The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

Chapter 808 Life swept Citrine up in its usual current once again.

Every day, her routine was the same: from the university straight to the office, back and forth like clockwork.

The only thing that had changed was how often Sebastian Vesper seemed to be appearing in her life-and how much harder he was to ignore.

Not only that, but he'd beca lot less subtle about it, too.

Today, Sebastian had cto CICI Group on behalf of SC Group to discuss a partnership. After the contract was signed, everyone else filed out of the conference room, but he lingered, making no move to leave.

Citrine cast him a furtive glance, guilt creeping in. She'd been dodging him for a month now.

Her expression grew awkward as she wrestled with whether or not to tell him to go. The moment she finally looked up, she found herself staring straight into his face-much closer than she'd expected.

They were just an inch apart. If he leaned down even slightly, he could have kissed her.

Way too close.

At this distance, she could see every detail of his striking features. His eyes were lowered, soft, and she saw her own reflection in his pupils.

Citrine's lashes fluttered. She swallowed, not realizing she'd been caught staring at him for far too long until she finally snapped back to awareness.

Sebastian, seeing her uncharacteristically dazed, let out a quiet laugh. "So, can I have my answer now?" His voice was gentle, tinged with resignation.

Citrine couldn't tell if she was annoyed or just flustered. Her mind lagged behind her mouth, and before she could think, the words slipped out: "Why... why are you in such a hurry?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow, an amused exasperation in his tone. "You've been avoidingfor a month. How could I not be?" He was frustrated-mostly with himself.

A whole month had gone by, and if he didn't push, she'd probably keep stalling until next year.

He could tell she was running away from something, but he had no idea what, and without knowing, he couldn't do anything to fix it.

Right now, he was completely at a loss.

Citrine kept studying his face, half-expecting to see disappointment or anger there, but found neither.

Just a hint of resignation, and a trace of bitterness.

She pressed her lips together. Maybe she'd been naive, thinking starting something new was easy, overestimating herself. What seemed simple for others turned out to be impossibly difficult for her.

Self-loathing crept in.

After a long pause, Citrine finally looked Sebastian in the eyes, as if steeling herself. "Sebastian, maybe we should just-" But before she could finish, he reached out and gently covered her mouth, cutting her off. "That's enough, don't say it." His voice was urgent, his expression almost forlorn.

She blinked in confusion. He looked at her, his gaze pleading. "I'm not trying to pressure you into a decision. I just want you to stop running away from me. Please, don't shutout." He was serious, even a little hurt. Citrine finally realized she'd wounded him with her words.

Looking into those shadowed eyes, she could almost feel his sadness and helplessness. "Okay." After a long silence, she nodded.

The moment she agreed, Sebastian's eyes lit up with relief.

"Really? You're not going to avoidanymore?" His voice was half incredulous, half delighted, as if afraid she'd take it back.

She couldn't help but laugh at his childlike reaction, despite herself. "Really." If Sebastian had looked glum when he first arrived at CICI Group, he was positively radiant as he left.

Several employees noticed Sebastian and their CEO leaving the conference room one after another, and the office buzzed with gossip.

After all, rumors about Sebastian and before had made the rounds Even though the CEO herself had publicly shut them down most people still secretly rooted for the pair.

One of the guys who'd previously worked under Sebastian couldn't resist. As Sebastian passed by their department, he called out boldly, "Mr. Vesper, there's something we've all been dying to know. Can you clear something up for us?" Sebastian stopped, smiling good-naturedly. "What's that?" The guy, wanting everyone to hear, raised his voice. "Are you or are you not together with our CEO?" Their team lead joined in, grinning, "Yeah, what's really going on with you two?" Sebastian shook his head, still smiling. "No, we're not together. Right now, we're just friends." At that, the group collectively sighed in disappointment.

But then Sebastian added, “But I am trying to win her over." The room erupted.

"I knew it! There's no way my favorite couple isn't real." "Go for it, Mr. Vesper! We're rooting for you." "I told you guys, he's different with our CEO. Now we have confirmation."

"Well, Mr. Vesper might not be quite on her level, but who is? She's the is?s best there is. We approve of this match."

The whole department exploded in excited chatter, and Sebastian barely managed to keep the huge grin off his face. He put his hands together in a mock bow, grinning. "Thank you all for your support." "Lunch is ontoday-whatever you want." That set off another round of cheers and squeals.

"Mr. Vesper, you're the best!" "No wonder our CEO likes you-you really know how to treat people right." "I'm officially your lookout from now on. Any guy who tries to get close to our CEO is going throughfirst!" Citrine's office was on the sfloor. She could hear e-first feeling exaspol.

then designed, and finally, she couldn't help but laugh.

Children, the lot of them, she thought.

All together, they still weren't as they still mature as a single college sophomore.

m