The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 350

The movie ended just as dinner time rolled around, and Hastings took Citrine to an upscale restaurant.

After they ordered, their conversation drifted, light and sporadic.

Finally, Hastings mustered the nerve to ask what he’d been dying to know. “So... do you have a boyfriend?”

Without missing a beat, Citrine shook her head. “No.”

Hastings pressed carefully, “And what’s going on between you and Sebastian?”

Citrine’s brow twitched, her tone flat. “There’s nothing between us.”

She set her fork down and looked Hastings straight in the eye. “You seem awfully interested in Sebastian and me. Are you jealous?”

Hastings scoffed, refusing to answer. “Sebastian’s trouble, you know. He’s got nothing to offer you.”

Citrine thought, Well, the ‘trouble’ part’s true, but being broke isn’t exactly his problem.

Still, she had no intention of exposing Sebastian in front of Hastings. Between the two, she disliked Hastings more anyway.

Citrine’s smile faded a little as she met his gaze. “So Sebastian has nothing to offer me. And you do?”

Hastings stared back at her, suddenly earnest. “How do you know I can’t?”

“What I want doesn’t come cheap.”

He grinned, confidence oozing from every word. “Trust me, money’s the last thing the Cooper family has to worry about.” The Coopers were one of the wealthiest families in Crestwood, and Hastings couldn’t imagine anything in the world he couldn’t buy.

Citrine just smiled and let it go.

When she didn’t respond, Hastings didn’t push.

Dinner finished, Hastings drove Citrine back to Verona Heights.

But when they arrived, he didn’t unlock the doors right away. Instead, he turned to her and, with a hint of stubbornness, handed over his phone. “Add me.”

Citrine shot him a glance, took the phone, quickly searched for her number, and sent the friend request back. Then she handed the phone over. “Done.”

With her contact saved, Hastings couldn’t hide his good mood. He blurted, “So, can I see you again?”

She smirked at the screen, lips curling. “Clown.”

Just as she was about to set her phone down, a new friend request popped up.

She checked the sender, saw the note, and her lips quirked into a smile before she accepted.

Not even a second later, a message arrived.

Kali: Citrine Carmichael, what did you do? Did you force Hastings to post that?

Citrine lounged on the couch, typing lazily: Take a guess.

Kali: Seriously, what kind of spell did you cast to have Hastings wrapped around your finger in just a month?

Citrine replied, unhurried: What, you want tips? Sorry, I don’t teach idiots.

She lingered on the chat, noticing the little “typing...” notification on Kali’s end, and couldn’t help but click her tongue.

Must be composing quite a string of curses.