AnotherGuest: Welcome to my ramblings. I'm glad you feel that way as we're not even halfway through, there's a lot more dumbassery to go!
Chapter 21: Under pressure.
The next day Rina had a couple more tests in the morning and so Sebastian hadn't been able to go see her. Instead, he was in the hotel, catching up on some work. He had decent Wi-Fi and the work he was doing was basic coding so he wasn't too worried about his lack of concentration. He had decided to work outside on the balcony, the weather was still a little chill but it was refreshing, plus he could smoke. The whole kicking the habit thing went out the window the night after Rina's attack; he had bought a packet the moment he could leave the hospital.
He breathed in heavily and looked out over the city that was around them. It was relatively early in the morning and so was almost peaceful. Until his solitude was disturbed by heavy banging on his room door. Sebastian raised a brow and got up to answer it, he was dressed in his pyjamas as he wasn't expecting company. He opened the door and two men walked straight in, grabbing him by the arms and forcing him over to the edge of the bed and making him sit. It all happened in a brief second and Sebastian barely had time to process before another man stepped into the room.
Sebastian recognised him instantly and made no effort to fight against the two others who had a hand each on his shoulders. He did speak sarcastically as the stranger shut the door. 'Please, come in, no, no, I insist,' he said dryly as the man walked in front him, a vein pulsing clearly in the side of his temple. Sebastian refused to wince as the bodyguards' grip tightened on his shoulder, a repercussion of his rudeness.
Gideon Tyrell scowled at him. Sebastian noticed that Gideon looked like he hadn't aged a day since the photo with Rina that Maru had shown him. He stood tall and trim, his suit tailored to the highest standard and his greying, silver hair brushed back and styled with pomade. Sebastian didn't bother noting the hired muscle and what they looked like, they were inconsequential.
'So, you're the man that is listed as my daughter's medical contact,' Gideon said bluntly as he frowned at Sebastian. The tension was stifling. It was clear that Gideon thought of Sebastian as nothing but an annoying fly that had been buzzing around his head for the last hour. While the older man was clearly exercising restraint it wasn't towards physical violence, it was malice. Pure and simple. Sebastian knew of the power Rina's father held and while naturally it was intimidating, he wasn't going to let himself be bullied. Gideon looked at Sebastian carefully, noting his long hair and piercings.
Just to be an asshole about the situation, Sebastian used his tongue to move his lip piercing, the hoop that rested comfortably in the middle of his bottom lip. He knew Gideon noticed it and disapproved deeply as the older man's eye twitched. Sebastian kept his head held up high and refused to show any concern. 'And you're the man that claims to be Rina's father,' Sebastian replies, only to piss him off.
Gideon clicks his jaw and subconsciously adjusts his tie. 'I am Ophelia's father, all you are on the other hand is my daughter's pathetic attempt at rebellion,' he said simply as he turns his back towards Sebastian and begins to examine the room. 'Which will only end in disaster and with Ophelia returning home, to where she should be.' Sebastian could only watch as Gideon turned on the kettle and began to examine the selection of instant hot drink sachets. He picked up an instant coffee and ripped it open before pouring it into one of the mugs without ceremony. 'My daughter fancies herself as a little business woman, what with that farm of hers but after this, she'll soon realise that she isn't made for your type of life,' he said pouring in the water and giving the coffee a basic stir.
Sebastian was trying to stay calm but the audacity and entitlement from Gideon was infuriating. 'Are you angrier about the fact that she is living her life or the fact that you have no control of what she's doing with her life?' Sebastian said brushing his hair back from his face and giving Gideon a look. Sebastian ignored the jumpy reflexes of the two muscle heads and stood up, forcing them to move. He reached for his lighter that was sitting on the table and his arm was roughly grabbed. Sebastian scowls at the bodyguard. 'Either I smoke in here or you let go and I'll go to the balcony like I want,' he snapped simply.
Gideon subtly nodded at his employees and Sebastian was let go. Sebastian clicked his tongue in annoyance and grabbed the lighter, pulling open the door roughly and stepping out into the cold air. Fuck this, man, he swore in his mind as he picked up the packet and took one out, lighting it effortlessly and inhaling deeply. Sebastian then closed his eyes, trying to keep his cool around Rina's father. The guards moved to the door, enough to discourage him from leaving the balcony while Gideon sipped the cheap coffee. Gideon spoke as Sebastian smoked calmly, 'I assume you are the boyfriend,' he states, venom dripping from every word.
Sebastian shook his head and exhaled a stream of smoke, not looking at the man. He turned and leaned on his forearms as he rested on the railing. 'Not the boyfriend, just a friend,' he corrected. Sebastian inhaled deeply on his cigarette, trying to calm himself again, it was taking a lot of mental effort. 'I know you've already done your research into me and have construed this idea as to who I am and my intentions with your daughter.'
Gideon scoffed and shook his head, 'I already know your intentions-'
'No. You don't,' he said bluntly as he flicked the ash over the side of the balcony and let out a stream of smoke. Sebastian turns to look at Gideon, whose body was tense with restrained anger. 'Look, your daughter is happy. She loves her life on that farm and people adore her and she has a community. Pheebs doesn't want you in her life, she went out of her way to remove your influence,' he points out, trying so hard to keep his voice level and failing. 'That night you called her, by the way, which was a private number, so, illegal to get,' he pointed out before continuing his point. 'She was so angry and shaken up. The very idea that you could possibly interfere with her world terrified her.'
The two body guards shifted to a more comfortable position while Gideon placed his mug down with a well-meaning thunk. 'With good reason, Ophelia is my daughter; she respects her father and understands that-'
'You don't give her any respect!' Sebastian snapped as he lost his temper and threw his half-finished cigarette over the side and regretting it at the back of his mind; hoping it wouldn't hurt anyone or set anything on fire. Gideon's face was a deep red with anger. Sebastian shoved his way past the muscle and got up in his face, not caring about the repercussions. The two men grabbed his arms painfully but Sebastian fought to keep his position. 'Your wife died! She left you a daughter to care and love! Instead of treating her like the treasure she is, you used her as a business asset. You gave her a high-class education, making sure you stifled any individuality that she had, you crushed it because you needed a piece to barter with!'
Gideon snapped back, his cool façade vanishing. 'You will show me respect, boy! I could destroy your entire li-'
Sebastian almost punched the man, wrenching his arms in the bodyguards' grip. Feeling the pain in his shoulders and the ricochet of agony through his cast. 'I don't care!' He yells at him. 'Do it! Destroy everything I have but leave her alone! She is not some breeding sow who… whose only job was to obey and suck her husband's dick before he fucked off to work and visited his mistress during his lunch break for more "spice"!' Sebastian spat at her father. 'You have no idea what kind of life she ran away from, you're deluded with the idea that you know best but you don't take a single moment to listen to what she actually fucking wants!'
The guards yank Sebastian from Gideon and roughly drag him to a nearby chair, throwing him into it, ignoring the cry of pain that escaped. Sebastian breathes heavily and tastes blood across his tongue; he'd bitten his lip at some point. Gideon's jaw was clenched and his mouth twitched with fury as he stepped up to Sebastian and pointed a finger at him. 'I gave her the best opportunities-!'
'Was it your way of coping?' Sebastian whispered, his head bowed and eyes closed. He was tired, the last month catching up to him and now he was in some stupid argument with a man who was just determined to mark his territory. Gideon faltered and so Sebastian kept speaking. 'After your wife's death? Because Ophelia resembles her so much? She looks exactly like her and seeing as she's nothing like you… she must take after her mother, heart and soul. Did you just… objectify her because it was easier treating her as some pawn piece than loving her and seeing your wife's features and similarities?'
'Don't you dare speak of my wife in such a way, to assume that you know me or the love that I feel for her! The way I care for my daughter!' Gideon snarled as he grabbed Sebastian by the t-shirt and pulling him close.
Sebastian didn't even attempt to pull away or stop him and instead looked him dead in the eye as he spoke. 'You used her. Even at her grandfather's funeral you were trying to bend her back into your damn schemes and now, now you turn up, playing the concerned father. Worried about another man's intention when it's your own you should be thinking about! Do you really even care about Ophelia as your daughter? About her happiness?' Sebastian felt his anger dim to almost nothing, hating the lie he was telling himself that he didn't care about her. Having to fake that his feelings were simply platonic. The kiss resurfaced in his mind, followed by a wave of almost engulfing guilt.
'You love her,' Gideon chuckled dryly and shook his head as he shoved the young man away in disgust, dropping him back into the chair. 'Here you are, pretending to be her best friend while all the time, you lie and pine behind her back. You have the hypocrisy to say to me that I don't think about my intentions when your own are hidden behind lies and deceit.'
Sebastian shrugged his top back into place and brushed his hair into place as he scratched at his two-day stubble. He sighed and cleared his throat, 'I know,' he said bluntly. 'Difference is, I am not trying to push my feelings onto her. I understand that my feelings are my problem not hers, she doesn't owe me anything,' he said simply. The kiss… I have just got to forget about it. I'm moving, she's got her farm and recovery. It's just not the right time. It shouldn't have happened, he thought bitterly, hating himself.
'You're a pathetic coward and Ophelia will never return your feelings,' Gideon said simply to be cruel. 'You disgust me,' he states.
Sebastian shrugs his shoulder, 'so?' He said simply. 'I don't care. You can't hate me as much as I hate myself and all I want for Rina is for her to be happy on her terms. Which is more than I can say for you. So yeah, I may be scum for having feelings for my best friend but I'll never make that her problem and I'll never knowingly hurt her. Look down at me all you want, but from where I stand, you're the piece of shit father who only wants to use his daughter for his own disgusting gain.'
Gideon sneers at him and walks towards the door, yanking it open. 'Enjoy your lies, Sebastian Vance,' he threatens. 'Because one day soon, they'll be revealed and Ophelia will be out of your grasp for the rest of your pitiful life,' he said bluntly. Sebastian scowls at the man as Gideon leaves with one final barb, 'at least I have always been honest to her. You cannot say that of yourself.'
One of the silent guards shuts the door behind them and Sebastian is left in the arm chair, feeling both anger at himself and hate towards her father shake his entire body. His breathing became strained as he felt the anxiety double the pressure in his chest and he stumbled up out the chair, onto the balcony where he slid down against the railing and shakily lit a cigarette, inhaling on it as if it would be the answer to all his problems.
A tear dropped onto his cheek and he sniffed hard as he wiped it away with the side of his hand. 'Fucks sake,' he muttered as he tilted his head back and felt the weak sun on his face. He rubbed his eyes and breathed in deeply. 'Why does this have to be so fucking complicated?'