The Only Family I Ever Had Chapter 09

The Only Family I Ever Had Chapter 09

My mind went blank.

Love him?

Why would I love Sebastian like that?

Then the memories came in flashes.

My eighteenth birthday.

A confession.

His name filling page after page of my diary.

The jealousy I felt whenever another woman appeared beside him.

The pattern was impossible to miss.

I had loved him.

Deeply.

So deeply that I would have given him anything.

Even my absence.

But now that intensity was gone.

The illness had worn it down until all that remained was the kind of attachment I might have felt

toward family.

Sebastian stepped closer.

He cupped my face in one hand and brushed his thumb over my cheek.

“I’m sorry, Claire.”

The apology came out rough.

“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have ignored how you felt. I shouldn’t have pushed you toward someone

else.”

He searched my face.

“Can you forgive me?”

He leaned closer.

By the time he asked again, it sounded almost like a plea.

“Tell me. Do you still love me?”

“Sebastian, you’ve had too much to drink.”

I turned my face away when he tried to kiss me and pressed a hand to his chest.

“I’m completely sober.”

He gave a bitter laugh.

“Claire, I’ve never been more certain of anything.”

His voice turned rough.

“At the wedding, when I couldn’t find you, it felt like something had been ripped out of me.”

“When I found out you’d left alone, all I wanted was to bring you back and keep you somewhere you

couldn’t disappear again.”

He swallowed hard.

“Then I found out you were sick. That you’d been facing all of this alone in another country.

His face tightened.

“All I could think about was how badly I failed you.”

He took a breath.

“During the accident, when I saw those pieces of metal coming toward you, I only had one thought.”

“You couldn’t get hurt.”

“Even on the operating table, I kept thinking I couldn’t die. Because if I died, who would take care of you?”

His voice dropped.

“Claire, somewhere along the way, you stopped feeling like just family to me.”

“Sebastian.”

I interrupted him.

My voice was calm.

“That’s over.”

He went still.

“Nonly see you as family now.”

I stepped back.

“Please let go of me. This isn’t appropriate, and you’re making me uncomfortable.”

His hand fell away.

He took half a step back.

His face went blank, but the hurt was impossible to miss.

“Claire…”

His voice trembled.

“I understand.”

He swallowed.

“I won’t do that again.”

Then, quietly, “Please don’t be afraid of me.”

I pressed my lips together and reached for the door.

His hand landed on it first.

I looked at him.

“Sebastian?”

“Sorry.”

He opened the door for me.

“I crossed a line.”

His voice was low.

“Good night.”

I went into my room.

Only after I heard his footsteps disappear down the hall did I finally breathe again.

The next morning, I woke up staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

I had no idea where I was.

Or why I was there.

My mind was almost completely blank.

I searched my phone until I found a file titled Claire’s Notes.

Inside were names, explanations, and phone numbers.

[Dr. Williams: Your doctor. Call him if you are confused or cannot remember where you

are.]

[Evan Mercer: Dr. Williams’s student. He helps with your appointments and day-to-day care. You

can trust him.]

[Uncle Sebastian: Sebastian Whitmore. He raised you after your parents died. He is very important

to you.]

I called Dr. Williams.

“Dr. Williams, it’s Claire. I think… I’ve forgotten a lot.”

“Claire, stay calm.”

His voice was gentle.

“I’m sending Evan to get you. He’s my student, and you can trust him. You should have information

about him in your notes.”

I found Evan’s section again.

“Okay.”

I ended the call, opened the door, and started downstairs to wait.

“Claire.”

A deep voice came from behind me.

I turned.

The man standing there felt both familiar and completely unknown.

He wasn’t Evan.

I hesitated.

“Who are you?”