"You haven't changed this office's interior. It stinks like a dead man here," Camilla commented, dramatically waving her hand near her nose.
"I don't have time, Mom," Sebastian replied, returning to his desk, trying to act busy so his mother wouldn't try to talk too much.
But Camilla didn't get the hint. She looked around the office and pointed out a few things that were like an eyesore for her, "Do you need my help to get rid of everything?"
If Sebastian hadn't known any better, he might've just said yes because he genuinely disliked the interior of this office.
Aiden had an outdated taste. The furniture and items in the CEO's office looked like they came straight out of the 1920s.
But Sebstatian also knew that Winter would be furious with him if he replaced everything in this office. He didn't want to worsen the hatred in Winter's heart, especially since it was already difficult to win her back at this point.
After all, Winter loved Aiden more than him…
Sebastian clenched the pen in his hand. Every time he was reminded that Aiden still held a place in her heart, even though he was already dead, hurt him deeply.
"Sebastian?"
"I'll redecorate everything later. I'm too busy right now, Mom," Sebastian replied while pointing at the stack of documents with his chin. "Look at these documents. There are so many pending projects after Aiden's death."
"Geez, you're such a hard worker, just like me," Camilla giggled. "But you shouldn't work too hard since this company is still in that stupid woman's hands."
Sebastian stopped reading the document in his hand. He lifted his gaze, staring at his mother, who dared to call his wife a stupid woman.
He tried to stay civil in front of his mother, knowing that Camilla belittled everyone, even her own son, not only Winter.
But for an unknown reason, his mother really hated Winter simply for existing, even though she hadn't done anything wrong to them.
"Why are you here, Mom?" Sebastian asked, hoping she would leave as soon as possible. "Surely, you're not here just to see me again, right? I'm way too busy with meetings. I can't keep you entertained all the time."
"Do you think your Mom has nothing else to do?" Camilla sighed. "I'm here out of concern for you, especially since you just spent your first night with that woman. Did you actually sleep with her?"
"She has a name," Sebastian replied calmly. "And we were too tired for anything else after the wedding, so we just went to sleep immediately."
"Oh, thank goodness. I thought you'd just give that woman what she wanted" Camilla breathed a sigh of relief. She sat on the sofa and lectured her son again, "You should know that your marriage with her is just a farce to get all the wealth inherited from Aiden. So there's no need for you to sleep with her."
Sebastian wanted to laugh at hearing that advice because he'd trade anything to have sex with Winter right now.
His mother had gotten it all wrong. It wasn't Winter who was desperate for his touch. It was he who REALLY wanted her.
"You must stay strong, alright? Even if that woman begs on her knees or behaves like a whore to seduce you, you mustn't give in," Camilla advised. "I'll introduce you to a better woman once we get everything settled. I want my grandchild to be perfect."
"Why do we need to take everything, Mom? We're already wealthy enough on our own," Sebastian questioned.
Camilla's smile vanished instantly. "You don't understand, Sebastian. YOU should've been the one who inherited everything after Aiden's death. You have the right to it."
"We're just outsiders. We have no connection whatsoever with Aiden's family. What right do we have to steal the money from Aiden's widow?" Sebastian's question started to get on Camilla's nerves. She stared at her son with a hateful gaze that shouldn't exist between a mother and son.
"Just do as I say, Sebastian. Do you know how hard it is to raise you alone? You should've been thankful that I didn't abort you back then."
…
The storm began to swirl in his heart once more, but he fought to calm himself down for the sake of Winter's safety.
Camilla was satisfied with Sebastian's obedience. She patted her chest as it felt stuffy. She disliked it when Sebastian tried to ask too many questions.
So, she switched topics to ease the atmosphere between them.
"I bumped into that stupid woman on my way to your office," Camilla mentioned. "She looks absolutely ridiculous dressed in all black like that. Does she not know it might give you a bad name?"
Sebastian cursed inwardly upon learning that Winter had encountered his mother. He thought it'd be much better if they didn't meet so Camilla would think of Winter as an isolated woman who dared not to raise her head.
"Oh, and she was in tears when I saw her. Did you do something to upset her?" Camilla asked. She sounded strangely excited as if Winter's tears were something she'd relish.
Sebastian was reminded of how Winter yelled at him and how he couldn't do anything as she showed how much hatred she had for him.
His grip on the pen began to weaken as he remembered how hard he clenched Winter's wrist until it was bruised.
He didn't mean to hurt her, but he started to get desperate. He wanted to explain how much he was hurting after her death. Though, it'd definitely make things harder to reconcile if he told her the truth.
"She's bored at home, so she came to accompany me," Sebastian lied through his teeth to give his mother an explanation that she'd like. "So I kicked her out when she kept distracting me. I guess that's enough to make her cry."
Camilla giggled. "Of course, she's just a cougar preying on younger men. That's why I told you that you shouldn't sympathize with her. She doesn't deserve to have so much money."