Chapter 17: Chapter 17: An Intrusive Visit, A Quick Surrender

Sebastian Hawthorne reached out and took the phone from her hand. His long, elegant fingers brushed lightly across her palm, leaving a tingling sensation in their wake.

The man quickly withdrew his hand. With a neutral expression, he lowered his gaze to the phone screen, tapped "Confirm" below the word "Defeat," and exited the game.

Cecilia Croft bit her lip lightly. After a moment of thought, she spoke softly.

"If you want, I can carry you in the game."

Sebastian Hawthorne raised an eyebrow. "Carry me?"

He was questioning her.

His deep, narrow eyes stared at her unblinkingly, as if scrutinizing her abilities.

Cecilia’s competitive spirit was ignited by his gaze, and she immediately took out her own phone.

"I’m a really good jungler. I have regional rankings for a lot of heroes."

As she spoke, she unlocked her phone screen, searching for the app to launch the game and prove herself to the man before her.

However, after scrolling through her home screen, she couldn’t find the game’s icon. Only then did she remember that she had uninstalled it a long time ago.

The man’s searing gaze was still fixed on the top of her head. Seeing that she couldn’t find the app, he let out a soft scoff.

Although it held no real mockery, it was inexplicably grating.

Cecilia took a deep breath and immediately opened the app store to download the game.

"It’s just a game. It’ll download again quickly."

She suppressed her embarrassment, keeping her tone light.

Sebastian Hawthorne, however, furrowed his brow and put his phone away.

"Since you don’t play this game anymore, don’t force yourself to download it again. I know Miss Croft has never been one to force herself to do anything."

Cecilia froze for a second. Just as she was about to say she didn’t feel forced at all, the man across from her averted his gaze, pulled a cigarette from the pack on the table, and stood up to walk toward the balcony.

She pressed her lips together, finally remembering her purpose for coming here today.

Cecilia watched his back and began, her tone formal.

"Mr. Hawthorne, I heard you’re interested in acquiring shares in Vantage. I came to see you today because I’d like to sell you my shares."

As she got to the point, Sebastian Hawthorne also stopped and turned to face her.

"You heard?"

Cecilia nodded. "Yes. I hold 51% of Vantage’s shares, and I’m willing to sell all of them to you. I just need Mr. Hawthorne to agree to one condition."

Sebastian held the unlit cigarette in his left hand, a sardonic smile playing on his lips.

"Given our past history, what makes Miss Croft think I would do business with you?"

Silvercrest had just entered early summer. Even with the midday sun, its warmth wasn’t very intense.

The man stood far away, his distant attitude obvious.

Cecilia’s heart stiffened as she suddenly realized the other meaning behind Sebastian’s words just now.

Back then, when she had insisted on staying in Silvercrest, going so far as to cut ties with the Croft family and demanding to be with Jude Sheridan, she had declared that she would never force herself to do anything.

Sebastian Hawthorne had always been groomed by the Hawthorne family as their successor, living a pampered life where he was the center of attention.

Being rejected by a fiancée he had never even met was probably the first setback he had ever experienced.

Cecilia still remembered that when the Croft and Hawthorne families had just called off the engagement, her older sister had warned her that she had brought utter shame upon the Hawthorne family, which was why they had severed all business ties with the Croft family.

With that kind of history between them, it was true they were in no position to be discussing business.

Cecilia lowered her eyes, silently chastising herself for her rashness today.

’I should have confirmed whether Sebastian Hawthorne was truly interested in acquiring Vantage before coming here. Or it would have been much easier to have my sister help sell the shares.’

’After all, they were high school classmates.’

’I’m good at planning and creating proposals, but negotiating at the business table isn’t my strong suit.’

She was already here. She couldn’t just leave with her tail between her legs.

She sat on the sofa, and from a distance, the man’s gaze held a hint of condescension.

To avoid being at a disadvantage, Cecilia took a quiet, deep breath, rose from the sofa, and met the man’s eyes on level ground.

"The Hawthorne Group wants to break into the Silvercrest market. Starting from scratch would consume a great deal of time. And for a man like you, Mr. Hawthorne, time is money."

The man standing across from her remained unmoved.

Cecilia let out a soft breath. She was skilled at planning and creating proposals, but negotiating at the business table was her weak point.

Driven by the thought that she was already here anyway, she continued.

"Vantage is in good shape in all respects, and it perfectly meets the Hawthorne Group’s criteria for a swift entry into the Silvercrest market. I don’t think Mr. Hawthorne would pass up such a great opportunity over our... trivial past history."

"Trivial past history?" The man repeated her words, mulling them over.

The cigarette in his hand was becoming misshapen as he fidgeted with it.

Cecilia braced herself and nodded.

By the time she found out about the marriage arrangement with the Hawthorne family, she had already returned to Silvercrest with her mother. Right up until she cut ties with the Croft family and demanded the engagement be broken, she had never formally met Sebastian Hawthorne.

There were no feelings between them. If not for the marriage arranged by their elders, they would have been complete strangers.

She didn’t consider it a deep-seated grudge.

The cigarette in the man’s hand snapped, and strands of tobacco from the break scattered on the floor.

He suddenly let out a soft chuckle and asked a question.

"Miss Croft, do you know what the three greatest hatreds are in a man’s life?"

Cecilia was a bit lost. She shook her head.

"I don’t."

Sebastian turned around and spoke in a low, haunting voice.

"The vengeance for a murdered father, the hatred for a stolen wife, and the pain of a slain child."

Cecilia: "..."

"We weren’t married."

Her voice was faint, tinged with guilt.

"A fiancée is still a wife." His voice was soft, his tone cool and piercing.

Cecilia fell completely silent, lowering her gaze, not daring to look into his deep, dark eyes.

’What can I do?’

’Apologize?’

’But I don’t think breaking the engagement was the wrong thing to do.’

’After all, we had no feelings for each other. Sebastian Hawthorne was just a stranger to me.’

The atmosphere grew tense. Cecilia pressed her lips together and finally spoke.

"I’m sorry to have bothered you."

’If this way doesn’t work, there are other options.’

She turned to leave, and the coldness on Sebastian’s face became visibly apparent.

"Is this Miss Croft’s attitude when it comes to business?"

Cecilia stopped in her tracks.

Sebastian stared at her face for a good ten seconds, his expression a sardonic smirk.

"I thought the Miss Croft who boldly declared she would make a name for herself in Silvercrest would be more persuasive at the negotiating table. I didn’t expect you to just drop by, cause a disturbance, and give up so quickly."

"..." Cecilia was so thoroughly mocked by him that she had no comeback.

It wasn’t the first time she had been humiliated in front of him anyway, so she decided to just lay her cards on the table.

"I know you don’t actually have any feelings for me, Mr. Hawthorne. You just can’t get over the humiliation of having the engagement broken back then. You’re deliberately using this to make things difficult for me. If I don’t leave now, what am I supposed to do? Stick around and let you humiliate me further?"