" Top 15 Things Money Can't Buy:
Time, Happiness, Inner Peace, Integrity, Love, Character. Manners, Health, Respect, Morals. Trust, Patience, Class, Common sense, Dignity."

Roy T. Bennett , The Light in the Heart

Day 4 of the ultimatum.
6:00a.m

In the morning, I woke up in a grumpy mood, no fault of anyone though, I guess it has to do with my hormones.

I pulled a leg out of the blanket and placed it on the floor, I swung my other leg over the edge of my bed and placed it on the floor too.

Pushing myself off my bed, I walked to the bathroom and washed my face with sufficient water. I wiped away the stray drops of water with a face towel and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

My hair was in a messy state and there were black circles under my eyes. My lips were a little bit chapped and I licked them with my tongue to moisten them. My phone rang from my room and I darted out to snatch it from my dresser where I left it last night.

"Hello."

The number was an unidentifiable number.

"Hey Florence, It's Sebastian."

My entire body went into an alarm. Why was he calling? Does he have news about the location of my sister's kidnappers.

Events from the coffee shop rapidly played in my mind.

"I think I might know where to find your sister."

💭💭💭

"What did you find?" I faced Sebastian who was seated next to me on a bench in the park. He had a tee-shirt and a pair of sweatpants on him, his face looked like it was recently shaven and his jawline was more prominent than the last time I saw him.

"I was able to track down their location, though it wasn't really clear, they are somewhere close to Miami."

My mouth fell ajar. Why Miami?

Sebastian had a sympathetic look on his face as he watched me lower my head in despair.

"I couldn't pinpoint their exact location. I'm sorry." His placed his hand on the flat surface of his laptop which was sitting on his lap. His other hand was draped over the backrest of the bench and his fingers gently brushed against my bare skin.

After Sebastian called, I made a phone call to Mr. Adam informing him that I wouldn't be at work today. He said he'll handle everything quite alright.

I had taken a bath and dressed in a tank top, and a pair of jean shorts, after which I rushed out to meet Sebastian at our present location. Before I left, Michael dropped by and proposed to take mom out for lunch and she obliged.

I banished my mental wanderings and lifted my head, fixing my eye on a grasshopper hopping happily from a leaf to another.

"At least, we have a headstart, it's better than nothing." I spoke when I noticed that Sebastian silently demanded for an answer.

"I've told Philip already, he said he'll meet us later by four in the evening."

I clenched and unclenched my fist, trying to straighten my slender fingers. I cracked my knuckles and looked up at Sebastian's blue eyes that were as clear as an azure sky. He gave me a weak smile which I returned. His hands crept over and rested on my fingers. I froze at his gentle touch and broke my eyes away from his.

I think he remembered Philip because he withdrew his hand and stared down at his laptop with a grim expression.

We retired to a world of silence as Sebastian typed into his laptop. I turned on my observation mode and scrutinized every tiny activity that went in in the park, from the family picnics to dogs and their owners strolling around to the young and old couples holding hands and laughing at different things. My eyes trained on the bench where Peter and I sat the last time we came here, instead of finding I and Peter seated there, two young ladies (probably sisters) occupied the bench, one of them was dressed like me and the other was coincidentally dressed like the way Tam would have been dressed had she been here.

Watching them was just like watching a Tamara and Florence movie from a balcony. I submerged myself in their tiny bubble for a few minutes.

The ' Florence ' lady teased the ' Tamara ' lady just like the way I used to when Tamara hadn't been kidnapped. Tamara playfully pulled Florence's hair causing her to shriek loudly that other people abandoned their activities to watch them.

Despondent tears escaped from my tear ducts and slowly trickled down my cheeks.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Sebastian examined my face in concern, his hand still hovering over his laptop's keyboard.

I wiped the tears with the back of my hand and interlocked my fingers.

"I'm worried about my sister, I don't know if she's still alive." I mumbled.

He ran his fingers through his hair and despite my emotional state, I found his actions rather attractive.

It was Mr. Philip before, now its Sebastian, what's wrong with me?

"We just have to be optimistic, everything will be alright, I believe that." He admonished and closed the lid of his laptop.

"I just find the two ladies over there quite similar to me and my sister." I gestured at the ladies with a nod and he turned his head to gaze at them. They had spread a blanket on the grass, under a tree and sat next to each other, hypothetic ' Tamara ' had her legs crossed just like Tamara. and ' Florence ' drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her hands around them.

Sebastian returned his eyes to me and a smile formed on his lips.

"You're really observant." He commented and I shrugged, pulling the hem of my tank top.

"I thought you'd find me weird."

"You aren't, you're just unique in your own way."

I scratched my cheek which gathered some heat as a result of his statement.

"Thanks for the compliment...by the way, where's your twin?" I quickly swerved the topic in another direction.

He appeared a little disappointed that I changed the topic but he didn't air his disappointment.

"He had something to take care of."

I nodded in comprehension and lightly rubbed my exposed legs with my hand.
..
"How..." Sebastian's attempt to start a fresh conversation with me was disrupted by Philip who appeared before us.

"I'm glad you could make it, man." Sebastian stretched his legs before him, his right hand shot forward to steady his laptop which wobbled on his thighs.

My eyes travelled to Philip's and a small smile appeared on his lips. He was still in his office garb but his suit jacket was absent, the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his arms and his tie's grip around his neck was loosened.

"Florence, how are you doing today?" He demanded ignoring Sebastian's pointed gaze.

"I'm better now."

"I think we should head over to somewhere quiet, before we get attacked." Philip's gaze was fixed on some people whose necks were craned forwards and backwards to get a better view of him.

"That's a great idea, lets go." Sebastian tucked his laptop into the bag I didn't know he brought along as it was concealed under the bench.

We hurriedly walked out of the vicinity of the park where a crowd of people were already huddled together taking pictures of us.

"The perks of being a multi-billionaire..." Sebastian dodged the desperate hand trying to grab him.

Philip let out a chuckle as we made a mad rush away from the hordes of people chasing after us with their 'assault machines' , I wondered how the Press managed to get knowledge about Philip stopping by at the park. At times I wonder if they had supernatural powers as they could hunt down their target for miles and pester out information from whoever they want.

I sighted Philip's limo parked a little distance away from us and we marched towards it. Aiden stepped out and opened the door for us to step in. Sebastian was about climbing in when Philip hooked his finger on his shirt's collar, pulling him back.

"What was that all about?" Sebastian asked in bewilderment.

Philip placed a hand over my shoulder and I shuddered at the sensation of his fingers on the bare skin of my arm.

"I'm just hoping chilvary's not dead yet." Philip shoved his friend aside and ushered me in. A smile was carved on my lips as I gently lowered my head to climb into the limo. Philip and Sebastian did the same with Philip sitting next to me and Sebastian sitting at the corner.

"It's not closing hours yet..." I was about complaining about Philip dumping his officework for me.

"Don't sweat it Florence, I would do anything for you, and you know that." He stared deeply into my eyes and I found myself not being able to look away despite Sebastian's presence in the car. I broke off my gaze to meet Sebastian who was busy with his laptop.

I glanced back at Philip who was still observing me.

"Thanks for everything you've done for me, I don't know how I can ever repay you." I gushed, tears coursing down my eyes.

In sincerity, I was very grateful for the past few weeks, He was always there, encouraging me, making me laugh. I even remembered when we visited the orphanage and the Park together, my heart warmed at his agreeable company. Going back a few months, I would never have believed that the egoistic Mr. Philip would look out for me. I noticed a reasonable change in his attitude, he never yelled at people like the way he was wont to. I chose to attach no connection between his change in character and me.

"There's only one way you can repay me."

He leaned towards me, his lips brushing my ear lobes causing a fresh bout of signals to travel up my spinal cord.

"Go out on a date with me."

I want to work on Florence's social and personal life which means that I wouldn't rush things. I want to take my time to properly craft the events that'll make Florence end up with whoever she's supposed to be with, or not.

I don't want this story to turn into a ridiculous story where she falls in love with the first person that comes her way, I don't also want this story to be easily predictable, I have a lot up my sleeves.

*lets out an evil cackle*

I want to make sure that even after concluding this book, you'll find a reason to go back to read it again and again.

Again,I'm not a perfect writer, but I really want the best for this book unlike any fairytale romance novel, I'd love it to be like life itself, unpredictable.

Thanks for your overwhelming support messages,

I love you all,

Don't forget to vote and comment

Tris.

I'm dedicating this chapter to
dhingra12 isabellasmith12001