Kneeling for a Second Chance Novel

---- Chapter 283 Valeria's head bumped into the man's chest. She rubbed her temples, thinking the person she had bumped into had a hard and bony chest. "Lenny..." Valeria reached forward to touch his damp hair." Lenny... Mm... Did you just take a shower? You need to dry off .». Otherwise, you'll catch a cold..." Valeria's words carried the faint scent of alcohol. Her bright eyes were narrowed slightly, and her long hair carried a faint, lingering fragrance. That fragrance, mingling with the intoxicating breath of alcohol, seeped into the air and wrapped around him.

Sebastian had meant to steady her at the doorway, but Valeria pushed at his chest. When he didn't move, she caught hold of the front of his bathrobe and mumbled, "Lenny, don't stand in the way..." Hearing that, Sebastian stepped aside. He then watched her sway her way inside and kick off her shoes at the door. Her cheeks were flushed, her senses blurred by alcohol. She reached both arms behind her back, trying to pull down the zipper of her dress. Valeria wore a blue dress that night, and it had a long hem. It swayed with her steps, revealing her slender ankles.

---- She was barefoot, her feet on the dark gray wooden floor. Sebastian lowered his dark gaze, staring at her feet. His lips pressed into a thin line. Valeria was tired, dizzy, and unsteady. Her hands reached toward her back again and again, never touching the zipper. She had no choice but to turn to the one she believed was her daughter. "Lenny, help me pull the zipper." With his slender fingers, Sebastian gently swept her hair over one shoulder, baring the graceful line of her neck. When he ran his fingers through her hair, he lingered, pinching one silky strand before letting it go.

He then caught the zipper and eased it down. It ran from the top to her waist. Valeria turned in a haze and wrapped her arms around Sebastian. "Thank you, Lenny." She thought Selena had grown taller -or maybe she was just drunk and couldn't stand straight. She wanted to kiss Selena's cheek, but she couldn't reach it. Valeria turned and started for the bedroom. Her gaze fell on the dog bowl on the floor. She thought she might have forgotten to feed the dog. She didn't know if ---- Selena had fed Potato either. Usually, when she came home, Potato would come running to greet her.

Tonight was unusually quiet. She called out a few times, "Potato! Potato!" After a while, there was still no sign of the dog. Valeria bent down, her palms to the carpet, her waist dipping, showing the fine lines of her shoulder blades. She peered under the couch. "Potato? Where are you?" As she leaned forward, the blue dress slid from her shoulders, revealing her smooth skin before pooling on the floor. Just then, Nemo came out and nudged her face with its nose. Valeria hugged Nemo. "Potato, how... how did you get so big?" It seemed she was truly drunk. Potato had suddenly become enormous.

She ruffled its head, feeling the urgent need to collapse into bed. Her head was spinning from the alcohol. Valeria staggered into the bedroom. With a small shrug, the dress slipped from her shoulder, brushing her fair skin on the way down to the ankles. She then dropped onto the bed and pulled the blanket around her. How odd... When did her bed become so soft? Sebastian stopped outside the bedroom, his eyes on the blue dress on the floor. He bent down, picked it up, and gripped it tightly. ---- He clenched his jaw, holding back the feelings that were growing wild in his chest.

He then opened the door, looking at the woman lying in his bed. At first, his plan was nothing more than to be in Broburgh City and watch her from afar. Later, he wanted to be closer, to live next door so that he could see her and Selena through the peephole. He had never imagined that today, Valeria, drunk, would stumble straight into his world.