âDevin actually feels really guilty about it. He wants to drop by, but his family had locked him up, so he
canât,â said Jake to defend Devin. The former deliberated it, but he felt he should defend the latter
anyway.
Karl, however, scoffed upon hearing that.
Guilt?
Mr. Hayes called Devin after learning that he was the one who took Frieda away. If Devin actually cared,
he wouldnât have hung up on Mr. Hayes.
Moreover, when we reached the train and saw him in person, he didnât let Mr. Hayes leave with his mom.
Instead, Devin kept negotiating and asked if he could take Frieda to the Jadesonsâ Residence first.
What bullsh*t. There was no way Frieda could survive if she was brought over.
All in all, Karl thought that Devin played a significant role in the matter.
Perhaps the fault stemmed from Devinâs upbringing and how he was trained to obey the Jadesonsâ
commands, though. He was not like his Uncle Shin and didnât have the courage to fight against his
family.
He certainly didnât have the guts to stay true to himself.
âCome on, let me take you to go see how Mr. Hayes is doing,â said Karl to change the subject. He turned
around immediately after to take Jake to Sebastianâs room.
Jake didnât reply.
He turned grimmer and could only follow along.
Sebastian remained unconscious in the room. He laid quietly on the bed and had a bag of saline
attached to him. One look was all it took to see how he had turned pale with deep eye shadows donning
his face. He looked utterly disheveled.
How did his condition turn so bad in just a matter of days?
Jake felt even worse upon seeing that. He thought about what he wanted to say, but he could no longer
deliver the speech he prepared.
âPlease feel free to sit, Mr. Chandler. Iâll head over to collect the medicine for Mr. Hayes.â
âOkay,â murmured Jake.
He nodded before he went and sat down beside Sebastianâs bed with slumped shoulders and head.
Jake actually had another reason for dropping by. For years, the four guys had been close pals. Hence,
the huge issue arising between Devin and Sebastian had made Jake and Shawn feel bad as well.
That was why Jake rushed over. He lived near the city, after all.
âWhat do we do now that you and Devin are in such a dilemma? You know, Devin really didnât mean to
do all that. He meant to come to visit after everything happened, but the Jadesons locked him up.
Sebastian, do you think you can find it in you to not blame him?â asked Jake.
He sat on the chair and seemed a little troubled when he spoke up for Devin.
Devin and Jakeâs friendship was stronger than most friendships. They both grew up in Jadeborough, and
their families were close because both worked for the government.
That made it so that Jake grew up watching Devin.
Cough! Cough!
No one knew how much time had passed, but Sebastian, who had been resting on the hospital bed,
suddenly coughed. After that, he slowly opened his eyes in the cold, uninviting hospital room.
âSebastian, youâre up!â blurted Jake, who was instantly delighted upon seeing that.
Cough!
Sebastian coughed again. Perhaps it was because he had just woken up and still hadnât gotten used to
his surrounding, but he couldnât catch his breath.
Jake noticed that, so he quickly poured Sebastian a glass of water. âSebastian, are you alright?â asked
Jake, âHere, let me help you up.â
After that, Jake helped Sebastian sit up on the bed and handed the latter a glass of warm water.
The warm liquid flushed down Sebastianâs burning throat and eased the pain. That finally made
Sebastian feel better and allowed him to regain a fragment of his strength.
âWhat brought you here?â asked Sebastian.
He looked at Jake, but his slightly pale handsome face showed no warmth when he did so.
Jake saw that, so he quickly explained himself, âI came to visit you, Sebastian. Shawn and I are so sorry
that we werenât around when something so terrible happened between you and Devin. If we had been
aroundâ¦â
âThis has nothing to do with either of you,â interrupted Sebastian cruelly. There was even a hint of
impatience in his eyes as he spoke.
That frightened Jake and shut him right up.
He knew just how bad Sebastianâs temper was. They had known each other for years. Among the four of
them, Devin was the warmest and kindest one, whereas Sebastian was his polar opposite.
Sebastian was quick to lose his temper and was difficult to pacify once he did so.
âSo, uh, Devin asked me to deliver a message for him. He said that he hasnât told the family who you
really are and claimed that he would keep this secret for you if you wish so,â informed Jake carefully as
he inched away from the bedside.
The Jadesons doesnât know who I am yet?
As suspected, Sebastian shifted his gaze to Jake and taunted, âIs he joking? He already sent his men to
go after my mom, so how could the Jadesons not know who I am?â
âItâs true. When Devin received his mission, his family only told him to capture your mom. They never
even mentioned you. Remember, Sebastian, that you are a member of the Hayes as far as anyone else
is concerned. If no one investigates your birth, no one will know that you are actually Shinâs son.â
Jake was quick to offer the explanation Devin gave when the former saw how Sebastian wasnât buying
any of that.
That was the truth as well. The Jadesons actually only knew about Frieda. They knew nothing about
Sebastianâs true identity, and that was all thanks to Frederickâs work from all those years ago.
Sebastian finally stopped talking.