Chapter 16: Chapter 16: The Shame of Utter Disgrace

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. A good while later, Giselle Sullivan’s voice finally came through, laced with shock and disbelief.

"R... Really?"

Cecilia Croft hummed in affirmation. "I’ll make the arrangements. Don’t let a word of this get out beforehand."

Giselle Sullivan took a moment to recover, then repeatedly promised she would never mention this to anyone.

Once she calmed down, however, she no longer believed Cecilia Croft could actually get Sebastian Hawthorne to invest in a Grandeur Enterprises project.

After all, why would a man like Sebastian Hawthorne even bother with the meager profits from a Grandeur Enterprises project?

After hanging up, Cecilia Croft rummaged through her bag, looking for the business card Assistant Scott had given her after the car accident. She searched everywhere but couldn’t find it.

The insurance company had handled all the aftermath of the accident, so she hadn’t kept any contact information for Sebastian Hawthorne or his assistant.

After some thought, she had no choice but to message Jasmine Vance and ask for Sebastian Hawthorne’s address in Silvercrest.

Jasmine Vance’s lazy voice perked up when she heard Cecilia asking about Sebastian Hawthorne’s address.

She and Cecilia Croft had grown up together, so of course, she knew about the former engagement between the Croft and Hawthorne families.

"Cecilia, you know the saying, ’a good horse never turns back for old grass’? Don’t tell me you want to be that clump of old grass."

Her friend’s metaphor made Cecilia Croft sigh and rub her forehead. "So I can only be the old grass?"

Jasmine Vance thought for a few seconds before replying, "Well, if you want to be the prodigal in ’a prodigal’s return is more precious than gold,’ I suppose that’s an option too."

Cecilia Croft chuckled, amused by her friend, and got straight to the point. "My sister told me he’s interested in acquiring shares in Vantage. I want to talk to him."

Jasmine Vance fell silent for a few seconds before offering a well-intentioned reminder.

"If you sell your shares to him, Vantage will just be swallowed up by the Hawthorne Group and cease to exist."

Cecilia Croft had poured so many years of her youth into Vantage, watching it grow to its current position. She must have a deep attachment to it.

Jasmine Vance: "You need to think this through."

Cecilia Croft glanced back at the Vantage office building and murmured in a low voice.

"Jasmine, Vantage was only important to me because I was the one who made it so. In reality, it wasn’t about Vantage—it was about me."

’A Vantage without her was, in truth, no longer important to her.’

’She should go and build the next Vantage.’

Jasmine Vance could tell that Cecilia had truly let it go. She teased her a little more, then ended the call. Immediately afterward, she set about finding Sebastian Hawthorne’s address in Silvercrest. As soon as she had it, she quickly sent it over to Cecilia Croft.

I’ve already asked my brother for you. He’s home.

Following the address from Jasmine Vance, Cecilia Croft arrived at the door of Sebastian Hawthorne’s spacious apartment. She rang the doorbell and waited for several minutes, but no one answered.

Just as she raised her hand to ring the doorbell again, the door was opened from the inside.

Sebastian Hawthorne stood just inside the doorway, his handsome face grim. A flicker of irritation showed in his deep, dark eyes.

He was holding a phone in one of his long, elegant hands. The screen displayed a MOBA game that had been popular for years. The game’s graphics were grayed out; his character had just been killed.

Cecilia Croft froze for a second. She never would have guessed that the cold, aloof Sebastian Hawthorne, a man who seemed so far removed from worldly pleasures, would actually enjoy a game like this.

"Mr. Hawthorne, my sister told me you’re interested in acquiring shares in Vantage. I came to see you today to..."

The man gave her an indifferent glance. Before she could finish speaking, his character revived, and he immediately looked down at his phone to continue playing.

He simply stood in front of her without moving, making no move to either invite Cecilia Croft in or send her away.

Cecilia Croft: "..."

All she could do was wait quietly in the doorway for Sebastian Hawthorne to finish his game.

The man’s attention was completely absorbed by his phone. His intense concentration was so captivating that Cecilia Croft couldn’t help but want to watch.

He controlled his character to go support his teammates; his game sense was decent enough.

But as soon as he arrived on the battlefield, he was instantly killed by the enemy.

The man stared at his grayed-out screen, his expression darkening to match.

His teammates immediately started a surrender vote.

"..."

There was a moment of silence.

Sebastian Hawthorne rejected the surrender vote, then looked up at Cecilia Croft, who was still standing in the doorway. His voice was heavy.

"Come in."

With that, he turned and walked into the apartment, still clutching his phone as if he couldn’t bear to put it down.

He sank onto the sofa with a grim, serious expression. He looked absolutely foul, as if he’d just lost a massive business deal.

His character revived, and he charged forward again, full of confidence. But he didn’t even last a few seconds before his screen went gray once more.

This time, the enemy pushed straight to their high-ground inhibitor. But instead of ending the game, they just stood outside the base, spamming their recall animations to taunt them.

Sebastian Hawthorne’s irritation was palpable.

They were team-wiped again, and the man’s expression grew even darker.

Cecilia Croft awkwardly averted her gaze, but the next time he revived, she couldn’t resist watching his gameplay again, silently critiquing him.

’He has some game sense, but his mechanics are atrocious.’

’The enemy team keeps taunting them, deliberately dragging out the game instead of finishing. It’s infuriating just to watch.’

After his character was killed yet again, Sebastian Hawthorne’s eyelids twitched with irritation.

His gaze landed, without warning, on Cecilia Croft. Her expression was a mixture of exasperated disappointment and outright disdain.

Cecilia Croft: "..."

After a moment’s hesitation, she finally broke the silence.

"How about I give it a try?"

Sebastian Hawthorne: "Are you any good?"

Cecilia Croft pressed her lips together. Years ago, she’d been addicted to this game. She’d even earned regional rankings for several different heroes. But Jude Sheridan had hated video games, considering them a waste of time and life.

Under his influence, she had eventually stopped playing as much.

’She’d noticed that the opposing players’ mechanics weren’t that great either, leading her to deduce that Sebastian Hawthorne must be in a low rank.’

’A low-rank match like this would be no problem at all, even if she hadn’t played in ages.’

"You just need hands."

She said it with absolute conviction.

Skeptically, Sebastian Hawthorne handed her the phone.

Cecilia Croft quickly took it, just as the character revived in-game. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

She held the phone in both hands, her fingertips expertly gliding across the controls. But the character had barely stepped out of the spawning pool when the enemy team destroyed their base.

Cecilia Croft stared at the massive word "DEFEAT" that flashed across the screen, the corner of her mouth twitching.

’She had been all geared up to show off her skills, and now there was nowhere to channel that energy.’

The man on the sofa said nothing, simply staring at her in silence.

Cecilia Croft looked up. Their eyes met. Her own were filled with embarrassment, and her cheeks burned with humiliation.

After a few seconds of silence, she decided she had to defend herself.

"That wasn’t my fault."

Sebastian Hawthorne gave a slight nod, his tone neutral.

"Mm. Even though the game was lost the moment it was in your hands, it’s not your fault."

Cecilia Croft: "..."

Though his words didn’t explicitly blame her, to Cecilia Croft’s ears, every syllable sounded like a complaint, an accusation that left her feeling utterly humiliated.