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Chapter55

Sebastian

THE AGONY OF UNVEILED TRUTHS

Ican’t bring myself to meet Sebastian’s gaze; instead, I focus on the tiles beneath my feet as we walk silently through the lobby. He doesn’t touch me as we step into the elevator, but I can sense his restraint, his effort to hold back.

When the doors slide open, my gaze instinctively flickers upward.

The woman walks towards us, looking as awkward as I feel as she glances at me.

Sebastian clears his throat. “Bella, this is Dr. Ingrid Berglund,” he says, his voice strained.

Doctor?

“Nice to meet you, Bella,” she says, then turns her attention to Sebastian. “Remember what I said. It’s important you see me this week. We need to change your dosage.”

He rubs the back of his neck and nods as she steps onto the elevator. The doors close, leaving us alone in a silence that’s now more bewildering than ever.

“She’s your doctor?” I finally manage, my mind racing, to catch up with this unexpected revelation.

Sebastian hesitates, his gaze not meeting mine. “Yes,” he admits, his voice heavy with weight I can’t quite decipher.

I’m left standing there, my heart pounding even harder now. I had assumed the worst and imagined the most painful scenario.

My breath is shaky when I start, “I thought...”

“I know what you thought.” He removes the distance between us. “You have to believe me, Bella, I would never...” He cups my face, lifting my chin and forcing me to look at him. “Ever, hurt you like that.”

His words hang in the air, and the sincerity in his eyes pierces through the layers of doubt.

Pulling me closer, Sebastian releases a shuddering breath, and the way his arms wrap around me, the apprehension in his embrace, tells me there’s more he needs to say.

I tilt my head back to look at him, my eyes searching his for the unspoken words that linger between us. “Sebastian,” I whisper, my voice soft but filled with curiosity, “what’s really going on?”

He hesitates, his eyes closing for a moment before meeting mine once more. “There are things I haven’t told you…”

“I can’t handle any more secrets.” The weight of uncertainty presses down on me, and my heart yearns for the truth.

He nods and gestures toward the living room. “Can we sit down?”

Without a word, I follow him to the couch, my chest pounding as we take our seats. The silence stretches between us, pregnant with unspoken words, and I can feel the tension in the air like a storm on the horizon.

“I don’t want to lose you, and I know when I tell you...” He pinches the bridge of his nose and mutters a curse. “You have every right to be angry. To leave. And maybe it’s not fair for me to even ask you to stay, but I love you, Bella. So fucking much, it hurts…”

His voice breaks, and I can see the torment etched in the lines of his face. The vulnerability he’s revealing leaves me speechless, torn between my desire for honesty and the fear of what that truth might be. But one thing is clear — no matter what he’s about to confess, his love for me is undeniable.

“I never thought I’d have this,” he continues, his words spilling out from the depths of his soul. “Never wanted to love someone, knowing...Fuck.”

“Whatever it is,” I say softly, taking his hand, “we’ll face it together.”

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