Chapter 62: Chapter 62: The Unfillable Pits
Perhaps because she was so exhausted, Cecilia Croft slept especially soundly.
She slept until the plane landed, only waking up when she heard the cabin announcement.
She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw wasn’t the scenery outside the window, but an exceptionally handsome face.
They were so close she could hear the faint sound of his breathing.
’How could fate favor one person so much?’
Not only had it given him the most elite family background, but it had also blessed him with extraordinary looks.
With a face like his, even if he hadn’t been born into the Hawthorne family, he would never have had to worry about his livelihood.
Compared to him, those male celebrities on screen who relied on their looks were nothing special.
The surrounding passengers were already starting to gather their things. Cecilia Croft looked at the man still fast asleep and called out to him.
"Mr. Hawthorne, we’ve arrived."
The sleeping man didn’t stir in the slightest.
His eyes remained closed.
His eyelashes were so long and thick that even she, a woman, felt a twinge of jealousy looking at them.
"Mr. Hawthorne..."
He must have been truly drunk. She called his name again, but he didn’t react at all.
Cecilia Croft had no choice but to raise her hand and gently nudge his arm.
The man’s eyes snapped open. His deep, dark pupils were filled with intense displeasure, his brow furrowed tightly. His sharp gaze made Cecilia Croft sheepishly pull her hand back.
’He’s so grumpy when he wakes up!’
"We’ve arrived."
Sebastian Hawthorne grunted and closed his eyes again.
Cecilia Croft was speechless.
After the plane came to a complete stop, the surrounding passengers began to disembark one after another.
The man beside her still had his eyes closed.
Cecilia Croft glanced at him. His sleeping face was still a pleasant sight, but... everyone was about to leave!
"Mr. Hawthorne."
Cecilia Croft called to him in a low voice.
The man didn’t respond.
Cecilia Croft mustered her courage and reached out again. Just as she was about to push his shoulder, the man, though his eyes were closed, seemed to see her every move and grabbed her hand.
His warm palm enveloped her hand as the man spoke in a deep, sultry voice.
"One minute."
Hearing this, Cecilia Croft could only agree. "Alright."
’I’ll let him rest for another minute, then.’
’After all, he did drink quite a bit of red wine at lunch.’
’It’s only normal that he’s feeling tired now that the alcohol is hitting him.’
’But...’
’Why won’t he let go of my hand?!’
Cecilia Croft tried to pull her hand back slightly, but couldn’t get it free.
Within that one minute, all the other passengers had disembarked.
A flight attendant walked over just then. Her gaze lingered on their joined hands for a few seconds before she spoke with a respectful and humble attitude.
"Mr. Hawthorne, Miss Croft, the car to pick you both up is waiting on the tarmac."
Only then did Sebastian Hawthorne open his eyes. With a cold expression on his handsome face, he gave a slight nod.
Cecilia Croft took the opportunity to pull her hand back, suppressing the strange flutter of emotion deep inside her as she quickly stood up from her seat.
"Let’s go, then."
Sebastian Hawthorne’s narrow eyes nonchalantly swept over Cecilia Croft’s hand. He rose unhurriedly, adjusted his cuffs, and then slowly walked away.
They didn’t use the airport’s internal exit channel.
The driver had brought Sebastian Hawthorne’s car directly onto the tarmac to pick them up.
A unique privilege.
Never mind the few years she’d spent living as an ordinary person in Silvercrest; even back when the Croft family was at its peak, she had never seen such treatment.
What she considered extravagant was just Sebastian Hawthorne’s everyday life.
The gap between them had always been so impossibly wide.
After getting into the car, Sebastian Hawthorne glanced at Cecilia Croft, who was still standing by the car and hadn’t gotten in.
He saw she was looking down at her phone, seemingly sending a message.
"Your sister didn’t come to pick you up."
Cecilia Croft couldn’t hide the disappointment in her eyes. "How did you know?"
’She left Karthus for ten years, and on her first time back, her sister didn’t even come to meet her.’
’That’s just too cold.’
’They were each other’s only family in the world.’
Sebastian Hawthorne shot her a look, adjusted his posture, and spoke coolly.
"The Croft family has a piece of land that’s been sitting useless in their hands for years. With the Hawthorne Group expanding into Silvercrest, it’s drawn a lot of attention. So, your sister wants to take this opportunity to sell that land and has specifically arranged a meeting tonight."
Sebastian Hawthorne’s words piqued Cecilia Croft’s interest, and she quickly got into the car.
"Which piece of land?"
Sebastian Hawthorne: "Oakhaven."
Upon hearing this, Cecilia Croft nearly blacked out.
Oakhaven was a village on the outskirts of Silvercrest with the least development potential. For years, all of Silvercrest’s development planning had been focused on the Western and Southern Suburbs.
Oakhaven had been considered as a site for the new airport, but in the end, the location was set in the Southern Suburbs instead.
Years ago, Oakhaven had a few large factories, but they had since relocated, and the value of the land there had plummeted.
Oakhaven was now just a marginalized town on the edge of Silvercrest, with no cultural heritage or industrial support to speak of.
Cecilia Croft could only pray inwardly that her sister would succeed in selling the land.
Otherwise, once the new airport’s location was officially announced, the land in Oakhaven would become truly worthless.
Sebastian Hawthorne watched her pretty brow furrow with unspoken anxiety and said nonchalantly,
"Don’t be anxious."
Cecilia Croft: "I’m not."
’She trusted her sister would be able to handle it.’
Sebastian Hawthorne: "What I mean is, it’s not something you can rush. Thanks to your father, the Croft Group has a lot more similar land assets in its inventory. The price has been lowered again and again, but no one is willing to take them."
Cecilia Croft was speechless.
Years ago, when real estate development was booming, Titus Croft invested everywhere, buying up land. But he had terrible judgment and was easily swayed by others.
He sank most of the Croft family’s profits into hoarding land with no development value, and even took out substantial loans to do so.
After he was kicked out of the Croft family by Patriarch Croft, he stopped interfering with the Croft Group’s business. However, the land he had bought at inflated prices years ago—the holes he had dug—completely blew up a decade later.
Recently, Ruby Croft had been swamped and at her wit’s end.
The deadline given by the bank was less than six months away.
With hundreds of billions in debt, even if Ruby Croft could sell off all the land in her possession in just six months, she still wouldn’t be able to pay back the bank loans.
Sebastian Hawthorne knew so much about the Croft Group’s situation, which was why he had so decisively rejected her partnership proposal.
The Croft family, in its current state, no longer met the Hawthorne family’s standards for a partner.
Cecilia Croft took a deep breath and turned to look at the man sitting beside her.
His features were cool and detached, his eyes holding the solitary arrogance of someone in a position of power.
The hand resting on her lap tightened slightly as she spoke in a soft voice.
"If the Hawthorne Group were in the same situation as the Croft Group is today, how would you handle it, Mr. Hawthorne?"
Sebastian Hawthorne looked at her and replied coolly.
"The Hawthorne Group didn’t achieve its current status through my efforts alone, nor can I single-handedly turn the tide."
The members of the Hawthorne family had always been loyal and trustworthy. In all these years, she had indeed never heard of any discord among them, nor any romantic scandals concerning any of the family’s heads.
In contrast, when it came to her father’s generation of the Croft family, he had thrown the household into turmoil over a first love. He even absconded with a great deal of wealth before being kicked out by his father, leaving behind one bottomless pit after another for her sister to fill.
