Chapter 58
SEBASTIAN’S POV
After spending last night getting myself drunk at a guesthouse, this morning, I came down with a terrible hangover. I was in no condition to drive myself back to the castle so I put a call through to one of my guards to come pick me up.
During the ride, he explained how they dealt with the man Catherine was cheating on me with before letting him go. I commended them for that.
Because of what happened yesterday, I forgot to go check on Brianna. With the maids absent, I was sure no one had attended to her yesterday.
“Oh, goodness,” I murmured, rubbing my forehead to ease my pounding headache. It was all Catherine’s fault. I couldn’t help but worry about Brianna—did she eat, bathe, or take her medication, which was supposed to finish this week?
Fuck! Fuck!! Fuck!!!
“Boss, you alright?” my guard asked, noticing how troubled I was in the rearview mirror.
“Yeah,” I huffed. “It’s nothing, just the hangover.”
He nodded and continued driving.
When we got to my castle, my expression changed with a mix of confusion and curiosity as I noticed some of the maids huddled together, talking urgently as if something was wrong.
My guard parked the car, and as I got out, two maids hurried towards me with a terrified look on their faces; their eyes were teary, red and puffy as though they’d been crying for days.
“Alpha Sebastian,” one of them cried out. Tears choked her voice and stung her eyes, making them flutter almost uncontrollably. “It’s Luna Catherine. She wants to jump off the building.”
“What?!” I exclaimed in complete shock.
I followed them to where everyone was gathered. When I looked up, I saw Catherine standing on the balcony of our bedroom. It was obvious she had just woken up because she was still in her nightgown. She was holding the rail, grief written all over her face as she pondered on jumping over.
“Catherine! Catherine!” I shouted at the top of my voice. But I didn’t think heard me. It was too high up there.
But I guess she did. She looked down and when our gazes met, her lips spread to a dry smile.
“Get away from there!” I continued, gesturing with my hand for emphasis.
But I don’t think she heard that one. Her fingers were still tightly curled around the rail, her eyes still on me as though she was psychically communicating something to me. Something inside me was telling me she was going to jump. I knew she would. Even though she did hurt me, I couldn’t let that happen. I needed to do something right away.
Goodness!! She was much more unstable than I thought. Why did she keep doing this? Every time we argued, she’d try to hurt or kill herself. I can’t go on like this. She needs help. After this, I’ll definitely arrange therapy sessions with a psychiatrist for her.
Immediately, I rushed inside and made my way to our bedroom. When I got there, I saw Amelia and the head maid. I’ll be seeing the head maid later, once I’m done with Catherine. She will explain why she granted the maids the day off without my consent yesterday. They were trying to convince Catherine not to jump and to step away from the balcony.
“Alpha Sebastian,” Amelia breathed out in relief on seeing me. The head maid nodded sympathetically in support of what Amelia was saying. “Thank goodness you’re here. Luna Catherine just woke up and said she’d jump off the balcony if you didn’t come back to her. Please talk to her.”
I nodded in response. As I approached the balcony with cautious steps, Catherine turned to me with her back pressed against the rail. She was breathing hard. I could hear the sharp intake of her breath as her chest heaved almost uncontrollably beneath the silk bodice of her nightgown.
At that moment, I hoped she’d have a panic attack. I knew it was wrong to wish for that, but it would distract her long enough for me to reach her and prevent her from jumping and killing herself.
“Catherine,” I said, moving slowly toward her like she was a wild animal I didn’t want to startle. “Please, don’t do this. Jumping off that balcony is never the answer. Step away from the rail and come back inside, please.”
“No,” she uttered, tears making her eyelids tremble. She pressed her back more against the rail, glancing down at the height and back at me. “Don’t come any close or I swear, I will jump. I’m a burden to you now. A liability. You don’t need me anymore. Won’t it be better if I died so you could be finally free from all the troubles I’m causing you?”
“Come on, Catherine, you’re acting foolish,” I said gently. “No one wants you dead. Please, just step away from the rail and come back inside,” I attempted to approach her, but she stopped me.
“Stay back, Sebastian!” She exclaimed with an outburst of emotion, shaking her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I will step away from the rail only if you can forgive me,” she propelled herself up and was now sitting at the edge of the rail. That position wasn’t good. It was precarious and she could fall off at the slightest chance.
“Fine! I forgive you,” I said quickly, my breaths catching in my throat.
“Say it like you mean it. Say it from your heart. Promise we won’t fight anymore… Tell me you love me, that you’ll be with me forever, and no one else,” she pleaded, her voice filled with desperation and longing.
“I forgive you. I promise we won’t fight again… I love—”
I couldn’t complete my sentence. Time seemed to slow down. Gasps from Amelia, the head maid, and the other maids below the balcony filled the air as Catherine slipped from the precarious edge she was sitting on. In an instant, adrenaline surged through me, and I reflexively rushed to her. I managed to grab her waist in the nick of time, stopping her from falling. She was light, and holding and carrying her down to the floor was effortless.
She held onto me as though I was her life support, her body cold and stiff with fear and shock.
“Quick!” I turned to Amelia and the head maid who had witnessed everything. “Fetch me a blanket, and call a psychiatrist. We need to schedule a session for her first thing tomorrow morning.”