Suspicious Cousin

In the end, Sebastian couldn't lie down with Irene because he received a call from his secretary. As Irene said before, he was a busy man, and it was impossible for him to play around at the hotel before sunset.

The call after call rang on his phone, and his secretary started sending him many documents through his mail, making Sebastian couldn't take his eyes off his laptop screen. He looked so busy that he no longer noticed Irene's presence.

Irene stood on the hotel's balcony, her eyes staring into the cloudy sky above her. The autumn air brushed against her skin, making her shiver a little before she lit a match. The balcony was beginning to be covered in puffs of white smoke, carrying the nicotine smell that made Irene's head feel lighter.

Leaning against the railing, Irene blew slowly, watching as the white smoke mingled with the wind before dissipating into the ether. She stared at the cigarette between her fingers, feeling a little guilty for smoking nicotine again after quitting for three months.

She thought she no longer needed to seek solace through a cigarette because she could seek her happiness from Daniel and her jewelry business. However, her business and boyfriend eventually evaporated like smoke, making Irene run back to nicotine.

When she wanted to light her third cigarette, the balcony door suddenly opened, and Irene could hear someone walking toward her. "Miss Russell, are you trying to burn our room?"

Sebastian waved his hands several times, trying to get rid of the white smoke that had made him cough. Irene put the lighter back in her pocket. She didn't want to light a cigarette once her room was occupied by strangers.

"It's just two cigarettes." Irene turned around. She sat on the chair and crossed her legs. 

Sebastian approached her, then took a cigarette between her fingers. "Even one cigarette can set a building on fire."

Irene laughed out loud because it was unusual for a man to lecture her about the negative things about smoking. "You're not a fan of smoking, aren't you?"

He smiled at her before throwing the cigarette into the trash can. "Instead of burning my lungs, I like to drown my liver with booze."

"What's the difference?" Irene shrugged, "Those things can kill us."

"At least, I only choose to consume one of them, Miss Russell." Before Irene could reply, Sebastian showed Irene something on his phone. "Do you know anything about a news company called Daily Fact?"

Irene took the phone and noticed the silver pen logo on the screen. "Not really. Why?"

"According to Mrs. Cain, Daily Fact is the first news site that release gossip about you." Sebastian sat beside Irene so they could talk more comfortably.

Irene tapped her fingers on the screen. She didn't say anything for a while because she was thinking about something. "Actually, I know someone who works in Daily Fact, but we haven't spoken for the past few years, so I'm not too sure if she did it."

"Your friend?"

She shook her head. "No. She's my cousin from my mother's side."

Her name was Anetta Ramos. When Irene's mother was still alive, she used to play around with Anetta many times. Their relationship was good, even with Anetta's mother, the younger sister of her late mother always invited Irene to stay at her house after her mother died.

However, when her father married for a second time, Anetta and her mother never contacted her again. Even her aunt changed her number so Irene could not call her anymore. It was such a horrendous memory for Irene because she lost everything at that time, even her father also began to forget her presence.

After years, Irene never tried to contact Anetta or her mother anymore. Sometimes, she would try to find information about their whereabouts but did not do anything with that information.

"We don't have any problems, so why is she suddenly trying to throw my name under the bus?" Irene bit her thumb, feeling anxious because someone close to her wanted to betray her.

"We can't assume that yet." Sebastian doubted, "Maybe it's just a coincidence. I'll have Mrs. Cain investigate this further."

"It's alright." Irene sighed tiredly. She leaned toward the chair because she was tired. "Being betrayed by my family is nothing new for me. Just focus on clearing my name before morning."

Sebastian, "It's better to know more than nothing."

Irene lowered her gaze and thought Sebastian had the point. If Anetta wasn't the one who wanted to bring down her name, then Irene would be harboring hatred for the wrong person. 

Nonetheless, it was also possible that she was the one who did it. Whether she knew the facts or not, Irene's heart still wouldn't be at ease.

"Tell me if you find anything." Irene murmured, "I want to know more."

Sebastian curved his lips and offered candy to her in exchange for the cigarette he had thrown earlier. "Glad to hear that."

Irene stared at the milk candy in her hand for a few moments. Rather than feeling annoyed at being regarded as a child, she was more curious as to why the man, who was considered a tyrant was carrying around candy in his pocket.

Sebastian, who felt her doubt stare, immediately came to his defense, "What? Sweetness is good to stimulate your brain." 

"I said nothing, Mr. Delacroix." Irene grinned like a Cheshire cat while her hands were busy unwrapping candy. "You're not going back inside? Don't you have a lot of work to do?"

"I have." Sebastian teased her, "But seeing a beautiful woman smoking alone on the balcony makes me unable to focus on work."

"I'm just eating candy now."

"I also can't work when I see a beautiful woman sitting on the balcony alone."

Irene giggled after hearing those nonsensical excuses. "You're just trying to find an excuse to escape from your responsibilities, right?"

"Ah, you caught me, Miss Russell." He said, "I just want to stop looking at the mail notification on my laptop screen for a while. Besides, it's better to stare at a beautiful woman in front of me rather than those workloads."

Irene guessed that Sebastian deliberately took her to the hotel not because he wanted to escape from the reporters but because he wanted to take a vacation for a day.

She was sure that running a business network that spanned across continents was no easy task for one person. Nonetheless, Irene thought it was better to occupy herself to death than to desperately search for money on the streets. "You're quite lucky, Mr. Delacroix. Not many people were born under the lucky star."

"Not really," Sebastian spoke in low intonation. "I don't even know if I'm a lucky person or not."

Before Irene could refute his words, Sebastian had already suggested something. "How about a drink tonight to celebrate our marriage?"

Irene raised her eyebrows. "We're not even married yet, so why celebrate now?"

"Well, how about celebrating your coming to my house?"

"I don't live in your house yet either," said Irene.

Sebastian, "But you will. So, are you interested, Miss Russell? Wine and steak don't sound so bad, right?"