Three Years as His Pet, I Found My True Love

Chapter 5 The Concert

Sebastian didn't stay the night.

The next morning, his assistant, Carter Wade, arrived bearing a dozen brand-new Patek Philippe watches. Tucked inside one of the luxury bags were an elite Amex card and the deed to a penthouse in downtown.

"Mr. Sterling wanted you to have the $5,000,000 on the card and the penthouse as graduation gifts," Carter explained professionally.

He called them graduation gifts, but I knew exactly what they were. It was hush money to smooth over the fact that he had thrown all my belongings into a dumpster yesterday.

Sebastian had always been generous to his lovers.

I thanked Carter. As he turned to leave, I couldn't stop myself from asking one last question, "Is he coming back here anytime soon?"

"Mr. Sterling postponed several crucial acquisitions just to attend Ms. Fox's debut concert," Carter replied. "Once the show is over, he's flying straight back to Nechyae to handle the backlog. You probably won't see him until next month."

But I wasn't going to be here next month.

After a long silence, I pulled out my phone and bought a ticket to Vivian's concert.

At noon, I met Harper for lunch at the campus café, listening to her rant aggressively over her coffee.

"I am so incredibly pissed! The research grant I fought tooth and nail for got handed to Luke Moore! Are you kidding me? Three professors practically beg him to take their projects, but he turns them down, saying he's moving back home. And they're still holding the spot for him! If he doesn't want it, give it to me!"

Luke was a legend among the international students. Brilliant and ridiculously handsome, he was the undisputed golden boy among a sea of brilliant top students.

I had heard his name the second I arrived on campus. Back then, Harper was obsessed with him, vowing she was going to make him hers.

Four years later, she had barely spoken to him, but she had definitely learned to hate his guts.

I couldn't help but laugh as she glared at me. "If you're not coming to the library to suffer with me, where are you going?"

"I'm going to a piano concert. Want to come?" I slid the ticket across the table.

Harper scoffed the second she saw the name. "I've heard of her. Why would you want to watch some third-rate pianist who bought her career with her family's money? Save your time and skip it."

I just smiled and stayed quiet.

Harper was right. I shouldn't go. A kept woman had no business intruding on her patron's real life.

But if Sebastian were flying straight back to Nechyae after the concert, this would literally be the last time I would ever see him.

I just wanted to see him one last time.

Unfortunately, traffic held me up, and the performance had already started by the time I slipped into the auditorium.

The venue was pitch-black, making it impossible to see the audience.

Yet, my eyes instantly zeroed in on Sebastian sitting in the very front row.

He was enveloped in the darkness, tilting his head up. His gaze was locked intensely onto the single spotlight illuminating the stage.

I had never seen him look at anyone like that.

It was like a thin shaft of light breaking through pitch-black water. Only here, hidden completely in the dark, did he let the pain and the desperate love he'd buried finally surface in his eyes.

I stood frozen in the aisle, my chest tightening painfully under the weight of his profound devotion.

Then, the final piece ended.

Vivian stood up, bowing gracefully as she addressed the crowd. "Tonight, the person I want to thank the most is my husband. Even though he couldn't make it to Floule, he bought me this piano, and bringing it here makes me feel like he's standing right beside me."

Her nervous, incredibly sweet confession drew a wave of warm laughter from the audience.

Amidst the applause, I watched the light completely die in Sebastian's eyes. His knuckles turned bone-white as he gripped the armrests.

The host on stage smoothly transitioned. "I believe Mr. Sebastian Sterling is also in the audience tonight?"

Vivian offered a radiant smile. "Yes. We're family, but we're also very good friends."

Sebastian shot up from his seat and stormed out of the auditorium without a backward glance.

That was how we crashed into each other in the lobby.

There was nowhere for me to hide. I stood there as Sebastian's glacial stare locked onto my face, freezing my blood.

I forced a weak smile and opened my mouth, but before I could speak, he clamped his hand around my wrist and dragged me forcefully out the doors.

His strides were so long that I was practically dragged all the way to his waiting luxury car.

The driver took one look and smartly exited the vehicle, giving us privacy.

The second the door slammed shut, Sebastian's mouth crashed down on mine.

It was a bruising, furious kiss, devoid of any warmth or affection. It was nothing but pure aggression.

He kissed me until my lungs burned. His grip on my wrist felt like it was going to snap my bones, and my chest ached so badly I could barely breathe.

It felt as though he was forcefully pouring all of his own unbearable agony directly into my veins.

"Mr. Sterling," I gasped, panicking. "Not here..."

"Shut up!" he snarled.

His movements turned ruthless, his nails digging into my back, leaving a trail of bloody scratches.

I bit my tongue and swallowed the rest of my words, terrified to make a single sound.

The physical pain and the crushing heartbreak warring in my chest forced me to rationalize. I told myself that I had taken millions of dollars from him, so I had to pay the exact price.

It was a fair trade.

I closed my eyes and dug my fingers into his waist, accepting the punishment.

Sensing my total submission, Sebastian began to adjust and follow my rhythm.

At the very end, he collapsed heavily against my chest. Pressing soft kisses against the sensitive skin of my throat, he whispered in a voice so vulnerable it shattered me, "I love you."

My heart violently seized in my chest, right before his lips brushed against my ear, and he breathed out her name. "Vivian."