CHAPTER 304

"Yes." Sebastian nodded and said to Grayson, "Lucas is right. The agreement is written for Ann to see."

After a moment of pondering, Grayson seemed to have gotten something, and his dull eyes gradually brightened. "Seb… if… I mean, if things really unfold like how you and Lucas say… If Ann really wants to marry me, and she still does even after I've shown her this agreement, does that mean her feelings for me are real?"

After all that she's been through, she might realize that I'm the one who truly loves her, and she'll fall in love with me…

"Dreams and delusions are two very different things!" Sebastian broke his love bubble unforgivingly. "If you just want Ann, then I have nothing to say. But if you want to find true love in her, you can forget about it! Ann is someone you can only share your riches with but not your sufferings—the one she loves most will always be herself!" Content is property © .

"Why would you talk about Ann like this, Seb?" Grayson asked in bewilderment. "She has never done anything majorly wrong apart from this one time when she drugged you. Your glory and wealth might not be the reason she likes you. Maybe she's attracted to you solely because you're exceptionally brilliant. You can't assume Ann's a snob just because she has feelings for you. Don't you think… you have a prejudice toward her?"

"I don't," said Sebastian plainly. "She's a pretty shrewd woman. She might never have blatantly bullied the weak or thrown her weight around, but the snobbishness that's deep within her cannot fool any shrewd man. Her kindness is only a facade for her deep-rooted selfishness and coldness. You can only ever share the sweetness in life with her but never the sufferings. If you succeed, her smile at you will be sweeter than honey, but once you're dispossessed, she'll run away faster than anyone!"

"I second that," Lucas echoed. "Grayson, I'll be honest with you. Seb, Kieran, and I don't really like her. Sure, she's nice to us brothers, but that's because we're all high-flyers. How dignifying it is to be close with the four of us?! But out there, she's as overbearing as she can get and thinks she's a big deal. She's just a relative, but she acts like she's the eldest and only daughter of the Hart Family, wanting all the socialites of Dusktown to regard her highly! I've only ever given her a d*mn because Father adored her. Anyhow, I've long had a problem with her."

Grayson fell silent.

The four of them had grown up together. He naturally knew he treated her the nicest between the four of them.

No—the four of them grew up with Ann, and while the four of them shared a deep bond, their relationship with her was… Well, only he treated her like a sister. Seb, Kieran, and Lucas… They were just nice to her because of their father's adoration toward her.

As rare as a situation when only very few people held the truth was, it was never without it.

Have I… Have I really been blinded?

He was in utter distress, and he didn't want to fall in love with Ann either. No matter how anyone put it, liking a woman who loved his brother deeply didn't sound pretty. If possible, he wanted to treat Ann as another woman like his brothers did. However, he couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't do it.

At that, he held his head in distress, shaking his head forcefully as he pulled at his hair.

"Grayson…" Lucas gave his brother's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze.

"You know what, let's not talk about this anymore." Sebastian didn't want to continue obsessing over the subject with Grayson, for he knew no matter what he said, none of it would get through to his brother.

There were many people in this world whom others couldn't get through at all once they fell in love, and Grayson wasn't the only one.

It was only until they experienced the harsh reality and their hearts turned cold would they finally come around and move on.

"Back to the agreement," said Sebastian. "What I told you just now would not only be written on paper, but also announced to the public. You just need to know yourself that I still think of you as my brother, and I won't severe our brotherhood just because you've done something stupid. But to the public, I will announce your exile from our family… Can you accept this, Grayson?"

Honestly, Grayson wanted to say no. However, he was the one who disappointed their father and Sebastian, so he had no reason to oppose it.

"You can call the shots," said Grayson with a nod.

"Alright, that settles it." Sebastian squeezed Grayson's shoulder as well and advised earnestly, "Though I've planned all of this and also figured out a countermeasure, I still don't want things to reach that point. I really hope you can come around soon, realize just what sort of a woman Ann is, and forget

about her."

"Yeah," echoed Lucas. "There are so many women in this world, Grayson, and any one of them is better than Ann. Why must you be so dead set on her? Ann drugged Seb and wanted to slither into his bed. If you really do marry her, imagine what would happen at the dinner table during Christmas and all?!"

"Don't even think about it," Sebastian said. "No matter what, Ann can forget about ever stepping into our home ever again, let alone share a table with me. I will not accept her no matter what role she takes on."

"Seb…" Plea laced Grayson's voice as he spoke. "What i-if Ann doesn't despise my dispossession and truly loves me? Will you still refuse to accept her as your sister-in-law even if she truly loves me?"

"I'd be a dutchman if she truly falls in love with you like you believe she would; that's just not who she is," Sebastian said. "Even if she truly falls in love with you like you believe she would, I still won't take her as my sister-in-law and a member of our family!"

Just the thought of a woman delusionally wanting to have sex with him through the use of philter repulsed him.

It was by sheer luck that Madeline's appearance turned him into a proper man and made him forget his traumatic, repulsive encounter as a child.

Thank the heavens that he noticed Ann's conspiracy in time, causing her plan to fail. Otherwise, his trauma would aggravate for sure. If he got nauseous whenever he saw women, how would he and Madeline live a normal married life and give their boys a perfect home?

Right now, just the thought of Ann already got him nauseous, so how could he accept having her as his sister-in-law?! Not to mention the fact that they would be sharing a table to enjoy a festive dinner?!

Just thinking of it made him abhorrent, wanting to throw up!

Why would he, the heir to the patriarchy of the Hart Family, compromise like this?!

Impossible!