The mansion was silent when Sebastian walked in.
Not the peaceful kind of silence.
The empty kind.
Cold marble floors stretched beneath his steps as he entered the foyer. The lights automatically flicked on, illuminating the vast modern interior of the mansion. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the dark New York skyline.
Sebastian didn't pause to admire it.
He never did.
He walked straight upstairs.
His movements were efficient. Mechanical. Controlled.
Just like always.
The trip had been exhausting. Meetings. Flights. Endless work.
And Lillian.
Especially Lillian.
Sebastian pushed open the door to his bedroom and set his suitcase on the bench at the foot of his bed. The room was large, sleek, and minimalist. Everything in its place.
Everything controlled.
He loosened his tie slightly before opening the suitcase.
Inside were perfectly folded clothes.
Shirts.
Documents.
His coat.
Sebastian began unpacking with practiced precision. Each item went exactly where it belonged. Shirts in the wardrobe. Files on the desk. Shoes lined up beside the wall.
His movements slowed when his hand brushed against something small.
A bottle.
Sebastian paused.
His fingers closed around it.
He pulled it out.
A small amber bottle.
His insomnia medication.
Sebastian stared at it.
For a moment, the entire room felt still.
He hadn't packed this.
He knew he hadn't.
In fact—
His eyes narrowed slightly.
He had deliberately left it on the bathroom counter in the hotel.
Because he didn't want it.
Because he was tired of needing it.
Because he hated the quiet reminder that his own body refused to obey him.
Sebastian turned the bottle slowly in his hand.
There was only one explanation.
Lillian.
A small exhale left him.
"Unbelievable…"
His voice was quiet.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Just tired.
Of course she did.
She had that stubborn look in her eyes earlier that morning when he refused the medication. He had seen it. The look of someone who clearly intended to ignore him.
Sebastian walked over to the nightstand beside his bed.
For a second he considered throwing the bottle away.
His fingers tightened slightly around it.
But instead…
He placed it down on the nightstand.
The small plastic bottle made a soft clicking sound against the wood.
Sebastian stared at it for a moment longer.
"…Nosy woman."
He muttered it under his breath.
But there was no real anger behind it.
He turned away and finished unpacking.
Minutes later the suitcase was empty.
Everything was back in its place.
Everything looked exactly as it had before he left.
Sebastian removed his tie and tossed it onto the chair before heading toward the bathroom.
A long shower followed.
Hot water pounded against his shoulders, easing some of the tension built up over the past few days.
For a brief moment his mind went quiet.
But the moment he stepped out and the water stopped—
The thoughts came back.
Lillian standing in the hotel room.
Lillian blushing.
Lillian staring at his chest.
Sebastian grabbed a towel and ran it through his hair.
His mouth twitched slightly.
"…Ridiculous."
He got dressed and returned to the bedroom.
The mansion was still silent.
Too silent.
Sebastian sat down at his desk and opened his laptop.
Work first.
Always work first.
Emails.
Reports.
Numbers.
Hours passed.
The digital clock on his desk changed.
11:42 PM.
Sebastian barely noticed.
He continued typing.
Another email.
Another document.
Another decision that affected millions of dollars.
But eventually—
The exhaustion crept in.
He leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
His eyes flicked toward the bed.
Sleep.
He should sleep.
He stood and walked toward it.
The mattress was large. Comfortable. Expensive.
Sebastian lay down.
Closed his eyes.
Silence filled the room.
Five minutes passed.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen.
His eyes opened.
The ceiling stared back at him.
Sebastian exhaled slowly and turned onto his side.
He closed his eyes again.
Another ten minutes.
Nothing.
His mind refused to quiet.
Thoughts circled endlessly.
Business strategies.
Upcoming meetings.
Contracts.
Investments.
And then—
Lillian again.
Her embarrassed expression.
Her bright red face.
Her voice when she told him to just take the clothes.
Sebastian opened his eyes again.
"…Unbelievable."
He sat up.
Sleep wasn't coming.
It rarely did.
He got out of bed and walked toward the window.
New York glowed beneath the night sky.
The city never slept.
Neither did he.
Sebastian returned to the desk and opened the laptop again.
If sleep refused to come, then he would work.
Hours passed.
1:17 AM.
2:03 AM.
2:48 AM.
Sebastian's typing slowed.
His shoulders were tense now.
His eyes burned slightly from staring at the screen.
Finally he closed the laptop.
The quiet room felt heavier now.
His gaze drifted across the bedroom.
And stopped.
On the nightstand.
The bottle.
Sebastian stared at it.
The small amber bottle sat there innocently, exactly where he had placed it earlier.
Waiting.
He leaned back in his chair.
"…You really are stubborn."
His voice was quiet again.
The words weren't directed at the bottle.
They were directed at Lillian.
He could picture her doing it.
Sneaking the bottle into his suitcase when he wasn't looking.
Thinking she was clever.
Thinking she had outsmarted him.
Sebastian stood up slowly and walked over to the bed.
His hand hovered over the bottle.
For a moment he didn't touch it.
He just looked at it.
His jaw tightened slightly.
He hated this.
Hated the reminder that sleep was something he had to fight for.
Hated depending on a tiny bottle of pills.
But the alternative…
He glanced at the clock again.
3:21 AM.
Another sleepless night.
Another morning of functioning on almost nothing.
Sebastian picked up the bottle.
He turned it slowly between his fingers.
"…That stubborn woman."
There was the faintest hint of something in his voice.
Not anger.
Not annoyance.
Something softer.
Almost amused.
Almost.
He opened the bottle.
Took one pill.
Then closed it again.
The bottle returned to the nightstand.
Sebastian lay down once more.
His eyes stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
And for some reason—
A small image crossed his mind.
Lillian asleep on the couch.
Laptop on her lap.
Completely exhausted.
He remembered placing his coat over her.
Sebastian frowned slightly.
"…Careless woman."
But his voice was quieter now.
Eventually—
His eyes began to grow heavy.
The medication slowly pulling him toward sleep.
And for the first time that night—
Sebastian finally closed his eyes.
The bottle remained on the nightstand beside him.
Exactly where Lillian had unknowingly made sure it would be.