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Chapter 25: the cost of pretending

Author: Chithority
last update Last Updated: 2025-04-04 01:03:28

Sebastian’s POV

The drive to school was quiet. Too quiet.

The kind of quiet that Was not peaceful but unsettling. Crawling under my skin like an itch I could not scratch.

My fingers gripped the Steering wheel. My Knuckles White as My thoughts tangled into a mess I couldn’t unravel. The call. The nagging doubts. The questions that loomed without answers.

Beside me, Vanessa talked. Her voice was light, animated. Filling the silence with talk of Princess, the dress, the shoes, something about a tiara. Normally, I’d nod along, maybe even throw in a comment to show I was listening. But today, her words barely registered. Drowned under the weight pressing against my chest.

“Seb?”

Her voice cut through the fog, followed by a gentle nudge against my arm.

I blinked. The road ahead had blurred for a moment, the lines smearing together before snapping back into focus.

“Hm?” My voice came out lower than I intended, rough around the edges.

Vanessa sighed. “I said, should we get her the pink one or
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