Page 73 of The Bittersweet Bond

He didn’t answer.

“Sebastian,” she sing-songed, sitting up, crossing her legs.

“Let me save you the trouble—you show up here, all broody and full of whatever this is.” She gestured vaguely at him. “We make out. You get distracted. I get bored. And then we pretend like we didn’t just waste another night.”

He hated how she made it so easy to ruin himself—

and still, Cat was the shield he needed to survive Evin.

Bas let out a dry laugh, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Right. And that works for you?”

Cat tilted her head, watching him like she was trying to pick him apart. “It works for both of us.” She leaned back on her elbows, letting the silence settle between them before adding, “Unless you’re here for something else.”

He wasn’t. Or at least, he shouldn’t be.

Still, his eyes flicked to her lips, glossy and slightly parted, waiting. He knew exactly what she was offering—an escape, a distraction, something to fill the void that had been clawing at him for weeks.

So he stepped closer.

Cat’s smirk deepened, a silent invitation, as she tugged him down by the collar of his hoodie. Their mouths met, the kiss familiar, practiced, nothing unexpected. Her fingers skimmed over his jaw, nails scratching lightly against his skin. She tasted like cherries and something stronger underneath—vodka, maybe, or whatever trouble she had gotten into before he showed up.

His hands found her waist, sliding beneath the hem of her shirt. Her skin was warm, soft, but it didn’t ground him the way he needed. Didn’t set him on fire, didn’t quiet the part of his brain that refused to shut up.

Cat sighed against his lips, shifting in his lap, pressing closer. “See? Much better,” she murmured, dragging her nails up the back of his neck.

But it wasn’t.

His body knew the routine, responded to her touch automatically, but something was off. His mind was elsewhere—somewhere he didn’t want it to be.

He pulled back, breathing hard.

His hands didn’t move the way they were supposed to.

Because she wasn’t the one he wanted.

Cat must have noticed. She pulled back slightly, her gaze sharp, searching his face for something.

And for the first time, he didn’t bother pretending.

A beat of silence stretched between them before she huffed a quiet laugh, shaking her head. “God, you’re pathetic.”

Basswallowed, looking past her, toward the fairy lights flickering against the mirror.

Then he stood up.

“I should go.”

Cat let out a dry, humorless laugh, falling back against her pillows. “Yeah. You should.” She pulled the blanket up to her chin and blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Or maybe just stay miserable. Seems like your thing these days.“

As he left, closing the door behind him softly, he had a feeling he wouldn’t be coming back this time.

__________

Evin

Sergej's gaze was like a net closing in around her—heavy, demanding—and Evin realized she was already caught in it.

The air between them grew heavier. Sergej stood just a step away, yet the distance felt like an abyss. Her eyes locked with his, and for a moment, everything else disappeared—the flickering candlelight, the cool night breeze, even the pulsating noise of the city below.

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