It was clear right from the very beginning for Sebastian that his family did not like Andin and he had no clue why. At first, he thought they were just reticent. Maybe they were just worried about this woman that he had gotten engaged to, a woman that he was only introducing them to for the first time. He could understand them being upset by that, though he was unsure why they are only taking it out on her; it would definitely be his fault if the engagement was real.

Surely, though, they would warm up to her over the course of the party. After all, she was supposed to be his fiancé. Why weren't they happier that he was settling down with a nice woman? Even Thornton had not seemed to mind last week yet only he and his wife were the only people who seemed to welcome her. It simply did not make sense, especially when, as the next two hours wear on, he noticed that their reception had not improved at all.

At one point in the night, both Andin and Sebastian had been separated. He was not entirely sure where she had gone, and honestly, with the welcoming (or the lack of it) she had been receiving, he could not blame her for wanting to get away for a moment. The rest of his family was milling around the room, completely at ease with the splendor of his home.

For a small, insane moment, he wondered what the fuck happened to him. He had gone through all the troubles to build Summers Entertainment from level zero up to where it was now. Now he could afford to live in a mansion, women were falling over themselves to get to him, and there were very few people in his life who were there because they were not attracted to his wealth and power. Sometimes it was easy to feel proud of what he had achieved, perhaps too proud. Yet being with Andin reminded him of what it was like to be more down to earth and to think about others.

He wanted her. Plain and simple. Painfully so.

Unfortunately, she was the only woman who had ever told him 'no', and that had been both frustrating and fascinating. His courtship of her had started out because of pride. He had to find some way to make her fall for him so that he could truthfully say he could have any woman he ever wanted. Somewhere along the way, the beauty that had attracted him to her in the first place was only the top layer of her deep personality, and, the further he dived beneath the surface, the more he found himself floundering in a sea of feelings for her.

More and more, lately, he had been imagining what it would be like to be in an actual relationship with her. How would it feel to wake up in the morning with her in his arms? How nice would it be to kiss her and laugh with her and hold her close? How amazing would it be to come home and have her there to talk about our days and discuss plans for the future? There was something deeper there, something he could not quite name, but he knew he wanted something more from her, something more intimate and gentler.

"Stop it," he hissed to himself. This was ridiculous!

He swirled the rose gold champagne in his glass, looking around the room. Everyone was chatting. He could see his brother in the corner, talking animatedly with his aunt and uncle, while his parents were talking to his sister by the door. They all looked happy. Yet, every single one of them had subtly snubbed Andin the moment he had introduced her. He just could not understand his family sometimes.

"What a nice place," said someone beside him.

He looked to his side. One of his old friends, Michelle, had sidled up to him with a smile. Their families had been close, even their families had gone on holidays together sometimes. She was around the same age as him and they had spent many years of our childhood playing together, to the point where she was almost like another sister to him. Lately, they had not been in contact as much especially since he was working on his own empire while Michelle was busy flying to New York to Paris to Tokyo and god knows where else for being a model.

"Thank you," he finally replied. He took a sip of champagne. He had nursed it all night, wanting to stay sober while he tried to figure out what was going on with his family.

"It has been a nice party, too," Michelle continued, not appearing to notice his short demeanor.

"Thank you," he reiterated the words before icily adding, "But the party would be a lot nicer if I could understand the cold attitudes toward my fiancé."

Michelle blinked. Clearly, she was taken aback at being called out but he was not about to take back his words. He had brought Andin to this party, and it was unfair that she had to suffer this unpleasantness.

She looked chagrined at being caught out. "Sorry, Sebastian. But, you have to admit, she is not the sort we expected you to date, let alone marry!"

Sebastian frowned as he regarded her sentence curiously. "What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, come on! Don't even pretend to live under a rock. We have seen you everywhere in the tabloid with different models in your arm. We know your type and she clearly is not the type of woman you would go for," said Michelle, shrugging. "Then there's the quick engagement. We didn't even know you were dating this woman, and now you're engaged? Did you accidentally knock her up?"

"Of course not!" Sebastian could not even comprehend why on earth his friend even considered that as a possibility. "Why would you think that?"

She threw him an exasperated look. "Please do not act as if you do not know it! You're worth billions of dollars," she pointed out as if that answered the question.

It dawned on him that his family had mistakenly assumed that Andin was a money-hungry attention-seeker who wanted to marry him for his famous family name and more importantly, his wealth. If only they knew!

"Andin and I have been together for more than three years," he said point-blank. Technically he was not wrong. She truly had been his secretary for nearly four years. "It just felt like now was a good time to settle down, get engaged, and introduce her to the family."

"Right," drawled Michelle. She did not sound convinced at all. "Anyway, you must notice that she is not the same as the rest of us." She sighed at my uncomprehending look. "She is just a common woman from a middle-class family."

Until that moment, Sebastian had always held Michelle in high regard yet after what she had just said, he could not help but deem her as snobbish.

Had his friend always been this snobbish? He wanted to say no but the evidence was there. His family was judging Andin because of her wealth or the lack of it. He was so horrified that I could find the words. I stare blankly at Michelle.

"She's beneath you, Sebastian," Michelle continued, not at all ashamed of the vitriol that was escaping her mouth. "You can find someone far better suited than her."

There was no one like Miss Andin Williams. She might not be rich, but she worked hard, and she was more genuine than most of the people in his life. He could not believe he was hearing this. He took a step back, suddenly disgusted.

"Sebastian?" Michelle asked. "Are you okay?"

"Andin is my fiancée," he stated, his voice cold which caused Michelle's eyes to widen. "She is the woman I chose, regardless of how much she owns. If all of you want to be so petty to judge her over money before you even know her, then you don't deserve to get to know her.

He turned on his heel and stalked off. Inside he was fuming. Both at himself and his friend and family. Right now all he wanted was to find Andin and apologized to her for even bringing her here. He now realized that he was being selfish. Yes, it was true that he had helped Andin with her situation but he had not been treated unfairly the way his friends and family seemed to be treating her.

"Hey, Sebastian!" Alexander greeted as he passed by him but Sebastian did not return his smile. If his lisle brother found this odd, he did not say a word.

"Have you seen Andin?" Sebastian simply asked.

Alexander blinked, looking both confused and surprised. "I believe she went outside you get some fresh air. Oh, by the way, congratulations on your engagement."

The 'congratulations' sounded slightly unenthusiastic, and his face twisted like he hated saying the words. But Sebastian did not call him on it. Nothing mattered more now than finding Andin.

"Thanks," he replied curtly and walked away.

Sebastian circled the room, avoiding the rest of the partygoers. They were all drinking and laughing, completely unconcerned by their own discrimination against the woman he had recently introduced them to.

The door to the balcony has been left open and as he stepped outside, he caught the sight of Andin standing there all by herself. Her red dress glimmered slightly under the moonlight, casting an ethereal glow about her. Then he started to notice the champagne-littered glasses around her and against his own will, his heart clenched tightly. She must have felt so upset that she started drinking. He closed his eyes briefly as he blamed himself. He should have known what he had brought her into. As he reopened his eyes, he slowly closed the gap between them. He knew fully well that this was entirely his fault, and would definitely understand if she was angry with him.

His priorities shifted, now all he wanted was to get her out of there. It was not fair for her to stay here amongst people who did not even want to acknowledge her. The best thing he could do for her right at this moment was to take her home and hope she would accept his apologies for the way the night had turned out.

"Andin," he greeted as he took a step forward.

Andin turned around. There was a glass of champagne clutched in her hand while her other hand was gripping the balcony railing as she swayed. Her cheeks were red and she looked slightly flushed. It was clear that she had too much to drink yet it was the woeful look on her face that caught his attention and made his gut clench.

"You!" she exclaimed as she pointed the champagne glass at him. "You!"

Sebastian held his breath as he could only hope that this mistake would not cost him everything.

* * * * * * *

The chilly night air always made goosebumps rise on her arms however as she stepped outside the balcony, the cold was like a slap on the face, driving away some of the fog that the champagne had started to create around her head. She leaned on the balcony, putting the two full glasses and one empty glass on the small, wooden table beside her then looked out over the grounds. They were magnificent and seeing them like this, he could see just how well her boss took care of his home or rather, how well he had paid for it to be looked after. The flowers glittered in the fairy lights and the white stone path snaked around the garden, winding through blooming plants and circling softly glowing fountains.

It was sad that all of this was just for one person. It made her wonder how lonely she would feel if she lived in a place like this by herself. She wondered if sometimes Sebastian felt lonely. She took a sip of her champagne, allowing her thoughts to wander. It was nice to be alone out here for a moment, away from the judging eyes inside.

"Andin."

She blinked and turned around, dimly realizing, at some point, that she had almost finished both the glasses she had brought out here. The turn made me wobble slightly and she cursed the hells that Damon had made her wear. Finally, she lamented how much she had drunk that night as she gripped the railing harder.

Then there her boss was, standing there, his suit perfectly pressed, his hair styled, and his blue eyes as deep and fathomless as always. There was no smile on his face. Instead, his lips are pressed into a firm line.

At that very second it made her question whether he was upset at her then dismissed it almost immediately. If anything, she was the one who had every right to be upset. He had brought her here where his entire family judged her and found her lacking. That certainly did not do anything for her self-confidence.

"You! You" She wanted to scream all the rage and humiliation she had been feeling but in the end, she realized that he was still her boss. "Sir," she cleared her throat and swallowed all the emotions she'd been trying to drown in champagne. "Why did you leave the party?"

Instead of answering her question, he closed the gap between them, then leaned forward until his forehead nearly touched hers. "I'm not Sir for you tonight, Andin, remember?" Then the amused smile on his face was soon replaced by a scowl.

"I didn't feel like being in there anyway," he said shortly, and Andin was taken aback by his harsh tone. His expression softened and he gave her a sad look. "I'm going to take you home."

All she wanted, from the moment she had stepped into this place, was to leave. Somehow, however, having him offer to take her back was unexpected so all he could do was stare at him dumbly. "But it's your little sister's birthday party," she pointed out. "Which is being held in your home."

"Well, they can find the door out if they want to leave," he said. She definitely didn't imagine the snarl in his words right now. He was clearly unhappy but not at her. Surprisingly, he was angry at his guests — friends and family. "After the way they have treated you tonight, they are lucky I am letting any of them stay here."

Andin caught her breath. Was he upset on her behalf? She certainly did not expect that. She felt tears gathering in her eyes. She had not realized, until that moment, just how worried she actually was that he might actually share his family's views.

"Come on," he finally said, his tone was so much gentler this time. "Let me take you home, Andin. I will make this up to you somehow. I promise."

In all honesty, he already had. She smiled tremulously and took the arm he was offering her then let him guide her back through the house. They kept ignoring everyone who stared.

"Where are you going?" His mother called out, finally daring to be the one to ask as we got to the door.

"Out," Sebastian said curtly. Then without another word, they were stepping back outside, the front door closing heavily behind them.

Finally, she felt like she could breathe again, and she followed docilely as he guided her to a black car. He helped her into the passenger seat, move around the hood, and then got behind the wheel.

"You can drive?" The question sounded even more stupid as soon as she had heard it being asked. Of course, he could. He had driven her before on their way from the cafe.

Yet he only grinned. "I didn't always have a driver," he joked, making her laugh.

The drive back to her apartment was short and she half expected him to drop her outside by the street so he could return to his family, regardless of what he had said earlier yet instead he pulled carefully into a visitor's parking spot and helped her out of the car.

"I know this might be inappropriate but do you mind if I sleep on your couch?" he asked as they stepped into the elevator and she almost dropped the keys she was fumbling with, trying to find the one to unlock her door.

"What?" she gaped, nearly not believing what she had heard. She must have heard him wrong.