Valeria felt almost breathless under the weight of the silence. She knew that silence meant Sebastian was upset. She lowered her gaze, letting the hand holding her phone drop slightly as she looked away.
She broke the silence by saying, "Then let me take you to dinner. Thank you."
Sebastian didn't respond and hung up.
The next evening, he sent Valeria the address of a restaurant.
Valeria arrived at the restaurant at around 7:00 pm.
It was a Nirosian restaurant. The servers wore black and red bodycon dresses, smiling warmly as they led Valeria to a window seat on the second floor.
Sebastian was already there. He wore a blue shirt and a gray suit vest and seemed to have been waiting for a while. His expression was calm and reserved, and he had already drunk half of the tea.
Valeria glanced at the time, and it was exactly 7:00 pm. She wasn't late.
A server approached with the menu, handing it first to Sebastian. He nodded slightly, gesturing for the server to hand the menu to Valeria.
She took the menu. The prices of the food weren't expensive. Valeria instinctively started to order. She actually knew Sebastian's preferences, but wanted to act like she didn't, so she asked him.
And Sebastian replied casually, "It's your treat, so just order whatever you want."
Valeria ended up ordering a meat dish, a vegetable dish, a soup, and two bottles of red wine.
When the food was served, Sebastian looked at the wine on the table. The server, wearing gloves, poured two glasses. Sebastian held his glass, swirling the liquid inside. He recognized the wine without having to take a sip.
But Sebastian never expected that seven years later, he would meet a woman just as stubborn as Jane. And this woman was just as determined to keep every detail clear with him. As if taking even one tiny advantage over him was something to be ashamed of.
His gaze deepened as he pressed down on Valeria's fingers, watching them turn white from the pressure. Then he lifted his glass and downed two drinks before setting the glass down a little too hard.
The glass hit the table with a dull thud.
Valeria's shoulders trembled slightly, and she let out a soft sigh.
She had ordered roasted chicken that evening, perfectly carved and neatly arranged on the plate. Sebastian picked up his fork and pushed a piece of chicken aside. "What are you staring at?"
Was he some kind of joke to her? He spent six thousand dollars on her, and this was how she treated him?

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