And some of them were excellent storytellers.


    Suddenly, all my insecurities felt ridiculous.


    No wonder he lost his cool around her. I’d had a real rtionship with Xavier—and I still wanted to knock his teeth in every time he reappeared.


    But someone inventing a whole romance, stalking you for years, spreading lies?


    That was psychological warfare.


    And Sebastian had endured it all with remarkable restraint.


    "You’ve had it rough," I said softly.


    He misread my tone. "It’s alright. Nothing good everes easy."


    I nodded, letting him think he was right.


    Once we reached the car, another vehicle followed us from the castle gates.


    Mrs. Dahlia got on the ne with us, along with the two bodyguards assigned to keep an eye on her.


    Sebastian barely looked at them before sending them to sit in the back.


    Mrs. Dahlia sat near the front, sipping juice. Her eyes flicked to me.


    Something in my face must’ve triggered a memory. She stared, unblinking.


    "Miss Moore," she asked suddenly. "Were you at the masquerade?"


    "Yes," I said calmly. "Though I doubt you expected to see me there. I came with a friend."


    She nodded slowly. "I see... "


    Then her eyes widened. Recognition hit her like a p.


    "You," she whispered. "You were the one in the green dress."


    My heart skipped a beat. Our eyes locked.