Chapter 2
For a fraction of a second, the room descended into a suffocating, absolute silence. The upbeat party music playing from the ceiling speakers suddenly felt like a grotesque parody of the scene unfolding below. Lily lay crumpled against the base of the gift table, her wide, tear-filled eyes locked on her mother in sheer disbelief. A bright red handprint was rapidly blooming across her fair, rosy cheek.
Then, the temperature in the room plummeted.
Sebastian moved. He didn't run, nor did he shout. He crossed the distance of the grand living room with the terrifying, predatory grace of a man who was used to dealing with violent threats. His polished leather shoes made sharp, rhythmic strikes against the hardwood floor. In an instant, he was there, sweeping Lily up from the floor and pulling her safely behind the broad, impenetrable wall of his tailored black suit.
"Daddy," Lily sobbed quietly, burying her tiny face into the back of his legs, her small fists gripping his dark trousers.
Sebastian didn't look down. His piercing, dark eyes were locked entirely on his wife. The air around him seemed to crackle with a deeply masculine, barely contained fury.
"What did you just do?" Sebastian asked. His voice was not loud, but it resonated with a lethal frequency that made the crystal glasses on the table vibrate.
"Don't look at me like that, Sebastian," Natalie fired back, though a flicker of genuine apprehension crossed her face. She defensively placed a hand over her pregnant belly. "She was ruining the moment. She refused to listen."
"You struck my daughter," Sebastian stated, each word dropping like an anvil. He took a single, slow step toward Natalie. "Over a photograph."
"Oh, for God's sake, spare us the theatrics, Sebastian," Victor Cole interrupted, stepping up to stand squarely beside his daughter. The older man adjusted his blazer, looking at Sebastian with a mixture of arrogance and dismissal. "She is Natalie's daughter, too. The child was throwing a tantrum and ruining the afternoon."
Sebastian slowly turned his head to look at his father-in-law. "I didn't ask for your opinion, Victor."
"Well, you're getting it anyway," Victor retorted, puffing out his chest. "She needed discipline. You coddle the girl, Sebastian. You treat her like she's made of glass, and it's making her weak. Natalie did what a mother is supposed to do. She corrected her."
"Discipline?" Sebastian’s lips curled into a cold, merciless smirk. He reached back with one hand, gently resting his fingers on Lily's head to comfort her, never breaking eye contact with Victor. "You think a grown woman striking a three-year-old across the face over a smile is discipline? In my world, we call that weakness. And we punish weakness."
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"Your world?" Victor scoffed loudly, taking a sip of his scotch. "You're a businessman, Sebastian, not a dictator. Stop trying to intimidate us. Natalie is carrying your heir. You will show her, and this family, some respect."
"Respect is earned, Victor," Sebastian said softly, the heavy signet ring on his finger catching the light as he shifted his weight. "And as of right now, neither of you has any."
