<b>Chapter </b><b>342 </b>
<b>A </b>smile tugged at Sebastian’s lips<b>. </b>“It’s a bit early to <b>say </b>that. I don’t even know if she has a
boyfriend.
He <b>had </b>thought the fast heartbeat and shortness of breath were just physical reactions in the face of danger, and he had mistaken it for <b>attraction </b>toward’s thatdy.
But even after calming down, he still kept thinking about her and was really looking forward to seeing her again.
He was so caught up in the call that he didn’t notice the car pulling up nearby.
His friend chuckled, “Attraction is just instinctive chemistry. No wonder you never liked any of the sweet girls we introduced. Do you want <b>me </b>to <b>look </b>into her number for you?”
Sebastian pressed his lips together and said, “No need. I’ll ask Fryderyk about itter. I need to wait for Aria first.”
His friend teased, “By the way, even though I didn’t really get a clear look at that girl’s face, I can tell she’s the same type as Aria. Who knows, you <b>might </b>just end up liking Aria when you see her.”
“Impossible!” Sebastian dered. “I’m not some fick who falls for every girl I see.”
To prove his point, Sebastian blurted out, “I d
As Aria walked closer, she happened to overhear the
She paused, took a good look at his face, and
<b>was </b>
how amazing Aria is. I’d never fall for her!”
part of that sentence.
s surprised at how small <b>the </b>world was when she realized he was the hostage from the previous night.
A figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight. Sebastian instinctively looked up. Upon recognizing the girl’s face, his eyes widened in shock<b>, </b>leaving <b>him </b>rooted to the spot.
The voice on the phone continued, even louder than before. “We all know you’d never like Aria. No need to yell about it.”
The words rang out clearly between Sebastian and Aria.
“Hey? You still there?” his friend asked.
Flustered, Sebastian hung up the call. Then he remembered he hadn’t fixed his hair. He wanted to reach up and smooth it out, but stopped himself <b>at </b><b>the </bst second.
He hadn’t expected to see her. At that moment, he regretted not dressing up and not wearing the new clothes his grandpa had picked out for him
He gave a sheepishugh and raised his hand to greet her. “H–Hi.”
“Hello,” Aria said with a slight nod.
Sebastian swallowed hard, his voice shaky. “Uh… What are you doing here? Are you lost?”
Aria arched a brow. “Mr. Benjamin Hayes isn’t feeling well. I’m here to check on him. I’m Aria.”
“ck.” Sebastian’s phone slipped from his hand and hit the ground.
His eyes went wide, mind going nk as he stammered, “You… you’re Aria<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Sebastian thought in disbelief, ‘She’s Aria? The girl who saved mest night was Aria?”
Aria was surprised by his reaction and said, “That’s me.”
Sebastian felt his heart shatter into two. He couldn’t believe he had just dered that he’d never fall for Aria right in front <i>of </i>her.
<b>Chapter </b><b>342 </b>
Silence <b>hung </b><b>heavily </b><b>between </b>them<b>, </b><b>and </b>even the breeze seemed tinged with awkwardness.
<b>Sebastian </b>was filled with regret. He wished he could go back a minute and swallow every word he had just said,
He <b>would </b>never have said that he would never fall for Aria. He knew he was so screwed.
His face burned red, cars flushing, and he stammered, trying to exin. “I–I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t know you were
“It’s fine,” Aria cut him off softly, her tone calm. “I don’t mind.”
Sebastian felt his heart broken into pieces.
“Let’s go,” Aria said as she walked in first.
Sebastian looked up at the sky despondently, wondering why he ever picked up that call.
After a few heavy sighs, Sebastian finally pulled himself together and hurried ahead to lead the way.
Sebastian was desperate to find a chance to exin, but whenever the words were on the tip of his tongue, he just couldn’t bring himself to say them.
He couldn’t just say, “Sorry, I didn’t mean I wasn’t interested
<b>‘</b>Of all people, why did it have to be her?‘ Sebastian thought in utter despair.