FLASH MARRIAGE; CHARMED BY THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE CEO - Chapter 293

Chapter 293: A Friendly Date
It was a pleasant evening for a stroll.

The sky was painted in hues of orange, pink, and purple as the sun slowly disappeared below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the city landscape.

The air was cool and refreshing, carrying the subtle fragrance of blooming flowers and freshly cut grass in Central Park.

People seated in pairs and in three could be seen, around the huge fountain, enjoying the gentle breeze, watching the sprinkling fountain water, and sharing laughter over a takeaway meal and drink.

The ambiance was peaceful and captivating, evoking a feeling of contentment and tranquillity.

Sarah didn’t know why she chose this meeting venue instead of the regular cafe, where she could enjoy her special brand of coffee while listening to Henry’s story.

She made these last-minute changes as her brother drove past the central park, the gentle call of nature inviting her to its soothing embrace.

Sarah was hoping for some privacy and at the same time an escape from her chaotic thoughts.

A lot was going on in her head, especially with her growing feelings for Henry, her phobia of abduction, and now Sebastian’s open affection for her.

Sarah was hoping to push Sebastian away after he related his interest in dating her through her bestie. She never anticipated the strange turn of events in his favour.

It all happened after she arrived at school, feeling a little bit exhausted from sleeplessness and fatigue.

Since her Regression Analysis project was not completed, Sarah already prepared her mind for a C minus in her statistics course.

However, upon arriving for the class late, she discovered that Sebastian had not only helped her out with the project but had also submitted it in her name, securing her an outstanding A+.

Although Sarah was mad at Annabelle for relating her problems to Sebastian, she was still grateful for his help.

As if Sebastian’s unsolicited help wasn’t weird enough, Sarah was in the middle of her methodology class later that same day when she suddenly fainted without warning.

When Sarah finally regained consciousness at the university teaching hospital, she was stunned to find Sebastian – her self-acclaimed knight in shining armour- already cozying up to her mother and father.

Sarah didn’t know how she got to the hospital or how her parents ended up beside her bed.

However after she got discharged that same day with a rare diagnosis of vasovagal syncope, Sarah discovered that she had become famous with the twinkle of an eye.

Pictures of Sebastian carrying the fragile damsel in distress were already trending on campus, with different comments describing them as the perfect campus couple.

Sarah didn’t like this development one bit. She hated the fact that Sebastian had seen her in her most vulnerable state. She would have preferred it if Henry was the one who helped her rather than Sebastian.

“Hey sis, is he here?” Michael came up to her holding two cones of ice cream.

“He is …”

Sarah’s ringing phone jolted her out of her depressing thoughts, causing her to jerk a little. She brought out her phone from her jacket pocket, a faint smile spreading across her lips as she saw the name flashing on the screen.

“He’s the one calling.” Sarah beamed childishly at Michael, her finger hovering over her screen.

“Okay… I’ll leave it to your date.” Michael winked, pushing one of the strawberry and vanilla ice cream cones towards her.

“It’s not a date.” Sarah pouted. “And I don’t want the ice cream now. It’s too late.”

“Oh I forgot, you don’t want to ruin your makeup.” Michael teased his sister.

“What makeup.” Sarah quirked her brows. “I’m not even wearing one. Remind me why did I bring you along again?”

“Because your safety is my priority”

“Yeah right.”

“Take your family boyfriend’s call before you give him a heart attack. I’ll be around if you need me.”

“You are so annoying” Sarah rolled her eyes, smiling as she turned away from her handsome brother. She swiped the receive button and said softly.

“Where are you?”

“I just arrived at the entrance to the park. where can I find you?” Henry’s smooth and silky textured voice made Sarah’s cheek give off a warm pinkish glow

“Drive down into the park and take the first turn that leads to the water fountain. You find me dressed in a blue jean and a cream jacket.”

“Okay, I’m coming.”

After driving for a few miles, Henry found a safe place to park his car, before heading towards the water fountain on foot holding two bags in either hand.

He was looking so handsome in a well-fitted sky blue button-down shirt, paired with chinos and finished with a pair of matching loafers.

As usual, he was on his disguise hat and glasses to conceal his identity.

It didn’t take long for Henry to spot Sarah waving towards him, close to the beautifully spraying water fountain.

Henry couldn’t help but pause and admire her from a distance.

She was looking so pretty and elegantly poised, her posture oozing with confidence and a little bit of uncertainty.

The fountain’s cascading water created a soothing backdrop, for a romantic outing, igniting a firework in Henry’s heart as he finally approached her.

“Hi…” Henry carefully dropped the two bags he was holding and came forward to embrace her but Sarah stopped him, even though she wanted to jump on him and hug him so tight.

“I’m sorry.” Henry smiled sheepishly as he recalled her rule about personal space. “I got carried away.”

“It’s fine.” Sarah’s smile deepened, revealing his cute dimples. “It’s good to see you.”

“Same here. You look great.”

Sarah’s cheeks reddened even more. “You too.” Her eyes darted to the bags on the floor. “What’s with the bags? Are you planning to go somewhere after here?”

“Oh no.” Henry picked up both bags. “I haven’t had anything to eat since I arrived. So I got something on my way here. But this second bag…” He extended it towards her. “… is for you, from my travels.”

“I thought I said…”

“I remember what you said perfectly.” Henry cut her off before she could reject it. “It’s just a foreign vintage musical box. Not jewelry or anything fancy.”

Sarah begrudgingly collected the bag. She looked into it and smiled at the ornamental music box.

“Not fancy you say.” She raised her brow still smiling.

Henry scratched his hair. “Not too fancy.”

“Thanks anyway. It looks beautiful.” Sarah beamed.

“I’m glad you like it.” Henry was grinning from cheek to cheek.

“Shall we.” Sarah led the way to an elevated and peaceful section of the park where they could sit and discuss without interruption. She knew her brother was in the shadows watching but it didn’t bother her.

“You can take off your disguise now. It’s just the two of us.”

“Sure.” Henry took off his hat and glasses, his deep blue eyes reflecting the captivating night sky.

Sarah was temporarily hypnotized by his deep blue eyes. But she quickly broke away from the spell when he cleared his throat.

“How about some hot dogs and soda.” Henry emptied the contents of the snack bag.

Although Sarah wasn’t planning on snacking, she couldn’t resist the mouth-watering aroma of the crispy hot dog. She wasn’t used to eating this spicy roadside junk food. But watching Henry dig into those bad babies, awakened her appetite.

“So how was your trip?” Sarah took a bite of one of the hot dogs, savouring the flavour in her mouth.

She listened in awe as Henry gave a summarized breakdown of their trip starting from the minute they touched down at Pelicum City.

By the time Henry finished his thrilling story, Sarah’s hands were trembling.

“Hey…are you all right?” Henry placed his hand on hers which made her flinch a little.

“Yeah…I’m fine.” Sarah slipped her hand away from his. She grabbed her bottle of soda and took a sip to ease her tension.

She recalled what the doctor said about things that could trigger another fainting episode and tried to get her mind off the attempted kidnapping.

A deafening silence stretched between them for a while before Sarah broke the tension with her cute chuckle.

“I still can’t believe my cousin slept in a prison facility field with a lot of criminals. It must have been some scary experience.”

“Entangled in the arms of her husband in the safety of his prison room? Henry smirked recalling how Amelia was glowing after spending one night beside Blaze. “Nah… I don’t think so. She seemed very happy and unwilling to leave.”

Sarah’s laughter resonated into the night followed by another awkward silence before Henry asked.

“So tell me, how did your day go? Were you able to finish that project?”

Sarah’s glimmering expression suddenly turned sour as memories of her embarrassing day at the campus flashed across her mind. She exhaled and brought out her phone from her jacket pocket.

She scrolled through her phone as if searching for something, while Henry observed her silently.

“Take a look at this.”

Sarah said, handing her phone to Henry. She watched as his smile also vanished and his eyes widened in both shock and disgust.

The sight of Sebastian carrying her so tenderly in his arms awakened a hibernating beast in Henry.

His nose flared and his gaze slowly turned cold and dangerous.

Sarah observed as his grip on her phone tightened as if he was trying to strangle someone’s neck.

“I fainted in class today.” Sarah hinted, dispelling the wrong notion from Henry’s mind, a knowing smile on her face.

Henry suddenly looked up at her, his initial anger morphing into alarm and worry.

“You fainted!” He put the phone aside and took her hands into his like a real friend seeking help. “Tell me, how did it happen.”

Sarah smiled, her heart warmed by his touch and the genuineness in his voice.