Husband With Benefits
Chapter 424: Do Overs

Chapter 424: Do Overs

Olivia gazed up at him, her eyes searching his face for any sign of vulnerability. The atmosphere between them was heavy with unspoken words and unresolved emotions. "Sebby..."

Seb stepped back as she moved closer to him and stood up, "Lets go, Olivia. Its getting colder here."

Even as drunk as she was, she knew that he wasn’t going to discuss the past. She could see it in the stubborn set of his face. Slowly, she nodded," Fine fine. I’ll go. I didn’t ask you to come here with me, you know. I’d have found my way back to my room."

Seb nodded and gestured for her to precede him as he followed her, sighing slowly. "Oh, I have no doubt you’d find your way back eventually, probably with a few detours along the way and maybe having lost a few things."

"But I am not your responsibility... anymore, Seb.", she goaded.

His jaw clenched even further and as they made their way back to the elevator, Olivia stumbled again while Seb instinctively reached out, placing a hand on her hip to steady her.

Any more words she could have said were lost in the moment, as she felt his hand on her. Such a simple touch and yet, she could feel everything within her come alive. She wanted to ask him if he still felt it too, but her words were lost as the elevator doors opened and Seb guided her in, pulling his hand away from her as if burnt.

This time, as they reached her floor, Oliva had closed her eyes, the tears there threatening to fall. She felt his hand touch her elbow to guide her out, and she lowered her head, not wanting him to see how she felt.

She fumbled in her purse for her key card but he couldn’t wait to leave her, simply using his own key card to push open the door. It was only as he turned to leave that she caught his sleeve, still looking at the floor, "Be honest, Sebby. Have you never wondered? What if we made the wrong choices, Sebby? What if we let something amazing slip away because of our fear or pride?"

"Life doesn’t give us do-overs, Liv. We can’t dwell on the ’what ifs.’ We have to accept the paths we’ve chosen."

Olivia looked up into his eyes finally and she knew he could see the tears there. She felt a bitter smile come on her face as his eyes softened. What was the point of all this? Even if he was as biased towards her as he’d been in the past... it wouldn’t change their present or the past.

"We never got to say, goodbye, Seb. To give ourselved an ending? Can you hold me, Seb? Only for a goodbye? For old..."

The next minute, she found herself crushed against his chest, his arms around her. Olivia could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the warmth of his body was both a comfort and a reminder of what they’d lost.

His hugs were still the same. He was the first man who had hugged her. She remembered how easy going he’d been. Sometimes hugging her for the silliest of reasons and sometimes for no reason at all. And she finally had his arms around her again, only for a goodbye that was years due.

"You used to hug me like this all the time, Sebby," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

She felt him stifffen and his hold on her softened, pulling back softly," Go and sleep, Livi. You won’t like it when you remember everything tomorrow."

As he turned to leave, Olivia stood there, watching him walk away while she was left alone in a dimly lit hallway.

***

Taking the steps two at a time, Seb climbed the two floors to his own room with his mind preoccupied. He shouldn’t have followed her out of the ballroom. He shouldn’t have helped her. It would have been better if he’d contacted the reception to send another woman to help her. Why did he have to be such a masochist? Why?

Lost in his thoughts, he almost collided with a woman who was navigating the hallway in high heels.

"Oops, sorry about that, ma’am," Seb apologized, reaching out to steady her.

The woman smiled, her eyes sparkling, "No harm done. I’m quite used to navigating these heels, but they do have a mind of their own sometimes. And I was distracted... Thank you for saving me from a nasty fall!"

Seb smiled, "I’m glad you are fine. I would have hated seeing such a beautiful woman hurt."

"If I was hurt because of you, I’m sure you’d have accompanied me to the hospital. Dang! You saved me from spending the night with a handsome stranger." The woman flirted making Seb chuckle as he replied," Hey! That is really my loss."

As she laughed at his joke, Seb felt a subtle shift in the atmosphere.

Glancing over, his heart sank as he saw Olivia standing behind him, her eyes fixated on them. The hurt in her eyes was unmistakable, and a pang of guilt gnawed at him, even though he hadn’t done anything to be guilty of.

"I should get going," the woman said with a smile, as she winked at him," Better luck next time..."

"Yeah, it was nice talking to you," Seb replied absentmindedly, his attention still drawn to Olivia.

Once the lady was gone, he hurried to Olivia who seemed to have frozen there. "What are you doing here?"

"Is she the reason you were in a hurry to deposit me to my room and come back here?"

Sebastian frowned in confusion before his eyes hardened," Olivia, you need to go back to your room."

"You didn’t answer my question."

"I don’t need to answer it. We are only old acquaintances. Nothing else. It would do you well to remember that. Now, leave."

Olivia shook her head," I won’t."

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