SEBASTIAN WAS EXHAUSTED. His car sat idle in the driveway of Rosewood Creek, a faraway look in his eyes as he stared at an unseeing point in front of him. It wasn't until a few good minutes had passed did he snap out of his momentary daze, moving almost robotically to retrieve his jacket and briefcase from the backseat.
His tie had been loosened, the first button undone as he trudged to the front porch. He was rummaging about for his keys when the door was thrown open, revealing his mother's small stature, a worried frown on her face.
"Where were you?" she asked, stepping aside to make room for him to enter before closing the door behind him.
"Mother," Sebastian greeted, the same lethargy lacing his tone in a sigh.
"Well?"
"Well, what?" he asked.
A perfunctory glance around his house confirmed that his mother had only just arrived—the perfect order of his things remaining untouched.
"Where were you?" she reiterated.
Sebastian made his way to his bedroom with his mother trailing behind him, awaiting his response. She watched as he put his briefcase aside and proceeded to return his jacket to its allocated spot in his closet between the two others of the same make.
He untied his shoes and pulled off his socks, fully aware of his mother's presence within the doorway of his room. It was clear she wasn't going to leave until her curiosity had been satiated.
"I was at work," he said.
He tossed his socks into the laundry basket, turning to find his mother still staring at him. He made no move to elaborate and she continued to keep her silence. The stagnation carried on until at long last she caved.
"Were you at that place?" she asked, her voice hoarse with unshed tears of frustration.
Sebastian needed no clarification. He knew exactly what she was referring to. After all, it was only the talk of Faith Hill that would send her spiralling into her maniacal tendencies.
"I work there," he said.
"How many times do I have to tell you—?"
"Mother," he interrupted with a frown that mirrored hers.
Caitlin Alrik flinched visibly upon hearing the tone in her son's voice. She clutched the fabric over her chest, her shaking hands turning a shade paler as she mumbled a weak apology beneath her breath. She lowered her gaze, eyes darting over nonexistent images flashing before her.
Sebastian walked over to her, his hands gripping her shoulders to keep her rooted to the present as he asked, "Have you taken your medication?"
Caitlin snapped her head in his direction, a scowl accompanying her wild eyes.
"I don't need it," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not crazy."
Sebastian was used to his mother's sudden outbursts. He remembered a time when he would panic: not knowing what to do, afraid that she would hurt herself.
But that was a time long gone. The scared little boy was all grown up, the effects of a tumultuous life hardening his heart and rendering him close to being as emotionless as was capable of a person. It didn't matter to him, this development. For what good were emotions if they would only hinder his path to revenge?
"Did someone call you crazy?" Sebastian asked, his voice taking on a softer tone to soothe her culminating fear.
"You did," she said with vehemence.
"Did I?" he countered.
Caitlin hesitated, brows furrowing as the realisation of the truth started seeping into the crevices of her befuddled mind.
"No, you didn't," she said at last.
"No," Sebastian agreed. "I did not."
He moved past her and gestured for her to follow him, leading her to the dining room where he pulled a chair for her to sit. He ventured into the kitchen to brew her a cup of tea, producing from within the locked drawer, a vial of clear liquid. He dispensed its contents into the depth of the teacup, the clinking of the spoon against the ceramic dissolving the medication with each passing second.
"How is it?" Sebastian asked, watching as Caitlin took tentative sips of the tea placed before her.
She said nothing, staring off into space as she distractedly drank her tea.
A moment later, she said, "I'm tired."
Sebastian took her hand in his, carefully lifting her in his arms. She clung to him, squeezing her eyes shut as the madness in her mind shifted from blurred static to swirls of colours. She exhaled in tired contentment, allowing herself to relax and give in to the darkness that danced on the edges of her consciousness.
Back in the confines of his room, Sebastian found his thoughts addled by the girl from the confectionery. It agitated him that she was slithering into his mind when she was to blame for his plans going to ruin. He recalled the smidgen of fear that seemed to overcome her at the accusation of her accidental murder. He admitted it was a cruel joke on his part, but one that was well worth it, if only for its purpose of amusing him.
The fact that she was the girl he'd seen in the hospital earlier hadn't slipped his notice either. Her being Klyde's patient was an added incentive he could never have anticipated. It left room for an investigation into her background without having suspicions raised concerning his motives.
He knew next to nothing about her but it was clear to him that she was smart. And it was the smart ones that proved to be a chore to handle. Still, he could find some use for her if she was compliant enough to be manipulated.
There was much for him to think about and to consider, his course of actions heavily dependent on determining if April was likely to push forward with their wedding. Although, judging by the seriousness of her incident, Sebastian was confident the answer was no.
Either way, if April's verdict was against their marriage, Sebastian wouldn't have much to worry over. He'd unknowingly chanced upon another girl at his disposal and one where blackmail was a possible cause of coercion.
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THE BRIDE'S BUTLER felt oddly tensed when Adine and Mike arrived for the day. She turned to Mike who shrugged, seemingly having read her thoughts. Not knowing what was going on, they ventured to their respective working stations; Adine's being right next to Astrid's.
"Good morning," she said as she placed her tote bag beneath the desk and settled herself into her chair.
Astrid reciprocated the greeting with one of her own and after a moment of silence, she added, "We have a very important client coming in today."
The confession took Adine by surprise, the tense atmosphere no longer a mystery to her.
"Lisa's preparing some memos for the meeting later and a few research materials on the venue for his wedding. Can you look over his profile for me? I need all hands on deck with this one," Astrid said, her eyes never leaving the computer screen as she grabbed a manila folder on her desk and handed it to her assistant.
Adine flipped through its contents, seeking out the wedding budget to better understand the client's standing. The written note within the column sent her eyes bulging as she turned to her boss with incredulity in her voice.
"Whatever's fine?" she read.
"Tell me about it," Astrid said. "I get the feeling he isn't particularly invested in this wedding of his. But what do I know?"
"Why do they do that?"
"Do what? Marry people they don't care for?"
Adine nodded.
"Who knows? I'm sure they have their reasons, but whatever it is, they hired us for our services and it's our duty to give them the wedding they desire. Here," Astrid handed Adine a post-it note and gestured towards Mike. "Give that to him, will you? I need their suit and dress from the storage area in the back."
Mike was busying himself with touch-ups on a mermaid-cut wedding dress when she came over to stick the note on his arm.
"What's that?" Mike asked without looking up.
"Retrieval," Adine said, peering curiously over his shoulder at what he was doing.
He plucked the note from his sleeve and glanced at the scribbled reference number.
"Is this guy coming over?" he asked, waving the post-it note in front of her.
She nodded.
"Why?"
"He's a pain in the ass," Mike said, making his way to the back of the boutique. "He demands too much, is never satisfied, can't tell me a single thing about the girl he's marrying and refuses to let me meet her."
"Yikes," she mumbled.
A majority of the dresses designed in The Bride's Butler took great inspiration from the way the groom saw his bride. The method of creation complemented the bride's finer characteristics and served to accentuate her inner and outer beauty as a whole.
This particular couple, however, barely had the time to drop by the boutique, with most interactions between the parties taking place over the phone. It was no wonder Mike was having trouble dealing with either of them.
"This is it," Mike said, hefting the covered casings from the storage room. "Are you sitting in for the meeting?"
"I'm on standby," she said, though she knew next to nothing about the bride or the groom.
"You better hurry with your reading, then," he said. "They should be arriving soon."
He transferred the weight of the casings to her waiting arms, waving her off as she hurried to prepare the garments for viewing. At some point in her juncture, Lisa handed her the client's folder, the information within momentarily ignored as she hastened to fix the suit over the mannequin.
The veil was just being draped over the adjacent mannequin when Astrid's voice interrupted her from beyond the dressing rooms.
"If you have any qualms, please don't hesitate to let my assistant know."
Adine gave her boss a shaky smile, hiding the relief she felt at clearing the garments for viewing in the nick of time. Astrid left as soon as the door had been opened for the client, the soft click leaving the two alone alongside the drafted mannequins.
Adine blinked, frozen where she stood as she stared at the client with her mouth slightly agape, yet unable to say anything; horrorstruck as she was.
He reached a hand towards her, grinning with a tinge of malice in his gaze.
"Sebastian Alrik," he said, introducing himself. "I look forward to working with you."