Chapter 3 Crossing Lines

I would be lying if I said that my heart didn't skip a beat when I heard a very familiar voice from the other side. It was creepy as hell, how that dude's voice was eerily familiar to ~his voice. But there was no way that was possible; there was no way that one certain man would come all the way here and be friends with a guy I know.

I've been keeping tabs alright, and I know his friends – or lack thereof. Reece's name never ever came up.

Or maybe I needed to check again.

No, No, No, it couldn't be him at all, because that would be like my fate playing a wicked game with me.

And there was such a good probability that two people had the same voices with the same amount of arrogance reeking in their tone.

"His name is Sebastian, Sebastian Daniels. You might have heard of him." Reece said, after a pause.

Alright.

Maybe this world was too small.

Maybe my fate really was playing a wicked game with me.

There was also a huge possibility that Reece had no idea what he was doing.

Was there a possibility that Sebastian was so close to Reece but never ever mentioned my name, so Reece had no idea what the fuck he was doing right now?

But then I remembered the gleaming look in Reece's eyes when he could finally think coherently, his reaction when he had confirmed my name and my single status. And even now, the slight hesitation in his voice kind of confirmed that he knew what he was doing.

"You understand what you're doing, don't you?" My volume was low but clear enough to be heard only by Reece, "What makes you think that you can come in with that man and walk out the hospital with every body part intact – or perhaps, walk out alive?" I took in a deep breath. If this guy wanted to match-make, he could have at least warned me beforehand. I was sure if Sebastian got to know this, he would skin his friend alive.

It was easy to guess that Sebastian didn't know what his friend was up to.

"I'll tell you what you're going to do now, Reece." I said, "You're going to make an excuse on my behalf, make an about turn, leave this city and never show your face to me again. Do you get it?" My face was burning and there was this haze that made me more and more angry.

Who the fuck did Reece think he was?

"I thought you weren't busy?" He blurted.

Sebastian was the only reason Reece was alive.

"I don't hear you making excuses, Reece. I'm not going to meet anyone now so it's better if you two return home." I gritted out.

"Don't force her if she's uncomfortable," I heard on the other side. Sebastian, ever the gentleman, warned Reece, and I felt relieved that maybe Reece would back off now.

But Reece was just as stubborn as I thought him to be. Rather than just giving in, he gave a cryptic answer.

"Okay, so we will meet you later." Saying that he hung up.

My blood was boiling now. I quickly took out the scarf and a mask from my purse and put them on, covering myself till I was unrecognizable.

Knowing Reece, I knew he would find a way to track me down and force me to meet Sebastian. He was one of those people who were really charming till everything went their way and the moment there was a minor inconvenience, you would see their devil side. He was not going to drop this so easily, especially if he had it set in stone that he wanted me and Sebastian to be together again.

Gosh, why didn't fate drop another guy in my office? He really had to be Sebastian's friend?

And why did his name never appear in the tabloids?

Maybe because I never actively searched about his friends and focused only on Sebastian's love interests.

I let out a growl.

The only thing I could do now was run out of my office and go straight to my son's school without crossing the paths of familiar strangers.

A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of Sebastian spotting me. How would he react? What if he found out about Nathan?

Oh god, no. I was not ready for all of that.

It would be a bloodbath.

My eyes were fixed on the entrance, and I started storming my way out, hoping that my colleagues read my body language and didn't stop me for chit chat. It was a large area to cross and sweat already covered my forehead. My heart was beating very quickly – I didn't risk looking around, because if my eyes fell on Sebastian, I knew my brain would stop working.

For some reason, my mind was working on repeat. I could only think about what would happen if Sebastian found out. How would he react? Would he get mad, crazy mad, and get into a screaming contest with me? Or would he be silent, watch and assess the situation in his usual cunning way and then be that silent venom that I didn't know how to deal with? Or he would just not care and act like he didn't know me at all?

I didn't know which one was better. I just hoped that Sebastian left this city peacefully, without coming in contact with me or my son.

I was so lost in my own thoughts, that I lost track of my path and clumsily bumped into a hard body.

I wanted to cry.

It was Sebastian.

And a part of me was basking in this little moment of embrace, where he held me for just a small moment before I ran away. It was all so familiar, and it all felt too wonderful, that it was very hard for me to muster an apology before running away.

I was glad my legs were listening to the rational part of my brain. I was glad that I ran away before Sebastian could recognize me, and I was lucky that Reece wasn't around.

But as I was sitting in my car, I could only think about that brief moment when our bodies met, and I realized how much I still missed him. It shattered all my beliefs that I could ever move on, ever forget and ever find someone who would make my heart beat just as fast as he did.

Those green, confused eyes looking down at me, made me remember all the time he gazed upon me with nothing but love, and it also reminded me of our son who had the same eyes. It was so hard to forget, and I felt like I went six years back in time. Everything I did to move on, to learn to be happy without him, to forget him was reset.

I took in a deep breath. I couldn't break over such a small thing anymore. It was not like he recognized me and dumped me again.

My phone notified me of an incoming call and I managed to pick up the call.

It was Reece.

"You were lucky you ran away before he could catch you."

"What do you mean?" I snapped, not wanting to listen to his bullshit anymore. He was crossing serious boundaries here and I needed to put him in line.

"Well, one second more and he would have recognized you. Then all that escaping wouldn't have worked."

"Bold of you to assume that Sebastian would care, Reece." I was not polite at all.

"I've been the one with him for the past six years so I can assume his reaction better than you do."

My heart skipped a beat at that implication. Would he have really come after me?

I wanted to slap myself. That was not supposed to be a romantic thing! It was supposed to be scary!

"I don't know what the fuck you want, Reece. I guess you got your happy ending, but it does not mean that you have to intrude in others' lives and have your way with everything!" I growled.

"Easy girl," his voice was much more pliant now, "I wasn't planning to match-make at all if that was what you're thinking." Oh really, "You two are important to me. I want you to be on good terms."

"How sweet of you, Reece." My voice was all sugary, "But it's not your call. That's between Sebastian and me. If we want to hate each other, we will hate on each other, if we want to be friends we'll be friends!"

"And if you want to get back together, you two will have your happily ever after." He countered.

I took in a deep breath, irritated.

"What are you, Reece – seventeen? We are mature adults, if we wanted to get back together, we would have done that long ago." I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, "You know what, Reece, please go back. I'm really not ready to meet him right now." I was pleading now, but anything to make Reece back off.

"Noelle, I'm getting married." He sighed, "I...I don't want a scene at the wedding."

"So that's what you care about." I stated, "A scene. You have no regards for mine or Sebastian's emotions. You don't care how we feel about this - you going behind our backs to orchestrate a reunion." I snapped back.

He was silent for a good while, and I let him have his time. It was good if he was introspecting – he needed to know that what he was doing was wrong.

"Okay, Noelle. I get your point. I'm sorry. I was just so focused on wanting to get you two back together , that I didn't take your feelings into account." He was sad, "I'm so sorry." He sounded sincere and I was glad that we were on the same page now. "We'll return ASAP."

"Thanks, Reece." I realized that I had already reached the school, "I'll have to hang up now. Thank you for understanding."

"I'm really sorry, Noelle. I was an ass."

"I forgive you." I smiled, "Goodbye."

It was when I hung up, did I realize that Reece mentioned a wedding.

He was getting married, and I didn't even pay attention to it when he told me.

I smacked my head.

Now I had an angry teacher, an angry parent and two fighting kids to face.

Ugh