Chapter 281

Sebastian glanced down at her, noticing her panic. A hint of amusement flickered in his eyes. He caught her hand and slipped it inside his robe.

Stephanie felt the firmness of his chest and froze. She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but Sebastian playfully held it in place.

“Let go of me!” she complained, blushing.

“What are you guys doing?” Sofia’s voice came through the phone, full of curiosity.

Stephanie’s mind buzzed. She had forgotten that Sebastian was still on the phone with Sofia. This was so embarrassing.

Sebastian teased her while talking to Sofia in a cold, deep voice, “You’re curious?”

Sofia was confused, wondering what Sebastian meant.

Stephanie thought, What the hell? Is he seriously teasing me like this?

Hearing Sebastian’s displeased tone, Sofia quickly backed off. “No, of course not. I’m not curious.”

No one in Fiorenza dared to be curious about Sebastian’s business, not even his own sister. She still remembered the two months she spent in the desert without a bath. She never wanted to experience that again.

“I’m really not curious,” Sofia added, just to make sure Sebastian believed her.

But then she couldn’t help but say, “Can Stefi really wake up this early?”

Stephanie was left speechless. So was Sebastian.

In Sofia’s memory, Stephanie always slept in. She had always struggled to get up during school days, usually arriving an hour late. It was only because Sebastian indulged her.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “Sofia.”

Sofia joked, “Wow, Stefi has really changed. Being away for three years has made her so hardworking. Has life out there really been that rough on her?”

“Hey, Sebastian, is she behaving now? Can she cook? Don’t let her make pasta without knowing how.”

“Was that even pasta? It tasted like she was trying to murder us! One bite and I felt like I had lost ten years of my life!”

Words failed Stephanie. She didn’t know how to explain.

Sofia added, “After all she’s been through, her cooking has to have gotten better, right? Please don’t end up in the ER again. Remember that time when you were puking and I had to take care of you?”

“Shut up,” Sebastian had enough.

Stephanie stared at Sebastian, shocked.

“I’m just saying. Her cooking really sucks. If you want to eat it yourself, that’s your business. But you always make Mom and me eat it too. I almost died at that time. And you puked all over me,” said Sofia.

Stephanie’s mouth twitched. She looked at Sebastian in disbelief, wondering, Was the pasta I made really that bad?

She didn’t know how to cook, but when she was 14, she heard that people made pasta for their families to show love. She wanted to do the same.

Was the pasta I made really that bad? she thought.

Sebastian’s face soured as he said to the phone, “Go check on your brain.”

Sofia said, “What? After all these years, you still won’t tell her? She needs to know. If her cooking hasn’t improved, I don’t want her to make anything for me, I don’t want to puke again.”

Sofia kept nagging on the phone. Sebastian hung up right away.

The room finally got quiet. Stephanie looked at Sebastian pitifully. “Did my pasta really send you to the hospital before?” It was such a big deal, and she had no idea.

Sebastian squeezed her small hand still resting on his chest. Stephanie realized where her hand was and blushed again, instinctively trying to pull it back.

“Let go,” she whined, forcing her hand back and hiding it.