Morning arrived quietly.
Soft sunlight crept through the hotel curtains and spilled across the living room floor.
The city outside was already alive.
Cars moved through the streets below. Distant horns echoed faintly through the glass windows.
Inside the suite, everything was still.
Except Sebastian Wolfe.
He was already awake.
Of course he was.
Sebastian stood in the bedroom beside the large bed, packing his suitcase with quick, precise movements. Shirts folded perfectly. Documents placed in a separate leather folder.
Efficient.
Controlled.
Silent.
His expression had returned to the one everyone at Sovereign knew.
Cold.
Focused.
Untouchable.
In the living room, Lillian Parker was still asleep on the couch.
Her laptop rested on the coffee table.
Sebastian's black coat was draped carefully over her shoulders.
She shifted slightly in her sleep but didn't wake.
Sebastian glanced toward the living room once.
Just once.
Then returned to packing.
Twenty minutes passed.
Thirty.
Eventually Lillian stirred.
Her eyes opened slowly.
For a moment she didn't move.
Then she noticed something heavy resting on her shoulders.
She blinked.
Sebastian's coat.
Her brow furrowed.
"Did I… put this on?" she murmured quietly.
She sat up slightly and the coat slipped down her arms.
Her eyes widened.
No.
She hadn't put it on.
She remembered falling asleep while working.
Which meant…
Her gaze drifted toward the bedroom door.
Sebastian.
A strange feeling flickered through her chest.
Why would someone as cold and rude as him do something like that?
She shook her head slightly.
Maybe it didn't mean anything.
Maybe he just didn't want his secretary getting sick during a business trip.
Yes.
That sounded more like Sebastian Wolfe.
Lillian stood up slowly and folded the coat over her arm.
Then she walked toward the bedroom.
The door was slightly open.
Inside, Sebastian was zipping up his suitcase.
She knocked lightly on the door frame.
"Good morning, Mr. Wolfe."
Sebastian turned his head slightly.
Their eyes met for a brief moment.
Then he looked back down at his suitcase.
"Miss Parker."
His voice was calm.
Professional.
Distant.
Just like always.
Lillian noticed immediately.
The small shift from last night had disappeared.
He was back to being Sebastian Wolfe.
CEO.
Cold.
Controlled.
She stepped inside the room and held out the coat.
"You left this on me."
Sebastian took the coat without hesitation.
"Correct."
He folded it neatly and placed it into his suitcase.
No explanation.
No comment.
Just efficiency.
Lillian watched him for a moment.
Then said quietly, "Thank you."
Sebastian didn't respond.
Instead he closed the suitcase and looked at his watch.
"The flight leaves in one hour," he said.
His tone was sharp.
Direct.
"You should pack your suitcase."
Lillian nodded.
"Right."
She turned and walked toward the bathroom to gather her things.
The bathroom was still slightly foggy from earlier.
Her eyes drifted toward the sink.
Then she froze.
Sebastian's medication bottle sat beside it.
The insomnia pills.
The same ones she had used the day before.
She picked it up slowly.
He forgot it.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the bottle.
That medicine was the only reason he slept last night.
Without it…
He probably wouldn't sleep again.
Lillian sighed quietly and slipped the bottle into her hand.
Then she returned to the bedroom.
Sebastian was now organizing documents inside a leather briefcase.
She set her suitcase on the bed and began packing.
Clothes.
Laptop charger.
Notebook.
Everything went in quickly.
Ten minutes later she zipped the suitcase closed.
Then she walked toward Sebastian.
The medication bottle rested in her hand.
"Mr. Wolfe," she said.
He looked up briefly.
She held out the bottle.
"You forgot this in the bathroom."
Sebastian looked at the bottle.
Then at her.
His expression hardened slightly.
"I didn't forget it."
Lillian blinked.
"You didn't?"
"No."
His voice was flat.
"I left it there."
She frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Sebastian closed his briefcase.
"I don't want it."
Lillian stared at him.
For a moment she thought she misheard.
"You… don't want it?"
"No."
"But—. "
"Miss Parker."
His voice cut her off.
Sharp.
Cold.
"I don't need it."
"But you have severe—."
"I'm aware of my own medical condition."
His eyes were colder now.
Lillian hesitated.
Then tried again.
"You slept eight hours because of this medication."
"I slept eight hours because you drugged me."
"That's not the point."
"It is exactly the point."
He turned away from her and picked up his suitcase.
"I don't rely on medication."
Her frustration rose immediately.
"But you need it."
"No."
"Yes you do!"
Sebastian turned back slowly.
His eyes narrowed.
"I said no."
Silence filled the room.
Lillian knew that look.
The conversation was over.
Completely.
She exhaled slowly.
"Fine."
Sebastian didn't respond.
He simply walked past her toward the door.
Lillian stared at the bottle in her hand.
Then looked at Sebastian's back.
You're impossible.
She slipped the medication bottle into her pocket.
Just in case.
They left the hotel twenty minutes later.
The car ride to the airport was quiet.
Neither of them spoke.
The private terminal was already prepared for them when they arrived.
Sebastian's jet waited on the runway.
Sleek.
Black.
Expensive.
A flight attendant greeted them at the stairs.
"Welcome back, Mr. Wolfe."
Sebastian nodded once.
Lillian followed him up the stairs.
Inside the jet, Sebastian placed his suitcase near the seating area.
Lillian placed hers beside it.
Then she waited.
Sebastian stepped toward the back of the jet.
Lillian's eyes followed him.
He stopped briefly beside the luggage.
Just long enough for her to look away.
Then he continued walking.
The door to the private room at the back opened.
Closed.
Just like that.
He had disappeared again.
Lillian sighed quietly.
She walked toward the suitcase area.
Sebastian's suitcase sat partially open.
Perfect.
She glanced toward the back of the plane.
The door was still closed.
Good.
Quickly, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the medication bottle.
"This is for your own good," she muttered.
She opened his suitcase slightly.
Then slipped the bottle inside between two folded shirts.
Zipped.
Closed.
Done.
Lillian stepped back just as the plane engines started humming.
She moved to one of the chairs and sat down.
Her laptop opened onto the table in front of her.
Work again.
Emails.
Meeting notes.
Schedules.
But her thoughts kept drifting toward the closed door at the back of the jet.
Sebastian was in there.
Alone.
Probably already working again.
She sighed softly.
"You're impossible, Mr. Wolfe."
The plane began to move down the runway.
Within minutes they were in the air.
And Sebastian Wolfe remained exactly where he wanted to be.
Locked away behind a closed door.
While Lillian Parker sat in the main cabin.
Working quietly.
And wondering if the medication hidden in his suitcase would ever actually be used.