Chapter 508 An Unexpected Proposal

Chapter 508: Chapter 508 An Unexpected Proposal

Diana’s phone rang just as Sebastian was about to speak.

She gave him an apologetic smile. “Sure. Just let me take this call first.”

It was Rose.

The last time Rose had visited, she’d stayed for only three days before leaving again.

Sebastian gestured for Diana to take her call, and she walked past him toward the balcony.

What Rose told her next caught her completely off guard—and filled her with delight.

“I’m pregnant.”

Diana’s eyes widened. “Oh my God! How far along are you?”

“A little over two months,” Rose replied. “I was on a business trip to Washington, D.C., and started feeling unwell, so I went to the hospital. That’s when I found out.”

She’d been so busy that she hadn’t even noticed anything was wrong.

Diana was thrilled for her. “So, what are you and Ryan planning to do now?”

“Well...” Rose hesitated, sounding a little bashful. “He’s been secretly planning our wedding for a while. But he’s been thinking about your situation, too, so he doesn’t want to hold it in New York. He wants to have it here in Washington, D.C., where you can come. It’ll also be more private, so you won’t have to worry about running into that person.”

Liam had been living in New York for nearly a year.

He was still staying in the apartment he and Diana had once chosen as their marital home. Rumor had it that he returned there every day.

The smile on Diana’s lips slowly faded.

“All right, I guess,” she said. “But it’s a lot to ask you two to change your plans for my sake. Honestly, I don’t have to attend. It might be better to avoid any unnecessary complications.”

She was genuinely worried that her presence might cause trouble for Rose and Ryan.

“Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve thought everything through. We won’t invite anyone who knows you, and the media won’t be allowed inside the private venue. Even if someone happens to recognize you, they won’t have any connection to Liam. There’s no reason for the news to get back to him.”

Diana gazed into the distance.

Time really was the best healer.

The pain still surfaced now and then, catching her off guard when she least expected it. But at least it no longer felt unbearable.

“Fine. If you’re in Washington, I’ll be close enough to visit you.” She paused. “You’re not feeling well, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Rose didn’t argue.

After a moment, she spoke again. “Didi, you need to give yourself a chance to move on. Not everyone is as heartless as he was. I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life trapped by what happened with him, and I definitely don’t want you to lose faith in everything.”

Diana understood what she meant.

Her eyes flickered briefly before she burst into a carefree laugh.

“As for me, I don’t believe in love anymore. Self-interest is much more reliable.”

Sebastian had just reached the doorway when he heard her laugh.

He stopped, caught off guard.

She sounded carefree, almost as though nothing in the world could trouble her. And yet, beneath that laughter, he sensed a faint, inexplicable bitterness.

It was subtle, barely there, but something about it tugged at his heart and left him with a momentary pang of sorrow.

Diana ended the call and turned around.

To her surprise, she found herself looking straight at Sebastian, who stood there with a cup of coffee in his hand.

He carried himself casually, his expression relaxed rather than stern. With his usual easy smile, he seemed like someone who would be pleasant enough to get along with.

His face, however, was almost unfairly handsome. There was something distinctly roguish about his features, the sort that might make a woman assume he had a different girlfriend in every city.

If Diana hadn’t known about his severe obsessive-compulsive tendencies, she might have assumed he was a notorious womanizer.

“Just passing through,” Sebastian said. “Do you mind?”

In other words, he’d heard what she’d said.

Diana shrugged. “It’s your house.”

Sebastian gestured toward a seat, and she settled into it.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Is Miss Sinclair single?”

Diana stared at him, bewildered.

“Why? Is that a problem?”

Sebastian caught the wariness in her expression. It was almost instinctive, as though she’d learned to brace herself whenever someone approached her with questions like that.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Have you been hurt in love?”

Diana let out a laugh. “Mr. Ellington, are you always this direct?”

“You just said you don’t believe in love. What else am I supposed to conclude?”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and took a sip of coffee, looking entirely at ease.

Diana wasn’t about to let him have all the fun.

“What about you? With your severe OCD, I imagine having a girlfriend—and getting physically close to someone—would be exhausting. Have you been hurt in love, too? Is that why you hate getting close to people?”

Sebastian pressed his fingertips to his forehead and smiled for no apparent reason.

“You really don’t pull your punches, do you?”

“I believe in fairness,” Diana replied, raising her eyebrows as she met his gaze.

“Fairness?”

Sebastian studied her for a moment.

“Good. I like that.”

“I’ve never been hurt in love,” he added. “I simply don’t like people.”

Diana gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

“You’re destined to be a lifelong bachelor. What a lucky life!”

“So you were complimenting me after all.” Sebastian’s lips curved into a smile. “For a moment, I thought you were making fun of me, Miss Sinclair.”

By now, he’d developed a fairly good understanding of the woman sitting across from him. Diana was feisty, sharp-tongued, and absolutely unwilling to let anyone get the better of her.

Still, it was true that he’d never been hurt in love.

At least, that was what his late sister had always told him.

According to her, Sebastian had been far too self-absorbed since childhood, convinced that nobody was good enough for him. Combined with his dislike of socializing, that attitude had left him without so much as a crush, let alone a relationship.

As far as he was concerned, there was nothing wrong with that.

“I’m making money off you, so of course I’m going to compliment you.”

Diana flashed him her trademark, eight-tooth smile.

Sebastian glanced at her professionally polished grin and raised an eyebrow, but he chose not to call her out on it.

“Dami really likes you,” he said instead.

“Of course he does. I like myself, too.”

Diana lifted her chin, looking entirely pleased with herself.

Sebastian glanced at her again.

Apart from himself, she was probably the most narcissistic person he’d ever met.

“Over the past two years, I’ve taken him to countless doctors and psychologists. I even hired a woman who looked almost exactly like my sister, hoping that might help him. Nothing worked.”

For the moment, Sebastian decided to leave the subject of her self-admiration alone.

“Then I guess I’m pretty amazing.”

Diana gave herself a congratulatory pat on the back.

Truthfully, she’d noticed the special connection between herself and Dami, too. The little boy had grown increasingly attached to her.

She’d always loved children, and it was impossible not to soften around him. He’d lost his mother when he was so young, and whenever he looked at her with those big, vulnerable eyes, her heart melted.

Sebastian stared at her for a moment.

He was genuinely impressed by what she’d accomplished with Dami. But then he caught the smug little expression on her face, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

“You’re right about one thing. Dami really does respond to you. You seem to reach him in ways other people haven’t been able to. You’re helping him feel comfortable enough to step beyond some of the boundaries he’s built around himself.”

Diana’s eyes lit up.

“So, more money?”

Her enthusiasm was immediate.

She needed to earn as much as she could. She wanted a place of her own, a car, and enough money to build a secure future.

Everything else could change or disappear. Money she’d earned herself was something she could count on.

Sebastian watched her make no attempt whatsoever to hide her enthusiasm for the prospect of earning more.

He set down his coffee cup.

Then, in a voice so calm it was almost unnerving, he asked, “Do you want to marry me?”