CHAPTER 449

"Is that so?" Sebastian stopped work and looked at him. "Did you ask what happened?" Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"No," Lucas said. "She was in a hurry, so I didn't waste her time."

"Bet it's about Martin," Sebastian said. "Call Andrew and ask him about it."

"Sure." Lucas picked up his coffee and went to the couch to call Andrew.

He talked to Andrew for about ten minutes before hanging up. "You guessed it, Sebastian. It's about Martin." He told Sebastian what he heard from Andrew. "And I scolded him. He's too involved in this to see what's happening. He's usually really smart, but what he did was stupid. That's what I told him, and guess what he said in return?"

"What?" Sebastian asked.

"He said I'm not your real brother," Lucas grumbled. "He asked me what I would feel if you were to suddenly come back with a brother or sister and start abandoning me for them."

The disgruntled Lucas amused Sebastian. "How did you answer him?"

"It was a serious question, so I thought about it seriously before I gave him any answer." Lucas said seriously, "If we put you in Andrew's place and me in Abigail's spot, I would be sad if I found out that Martin's your real brother. I would want you to love me more than Martin, but I would also feel sorry for the kid."

"I wouldn't want you to pick a side, so I'd help you take care of him and try having him accept me. If he can do that, then I'll stay. But if he feels uneasy with me around, then I'll move out. I'm an adult who can live independently." He heaved a sigh. "But I would be bugged by one thing. If you stopped loving me because you suddenly had a real sibling, that would be unacceptable."

"You're a lovable guy. Nobody's going to abandon you." Sebastian cleared his table. "Abigail's the key person in this whole fiasco. If she has your philosophy, none of this would have happened. She should have given up when she still had time, but no. She stubbornly held on to things that weren't hers."

"If she just left the family like how you did in that hypothetical situation, Martin wouldn't have done anything to her. If she had to live independently, Andrew and his parents would try to help her out, but she had to stay and show her true colors. If she was part of the Whitfields, they would have kept her because she was family, but she's not. The Whitfields won't tolerate that, and that's it for their relationship."

Lucas gave it some thought, and he nodded. "You're right, Sebastian. If I were her, I would have moved out right away if Martin didn't like me. I did take his place for a long time, after all. I wouldn't want you to pick a side, and I'd treat him nicely out of guilt."

A pause later, he said, "But if I were actually her, Martin would have disliked me the moment he saw me. He probably wouldn't care about what I could give him. All I have to do is stay away from him so he won't get annoyed."

Sebastian laughed again. "You're reading too much into it. Don't worry. I don't have any siblings out there. You won't ever find yourself in Abigail's position."

"Oh, right." Lucas snapped out of it. "I got a bit too into it."

"Because you have too much time on your hands." Sebastian pushed a beautiful restaurant brochure to him. "You're going to this place at 6.30PM for a blind date."

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me right." Sebastian smirked. He was laughing at Lucas. "It's a blind date."

"Why? Why do I have to go on a blind date? You know I don't want to get married." He paused for one moment, and then horror filled his eyes. "Is the company finally in so much trouble that I have to be sacrificed in a marriage of convenience to save it?"

Sebastian cocked his eyebrow. "What do you mean finally in trouble? Do you want it to be in trouble?"

"Um…" Lucas scratched his nose. "I'm just worried. You're getting lazier lately. All you care about are Madeline and the boys. You don't even stay at the company that long anymore. And I have to settle most of the things here. I might run it to the ground someday."

"You underestimate yourself," Sebastian said. "I have faith in you, so you should have faith in yourself as well. You can do it."

Please don't put so much faith in me. I want to fool around too. You used to be a workaholic, and I could go around and do anything I wanted.

But ever since Madeline and the boys showed up, you never work overtime and you never miss any weekends or PTOs.

Which means I have to work. God, this is vexing. But still… "Is this a marriage of convenience, Sebastian?" he asked carefully.

Sebastian smirked. "What if it is?"

"Then why me?" Lucas howled. "This is wrong. There's still Grayson and Anthony to choose from. You should have gone through them first instead of skipping straight to me."

Sebastian answered, "But she wants you."

"She deserves applause for her good taste in men, but I won't thank her. I'm a celibatarian."

"Oh?" Sebastian asked, "So you won't go?"

"I will!" He clenched his teeth. "This is why you raised me. I'll marry anyone to save our company, even if it's a demon."

"Off with you!" Sebastian smacked his head with a file. "You should have debuted in the entertainment industry, not Anthony. You're a better actor than he is."

"Ow!" Lucas held his head and howled. "You don't love me anymore! You're selling me out and abusing me!"

"Keep up that act and I'll have you resign. You can start a career in the entertainment industry."

"I'd rather not. I'm a lot hotter than Anthony. He'd be out of work if I started my career in the industry.

That's not what I do." Lucas was still holding his head. "I know you wouldn't marry me off to just about anyone, but if our company isn't in trouble, why are you sending me on this blind date, then?"