All Chapters of Love Under False Pretense: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

“Sir, here are the photos from Robert Simon’s wedding.” The butler laid out pieces of photographs on Edmond’s table. As much as he wanted to go to Robert’s wedding, he knew that his appearance there would take the spotlight away from the couple. He hoped that house by the hills would be a good enough wedding gift though. He wanted to give him more, knowing how important his role was in their company. Sebastian was able to achieve everything faster because he had a reliable man beside him.“Oh, what do we have here?” Out of all the pictures, a certain grinning face caught his attention. “So the reason why Eugene Fray failed to meet up with my grandson is because he was at Robert’s wedding?” He picked it up and looked closer. Beside the Hollywood executive was a woman who was likewise smiling happily.“I also know who you are, Madam,” he spoke to the picture. His thumb brushed over Madeline’s face until it went down to another person. “This little girl, I don’t. But correct me, Geoffrey

Robert repeatedly wiped his sweaty hands on his thighs. His eyes shifted from the windshield of the speeding car to the rearview mirror. He knew there was nothing to be seen but he found no other solution for the unease inside the vehicle.“Relax, Robert. I’m not going to crash the car,” Sebastian’s gruff voice sounded off.“It’s not that, Sir. I just- I should be the one driving you,” the assistant replied. “Where are we going anyway?” He asked as they veered off the highway to a more secluded pathway that was usually used by large vehicles like trucks. They’ve never gone through this route before.Sebastian’s hold on the steering wheel tightened and then eased as he answered, “I have to cover all bases first.” Before he showed up in front of Andrea again.After the unexpected meeting with the lost toddler and her mother, Sebastian became more convinced that Andrea left with secrets that he should have been privy to. But for him to face her again, he had to know fully what happened

“Can you relax? We’ve prepared for the press release for months, we are good to go,” Andrea told Ren who was pacing her living room back and forth. Even Anastasia grew tired of moving her head from side to side watching her aunt stress herself out. The toddler had now returned to playing with her toys.“I know that! I’m just checking to make sure that they got the information right,” Ren defended herself.Ever since taking her hiatus from acting, Andrea still had Ren listed as her manager so that Elysian didn’t pass her on to another celebrity. Once she was sure that it was time to come out of her retirement, she and her manager cut off all ties with Elysian Pictures. That meant that neither of them did much entertainment-related work for the past three years. And it’s this that made Ren’s heart hammer in her chest.Andrea saw how uneasy her best friend was. “It’s not just the two of us anymore, Ren. We have all the help we could get. So as I said before, sit down and relax.”Thankful

The way Sebastian languidly trudged along the hallway to his office was more similar to a zombie than a CEO going to his workplace. Robert followed closer than usual in case his boss suddenly collapsed. He didn’t want to add a fractured skull to Sebastian’s increasing list of deterioration.Dark circles, rigid posture, bloodshot eyes, and assumably head and body aches because of the bottle of painkillers he firmly held in his hand. It was only less than two days since they went to Fort Havenshaw and the changes in Sebastian’s behavior and appearance were already this drastic. It looked like he aged ten years in that duration, becoming less and less of himself by the minute.It was scary how much toll guilt can weigh a person down. Robert shook his head at the situation, not knowing what to do. His conversation with Ren was not helpful with each of the couple advocating for different sides.“Andrea is your friend! You should have screamed at that bastard for not saving his wife!” Ren w

That same afternoon, Sebastian dragged his feeble form back to his office building. For the company's and his image’s sake, Robert made sure that no one got a glimpse of how dreadful the CEO of Elysian Pictures was doing.Sebastian left with Lilith pleading for him to stay. But something told him to get away from her as far as possible. Because if he did stay, who knows what he could have done? Even the billionaire himself recognized that he was a ticking time bomb. This amount of mounting pressure had to be released in some form or another. Venting it on his could-be-lying girlfriend was out of the question.“How could you do this to me?” Lilith screamed at the top of her lungs as her assistant restrained her. “I lost a baby, Basti! Your baby!” Sebastian passed by her parents on his way out, their shame in their daughter’s actions very apparent.“Decide for yourself how you want to proceed,” Edgar Quinn told him. “Don’t depend it on how you knew her from the past.”Sebastian trudged