Kneeling for a Second Chance Novel

---- Chapter 165 Sebastian had been going to Valeria's place every day lately. She hated the smell of cigarettes and had mentioned it more than once. If he had smoked before going over, he would have stood outside for a while in the cold until the smell was gone. At that moment, he felt no restraint. He reached into the compartment of the coffee table and grabbed a pack of cigarettes. He took one out and held it between his lips. Squinting slightly, he took a slow drag. Valeria set up a lot of rules at her place. The tiny apartment was barely bigger than a walk-in closet.

He had to be sneaky when coming over, careful not to run into neighbors in the walkway. He couldn't park his car right by the building entrance because it would draw too much attention. At night, he wasn't allowed to roll over in bed, saying the creaky frame made too much noise. So he didn't dare move much. No smoking was allowed either. Even sleeping came with strict rules. And yet, like an idiot, he kept going back to Valeria's place. After two cigarettes, Sebastian rubbed his brow, trying to ---- steady himself. This was his fault anyway.

He was the one who got drunk and blurted out Jane's name. He could comprehend why Valeria was upset. If she'd called him by Shane's name in the middle of sex, he would've been furious enough to want to wring her neck. However , arguments had a way of pushing people over the edge. He was human, not some perfectly programmed machine. And the truth was, he did avoid saying Jane's name. It was like a secret buried deep in his youth. He was desperate to close that chapter for good. They slept together countless times throughout their secret relationship that lasted for three years.

She'd asked for everything from him. She'd gotten pregnant with his child, but she miscarried. He had also heard that she had gotten sick and had gotten married. For almost thirty years, Sebastian had lived his life like he was untouchable. And now, he felt like a total jerk caught ina tug-of-war. He had some guilt he couldn't shake and feelings for her that were hard to put into words, and those feelings just kept getting stronger. Just then, Nemo pawed at him. Sebastian glanced down at Nemo. Jane had found him when he ---- was a tiny puppy. He was shivering in the rain.

She held the little pup carefully in her arms and gently asked Sebastian if they could keep it. He hadn't wanted a dog. Just the thought of it gave him a headache, but in no time, the dog had grown chonky and healthy. Sebastian gave Nemo a light kick on the belly. Nemo thought Sebastian was playing with him. It rolled onto its back on the carpet, paws up, ready to play. However, with a dog of Nemo's size, that move wasn't cute at all. Instead, Sebastian couldn't help but laugh. "Silly dog." Then, he pulled out his phone and navigated to his alma mater's official forum.

It had been years since he had last logged in, so he could only browse as a guest. The guest view was limited, so he registered a new account. The interface made his head spin. There were pinned posts, highlighted threads, academic Q&As, campus gossip, and random life updates. Scrolling down, he switched to "most replies" and clicked on the top thread. It was posted seven years ago. "Shocking! The Mystery Campus Heartthrob's Secret Secret Girlfriend Revealed! Turns Out to Be the Poor, Dowdy, Overweight Girl from the Foreign Language Department- Pics Included!" ---- Sebastian frowned.

He clicked on the thread and saw the first page had a photo of Jane's back, intentionally taken from an unflattering angle. The comments below were even worse.