The Seventh Miserable Bride

Yasmine Taylor embraced Sebastian Simons for a long time without uttering a word. When the rain stopped and the glasses were empty, only then Sebastian dragged his numbed body and left the cemetery. Like his shadow, Yasmine followed Sebastian closely behind. However, Sebastian never once looked back at her.

After getting into his car, Sebastian was still silent. He just wanted to grieve alone without being disturbed. Yasmine picked up on it and stayed silent throughout the entire journey.

When they arrived at the city, Sebastian finally spoke, albeit in an indifferent tone, "Where are you going?"

Yasmine looked at him and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Where should I drop you?"

His voice was numbed and cold, just like his current state. Yasmine bit her lip and said, "Just drop me here then."

Sebastian immediately brought the car to a halt, waited for Yasmine to exit the car and left without any hesitation.

Watching Sebastian's car disappearing into the distance, Yasmine felt a wave of melancholy. She thought that perhaps her intention was misguided. Even under such trying times, Sebastian never really needed her...

As she strolled around the streets in a daze, her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. It was Lily Adams-

"Hey, are you still in B City?"

"Yes, I am. What's the matter?"

"Let's meet. I'll wait for you in the cafe we met last time."

"Okay."

Yasmine hung up the phone, hailed a taxi, and went for their appointment.

Lily asked Yasmine concerningly the moment they met, "Sebastian is still cold towards you, isn't he?"

"Yes."

Yasmine nodded sadly.

"Well, as a bystander, I thought I'd have a clearer perspective of what's going on. I thought about it carefully, and I wonder if Sebastian is treating you in this manner because he had something to hide?" Yasmine was surprised, "Something to hide? What do you mean?"

"What I meant was, is he treating you harshly due to reasons he cannot share? Think about it, he once loved you so much. How could it be that in just two years, Sebastian had totally transformed into a different person? Sure, sometimes people change, but it's still difficult to forget the bonds you once shared with your loved ones."

"Maybe he was mad that I left him despite his persuasion. At that time, he did tell me to not return once I made the decision to leave." "Maybe this could be true if this happened to any other men. However, I absolutely don't believe that Sebastian would behave this way. Sebastian is someone who values his relationships a lot. Even after Abigail betrayed him, Sebastian still could not forget about her, what more about you? If he did hate you, he wouldn't have looked for you after you left."

Yasmine was immersed in her deep thoughts. Lily's words obviously hit a chord. Indeed, Yasmine had always been perplexed over how Sebastian had drastically changed in their recent reunion. It was clear that he still cared for her deeply.

"What do you think? Do you want to figure out the reason? Even though you both may not reunite with each other in the end, at least you can know the reason why you can not reunite, right?"

"Yes!"

Yasmine nodded heavily.

That night, she dialed Gabriel's number.

"Hey, Madeline, what's wrong? I couldn't reach you for the entire day."

Gabriel Smith was grumbling from the other side.

"I'm at B City. Gabriel, after much consideration, I came to the conclusion that I should be the one in charge of our company's collaboration with Yaslor Corporation."

"Wow, you're basically the chairman now, moving the works all around and not needing to even brief me about it."

Gabriel said grumpily. "It's not that. You were not at the company this morning when something went wrong here. That was why I rushed over here to fix it."

"Isn't Lucy there to take care of things?"

"I've always been the one overseeing the development of our new product, Lucy is still unfamiliar with many aspects of the project. I'll send her back tomorrow."

"Is she still unfamiliar with the project after a month? Are you saying I'm horrible in evaluating the right fit for this project?"

"Of course not. Truthfully, I just want to personally see this project to its end. You know me, I have a strong sense of responsibility. Once I'm given a certain task, I need to make sure it's done to its best." Gabriel sighed, "Then, will I not be able to see you for a long time?"

"If you're free, you can come to B City. Otherwise, I can return to F City during my free time too."

"What about the marriage proposal? You said that you would think about it. Have you came to a decision?"

"We'll talk about it after the new product is launched in the market."

"Well, you're even more dedicated than the president of this company..."

Yasmine went to Yaslor Corporation the next day and went straight into the president's office. Sebastian was shocked but he immediately returned to his indifferent self, "Why are you here again?" "I'm here to work. I'll continue to be in charge of the project and its development. I don't suppose you have anything against that, right?"

"That's a decision made by your company, I have no rights to interfere."

"Great, then I hope we can cooperate pleasantly in the future."

Yasmine gave him one last look before walking out.

Yasmine began to pay special attention to Sebastian. As long as an opportunity was given, she would ask her colleagues everything about Sebastian, like where he loved to visit and who he typically hang out with. Soon, everyone thought that she was infatuated with Sebastian.

One afternoon, she gave a call to Fynn Jaymond from the pantry. The information she gathered from her colleagues had been of little use to her. In reality, they never really understood Sebastian.

"Hey, Fynn, other than the incident with Abigail, has anything happened to Sebastian during the two years I wasn't here?"

"I don't recall anything else happening other than his quarrel with his father."

"Then why did he become so apathetic towards everything? Don't you think he's hiding something?"

"Well..."

Fynn sighed and said, "I really don't know. President Sebastian has indeed changed a lot. He used to tell me everything in the past, but not anymore." "Then does he have any other strange behaviors?" "I didn't pay much attention to that."

"Then I need you to pay more attention to that now, and inform me each time he meets any person or visit any places."

"Okay, but why do you want to know this?"

"I just want to understand why has he turned into the person he is right now."

"Okay, I understand."

Yasmine hung up the call and was prepared to leave the pantry. To her surprise, she realized that Leah was standing behind her the whole time.

She politely nodded to her and walked straight past her. However, Leah suddenly said, "I suggest that you do not obsess over other people's private life too much. After all, you no longer have the privilege to pry into Sebastian's personal matters."

Yasmine froze for a while, but she quickly turned around and replied calmly, "Then what right do you have to offer me such advice? Why do you care about Sebastian?"

"I am the only person who understood what he's been through over the past two years. Miss Taylor, if possible, please walk away from President Sebastian's life, your curiosity may inflict great pain upon him again."

"What do you mean? How could I even do so?"

"I won't reveal too much. I'm merely reminding you out of kindness. If you don't want to see him in pain, please stay away." Leah's words were firmly graven in Yasmine's heart, but it made her even determined to truly understand Sebastian.

On her fourth evening in B City, she bumped into Scott Jules at the entrance to her company. Scott walked up to her and asked, "Are you free? Let's have dinner together."

Yasmine hesitated for a brief moment and nodded in agreement, "Sure."

They came to a steakhouse. After ordering their meals, Scott asked under the pretense of being casual, "How have you been over the past two years?"

"Not too bad."

"I didn't expect that you would switch your career. How is it? Is it more interesting than working as a teacher?"

"They're more or less the same. I just treat it like any other job that could make my ends meet."

The two fell silent, and Scott went straight to the point, "I heard from Lily that you have a new lover now?" Yasmine did not deny it, "Yes."

"Do you like him?"

"If I don't, why would I be in a relationship with him?"

There was a hint of sadness in Scott's eyes, "Am I the only person who didn't stand a chance at all?"

Yasmine didn't know how to answer him, so she quickly changed the subject, "I'm hungry, let's eat."

Heh, Scott grinned sarcastically, "I once thought you rejected me only because you chose Sebastian. I now know that it wasn't because that b*stard was lucky, but that I'm just not good enough. Looks like anyone else except me could be lucky enough to be that person."

Yasmine sighed deeply and said sincerely, "Principal Jules, since you and Lily are both married, what's the point of discussing these? It doesn't matter if you're good or lucky enough, it doesn't change the fact that we are both just not meant to be together."

Scott said with a self-deprecating smile, "Perhaps you had thought too much. I don't mean to complain about anything. Lily is a good woman, and I will treat her well. The reason I had asked you out today is to let you know that we are still friends now and in the future. At any point that you're in trouble here, please know that I'm always here to help."

She nodded gratefully, "Alright, thank you."

After dinner, Scott sent Yasmine back to the apartment and drove home. The house was dark. He turned on the light to find that Lily was still sitting on the sofa. He was surprised and went over to ask, "What's wrong?"

Lily slowly raised her eyes and asked him solemnly, "Are you still having problems letting go of Yasmine?"

"Of course not, what are you talking about?"

Scott quickly lowered his body and held her hands.

"I heard it all, 'Am I the only person who didn't stand a chance at all?""

Scott froze, "How did you hear that?" "I've been following you since you left school in the afternoon. I saw you went to meet Yasmine, and I sat behind you at the Victorian Restaurant."

"I think you've misunderstood, I..."

"It's been two years now. Am I still unworthy of your heart?"

Lily interrupted Scott and asked sadly.

"Why would you think so?"

"A person could only love one person at a time. If your heart belongs to me now, you wouldn't have gone to meet Yasmine behind my back. Perhaps Yasmine couldn't sense what she was actually hearing, but did. You are unhappy. You are unhappy that you didn't stand a chance to be with her!"