The Cuddle Pact

31

World.

In which Mira is Sebastian's world.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬♛▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

» SEBASTIAN »

WHAT A SMALL WORLD IT WAS.

There I was, standing next to the love of my life, staring at the woman I once had strong feelings for (because it wasn't love, I knew it wasn't) and it still felt so surreal. She looked more vibrant, happy even, and it was such a difference than the woman I knew.

Our relationship wasn't the best. I couldn't love her the way she deserved and after Cade had died, our relationship changed for the worst. The moments where we just held each other and spoke about our dreams — hers being a doctor and mine owning my own business — were gone and the last few weeks were filled with just sex.

But then, almost seven years later, there we were, in the same place but not together. It made me realise just how bad we were for each other. I had withdrawn from her emotionally and Cade's death ate away at our sanity.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked, her soft hand sliding to my shoulder as she looked up at me.

I tore my eyes away from Serena and stared down her. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her ruby red lips parted as she repeated the question. I couldn't stop myself from pressing a soft kiss to her lips as I answered more calmly than I actually felt. "I'm okay, pumpkin. I'm just shocked — she's the last person I'd expect to see here."

And that was the truth. We had met at secondary school but started dating at the start of university. She and her family moved to Cambridge that same year, where I would've expected she'd stay for the rest of her life. But, I was clearly wrong.

"What a small world," Mira muttered under her breath, but I heard her anyway and nodded in agreement. The whole situation felt so surreal. I didn't even stop to think about how Mira felt about all of this. I knew that when we saw Weston, jealousy coursed through me and she wasn't even my girlfriend at the time. I could only imagine what was going through her mind.

Peering down at her, I took my arm from around her waist and linked our fingers together. "You don't have to worry about anything, okay?" I stated, watching her eyes soften. "You're always going to be the one for me."

She smiled softly and sighed. "This night is turning out to be more dramatic than I thought it'd be."

The chatter around us rose again and people began mingling. From across the hall, I could see her vibrant red hair and she stuck out like a sore thumb against everyone else. I was hyper-aware of her presence and I found myself doing my best to avoid her.

Person after person approached me and spoke about business ventures they wanted to do with my company. But, I was good at deflecting their questions and focused on what we were there for the hospital.

I was known for my large donations and it was funny to hear that people were betting on how much I would put down. But equally, there were people wondering why I would part with so much money so easily. It was simple, really. The guilt I had felt after Cade's death made me develop this need to help anyone and everyone.

My money was the easiest way I could do that. I had more than I could ever need and charities were the best way for me to put it to use. It was almost the end of the night, right before I placed my donation down when the clicking of heels captured my attention.

Mira was talking with a fellow chef she bumped into, which meant I was by myself writing the check. Lifting my head, my gaze fell upon Serena who had a small smile on her face. She was tense, I could tell from stiff shoulders and the way the smile didn't reach her eyes.

She was as stunning as ever, but whilst I stared at her, I felt nothing. No skipping heartbeat or butterflies in my stomach. We were as close as strangers even though we had spent a small part of our lives with each other.

"Hi, Sebastian." She greeted quietly, her green eyes falling on my hand holding the pen. "You making your donation?"

I stood up straight and mustered up the most believable smile I could. "Hi, Serena." Quickly writing a check of two million pounds, I tucked the pen back into my suit pocket and passed it to the person behind the table. He grinned and thanked me since he won the bet, letting me go back to Serena.

"Yeah. It's the least I can do since this hospital saved my life." I slid my hands into my pockets and spoke with a slight tremble in my voice. It was always awkward talking to your ex.

She nodded slowly and smiled a little more genuinely. "I heard about that. I was surprised to learn that you had heart valve disease, you were always fit as a fiddle." She flattened her hand against her deep teal dress. "Why did you wait so long to get treatment?"

A pregnant pause filled the space between us and I felt my heart sink. I wasn't sure I wanted to hash up the past and talk about Cade with the person who meant so much to him. She was closer to him than I ever was.

"I was overthinking things," I spoke vaguely, gesturing towards Mira when I continued my answer. "She helped me sort through it all."

Her gaze followed mine to Mira and she smiled softly. "She's beautiful. I'm glad you found love again."

Warmth flooded my chest as I saw her laughing with her friend. I could practically see her dimples from where I was stood, and I thought about how she had to be the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. "I am too. She's my world." I tore my gaze away from her and settled it on Serena again. "What about you?"

She raised her hand to show me her glimmering diamond ring. "Married. Have been for six years."

One year after we broke up. I thought, feeling my shoulders sink in relief. I had always hoped that I didn't ruin her outlook on love and that she would be able to open up her heart to another person. Thankfully, she did. "I'm happy for you. I guess congratulations are in order for you becoming consultant surgeon."

Serena grinned widely and clapped her hands. "All those years studying medicine finally paid off. I may be the youngest consultant surgeon, but I damn sure worked my ass off in the past five years."

"That's commendable," I responded, giving her one last smile before and awkward silence settled between us. I was sure that it was the end of our conversation until she spoke again.

"How is the Douglas family?" she questioned meekly, a small frown settling on her face. I assumed she was asking how they coped after Cade's death.

"They're doing well. Life goes on, and they're incredibly strong people." I informed her, thinking back on how she disappeared from their lives a couple of weeks after Cade died. We had broken up shortly after, but she didn't even go to his funeral.

I'd always wondered why, but I didn't want to talk about Cade. There was no point dwelling in the past when I had such a bright future in front of me. Serena acknowledged my answer with a nod of her head, but she had this far away look in her eyes like she was thinking hard about something.

I was thinking hard about if it was rude to just walk off.

"Well, I'll just let you get on with your night. It was nice seeing you again." I patted her bare shoulder in a friendly gesture and brushed past her to make my way back to Mira. She didn't say anything and instead sipped on her champagne slowly before I turned my head in the direction I was walking in.

She rolled her head on her shoulders tiredly and released a sigh. "I thought you'd never ask. I feel like my feet are going to fall off."

I chuckled and intertwined our fingers before leading her out of the venue. I was getting tired too and talking to so many people in one night had me yearning for my bed. "So you don't want to stop for some food?"

Mira immediately objected. "No! We can stop for food. Whatever they were serving there was nice, but the portion sizes were so small."

Glancing at her, I laughed and nodded over to the valet who had the keys to my car. He drove it over in front of the venue and dropped my keys in my hand. Tipping him generously, I lead Mira towards the car. I had sent George home after Mira and I spent a few hours at the fundraiser. He had a daughter and wife at home waiting for him, and I knew that Isabel wouldn't go to bed until he returned. Opening the door, I helped Mira climb into the car, holding the end of her stunning dress in my hand as she swung her legs gracefully into the car.

Leaning down, I cupped her jaw before pressing my lips to hers. "You're so beautiful." I complimented genuinely, seeing her smile and drop her gaze to her lap. It was endearing that even though we had been together for a few months, she still blushed in my presence.

I walked over to the driver's side and slid into the car. When I had to adjust the seat further away from the steering wheel, I realised just how tall I was compared to George. I drove to the nearest Five Guys and heard Mira's quiet laugh.

"I'm not sure we're dressed appropriately for this." She looked down at her dress and then to my suit, cracking a smile. "Takeaway?"

I nodded and turned the heater on. It was beginning to get quite chilly. "I'll get the food and we can eat in here." After she acknowledged my answer with a satisfied nod, I climbed out of the car and made my way into the fast-food restaurant.

Ordering the classic burger and fries, I took the bags in my hand and made sure to buy two vanilla milkshake to dip our chips into. It was tradition and after she introduced it to me when we first met, I couldn't eat salted chips without a milkshake.

When I returned to the car, we immediately dug into the food and Mira's calm voice sounded through the silence that had settled between us. "How are you feeling, Sebastian?"

I slowly chewed my mouthful before answering honestly. I had to get better at expressing my emotions to her. I'd already put her through so much and was still scared I would lose her.  "I'm shocked, to be honest. I didn't expect to see her ever again." I turned to look at Mira and she was listening intently. "But, I was happy to hear that she had moved on. She's married and probably has a kid by now."

"Maybe seeing her had its benefits." She murmured, chucking a chip into her mouth. "You're not on bad terms with her so that's good."

She was so understanding and as I stared at her doing something so simple like eating, it dawned on me just how much I loved her. A few long moments passed whilst I gazed at her with a soft smile pulling at my lips, and she looked up to see me staring.

"Eat your food instead of staring at me, Sebastian." She laughed breezily and the grin that broke out on her face had my heart skipping a beat. It seemed so cringeworthy that I was in love with everything about her, especially since I hadn't felt that way about anyone for so long.

Seven years without love seemed like a millennium.

"You're my world, you know that right?" I spoke quietly, holding her gaze.

She nodded. "Yeah. I do. You're my world too." And to sweeten her words, she gave me a smile that in my eyes, radiated the light of a thousand stars.