Sebastian burned the midnight oil and went through a few books to get a better understanding of teenage rebellion as per his assistant’s suggestion.
He learned that several factors contributed to the cause.
Some of them included parental pressure, arrogance, and heartbreak.
Sasha felt amused yet annoyed when Sebastian concluded his findings to her through the phone in the middle of the night.
“Mr. Hayes, which category do you think your son belongs to?”
“One, we don’t pressure him into anything. Two, he’s arrogant, but not that arrogant with me around. So, by the process of elimination, he must be heartbroken.”
Cough! Cough!
Sasha, who was drinking water, choked upon his words.
Heartbroken… Another one of my children has fallen in love once again. But why did he have to get his heart broken? Is he that bad? Why was he dumped? Damn it!
Sasha couldn’t keep still anymore as she asked, “Have you figured everything out yet? Who is it? Why did she dump my Ian when he’s so smart and handsome?”
Sebastian was rendered speechless.
So is this how men’s brains are wired differently than women’s? Unlike Sasha, Sebastian was having a fit when he found out about it.
He got his heart broken? How could he enter a relationship when he can’t handle himself yet?
However, Sebastian had completely forgotten that the young man by his daughter’s side was younger than Ian by two years.
Sebastian decided he would get to the bottom of things.
That night, Susan, who was in Yeringham, couldn’t help but send a message to the younger generation’s family group chat when she heard of Ian’s little fiasco.
Susan: Hello there, how is everyone doing? It’s so cold over here.
She then proceeded to send a photo.
Everyone else in the group popped up when they saw her message.
Vivian: Wow, Aunt Susan. Where are you at the moment?
Why is there snow in the summer? Is this real?
Susan: Yeah, it’s real. We’re at high altitudes. I’m dressed in a down jacket today.
Timothy: This is terrible!
Susan was at a loss for words.
Matteo: That’s called being noble. She went there for charity work, not for herself. We should be proud of her.
Vivian: That’s right. Kurt went to Norham with Mr. Frost a few days ago. He told me the water level there has risen.
Matteo: Why didn’t I know about this?
Ian: What do you know?
He finally appeared.
Susan immediately mentioned him in the group chat without hesitation.
Susan: @lan, how are you doing? I heard that you’re not feeling well as of late. Your dad even went to the office, right?
Vivian: That’s right, Aunt Susan. Ian is being stubborn again. He doesn’t want to go to work.
Ian: Vivian!
He practically yelled at her in the group chat in front of everyone.
Vivian sent an emoji showing a face with a stuck-out tongue to show that she was joking and fell silent.
Shortly after, the chat group quieted down. Vivian noticed that someone had sent her a private message. She clicked on it and saw that it was Susan.
Susan: Vivi, what’s wrong with your brother? Why is he in such a bad mood?
Vivian: Yep, Aunt Susan. He’s throwing a fit. He refuses to go to work and has been home all day. He finally relented when
it drove Daddy nuts.
Susan: What?
The news took her by surprise.
At the same time, she felt worried about Ian.
Why is he making such a huge fuss out of the blue? Is it because of work? Or… is he still mad at me?
She paused at that thought and deleted the message she was about to send to Vivian as if she had done something wrong.
Susan gave herself a tight slap.
“Susan, what are you doing? Why are you trying to act all high and mighty when you’re a wh*re?” she scolded herself.
The text message was never sent out after that.
However, she wasn’t aware that a certain young man, who had been hiding behind the screen, had been checking his phone every so often that night ever since the group chat fell silent.
But he was only met with disappointment.
Halfway through, he couldn’t take it anymore. Ian flung his phone onto the ground and submerged himself in his video games for the rest of the night.
Sebastian came in to check on Ian the next morning.
He nearly had a stroke when he saw Ian lying in a heap by his computer that he had yet to shut down.
“Ian, you are crossing the line,” he snapped.
One hour later, Karl, who was in SteelFort, received a mission. He was to bring someone over from Frontier Bay to SteelFort and train him for two months.
