A few hours later Lillian knocked lightly on Sebastian's bedroom door before opening it.
"Mr. Wolfe?"
No answer.
She stepped inside.
Her eyes immediately found him.
Sebastian sat in the armchair beside the window, a tablet balanced on his knee. His brow was furrowed in concentration as his fingers moved across the screen.
Emails.
Of course.
Lillian sighed loudly.
Sebastian didn't even look up.
"I can hear that sigh from across the room," he said calmly.
"Good. Then you know why I'm sighing."
Now he looked up.
"You're hovering again."
"You're working again."
"I'm reading."
"Work emails."
"They're important."
Lillian crossed her arms.
"You had surgery two weeks ago."
"And I'm recovering."
"You're supposed to be resting."
Sebastian leaned back in the chair.
"I have been resting."
"You're answering emails."
"I'm scrolling."
"That's not better."
Sebastian sighed.
"I've been in this room all morning."
"That's because you're supposed to be."
"I'm bored."
Lillian stared at him.
Then she held out her hand.
"Give me the tablet."
Sebastian blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"The tablet."
"No."
She stepped closer.
"Sebastian Wolfe."
"Yes?"
"Give it."
"You're very demanding."
"And you're a terrible patient."
He hesitated.
Then, reluctantly, he handed it over.
Lillian immediately walked across the room and placed it on the desk.
Far away.
Sebastian watched her like she had taken his oxygen supply.
"That feels illegal," he muttered.
"You'll survive."
"Debatable."
She turned back toward him.
"Clearly resting isn't working."
"No."
"So we're doing something else."
Sebastian narrowed his eyes.
"That sounds concerning."
"We're watching a movie."
"…No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"I don't watch movies."
"That's tragic and very sad."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Sebastian stared at her.
"You're forcing your recovering boss to watch a movie."
"Correct."
"You're very bold."
"You're very stubborn."
He sighed deeply.
"Fine."
Lillian blinked.
"Fine?"
"One movie."
She grinned.
"You won't regret it."
"I already do."
They moved downstairs to the living room.
Sebastian lowered himself carefully onto the large couch.
Lillian grabbed the remote and began scrolling.
Sebastian watched suspiciously.
"Please don't pick something ridiculous."
"What counts as ridiculous?"
"Romantic comedies."
She smiled slowly.
"Well…"
Sebastian groaned.
"Absolutely not."
"Too late."
The movie started.
Sebastian crossed his arms.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
A dramatic confession scene played on screen.
"I've loved you since the third grade!" the character declared.
Sebastian scoffed.
"That's unrealistic."
Lillian laughed.
"You're analyzing a rom-com like it's a business report."
"Someone has to."
"It's entertainment."
"It's illogical."
She glanced sideways at him.
"You're still watching."
"I'm observing."
"That's the same thing."
"It isn't."
Lillian shook her head.
"You're impossible."
"And yet you're still here."
"Unfortunately."
Sebastian smirked faintly.
Halfway through the movie, the room grew quieter.
The story shifted to a family scene.
A mother hugging her son before he left home.
Lillian glanced at Sebastian.
She already knew about his parents.
His mother had died years ago.
And his father…
His father was very sick.
So she didn't ask about them.
Instead she said,
"You know… I never asked you something."
Sebastian didn't look away from the screen.
"That sounds dangerous."
"Relax."
"I am relaxed."
"You don't look relaxed."
"That's just my face."
Lillian smiled slightly.
"Do you have any siblings?"
Sebastian didn't answer right away.
The pause stretched longer than she expected.
Then he said quietly,
"I used to."
Lillian blinked.
"You used to?"
Sebastian's eyes stayed on the television.
"I had a brother."
Had.
Not have.
Had.
Something tightened in her chest.
"Oh."
She hesitated before asking the next question.
"What happened to him?"
Sebastian didn't answer.
The silence in the room suddenly felt heavier.
The cheerful movie dialogue continued in the background.
Finally he spoke.
"I don't want to talk about it."
His tone wasn't angry.
But it was final.
Lillian nodded immediately.
"Okay."
Sebastian glanced at her.
"You're not going to keep asking?"
"No."
"Most people would."
"Well, I'm not most people."
Sebastian studied her face for a moment.
Then he leaned back against the couch again.
"Good."
They sat quietly for a moment.
Then Lillian spoke softly.
"But you loved him."
Sebastian looked at her.
She quickly added,
"You don't have to tell me anything. I'm just guessing."
Sebastian exhaled slowly.
"He was older."
Lillian stayed quiet.
"He was… very different from me."
"How?"
Sebastian looked toward the screen again.
"He liked people."
She smiled faintly.
"You don't?"
"Not particularly."
"That explains a lot."
Sebastian ignored the comment.
"He was loud."
A pause.
"Friendly."
Another pause.
"Annoying."
Lillian laughed softly.
"That sounds like an older brother."
Sebastian nodded slightly.
"Yes."
"So you two were close?"
Sebastian's gaze drifted somewhere far away.
"We were."
The way he said it made Lillian's chest ache.
She almost asked more.
But she remembered what he said earlier.
I don't want to talk about it.
So she didn't push.
Instead she nudged his arm lightly.
"Well."
Sebastian glanced at her.
"What?"
"You survived having a big brother."
"Barely."
"And now you're surviving a romantic comedy."
"Also barely."
She grinned.
"You're doing great."
Sebastian shook his head.
"You're very strange."
"And yet you hired me."
"That decision is becoming questionable."
She gasped dramatically.
"You can't fire me."
"Watch me."
"You'd miss me."
"That's a bold assumption."
"You'd be bored within two days."
"Unlikely."
"You'd try answering emails again five hours after surgery."
Sebastian didn't respond.
She pointed at him.
"Exactly."
He sighed.
"You're exhausting."
"Someone has to keep you alive."
The movie ended a little while later.
Sebastian stretched slightly.
"That wasn't terrible."
Lillian turned to him dramatically.
"That's the highest compliment you're capable of giving."
"Probably."
She stood up.
"Well congratulations."
"On what?"
"You survived a romantic comedy."
Sebastian slowly stood.
Carefully.
Lillian noticed.
"Easy."
"I'm fine."
"You say that a lot."
"Because it's true."
He looked toward the staircase.
"I should actually rest."
Lillian raised an eyebrow.
"Actually rest?"
"Yes."
"Voluntarily?"
"Yes."
She clapped once.
"Progress."
Sebastian shook his head.
"You're ridiculous."
"And yet I'm keeping you alive."
He paused halfway to the stairs.
Then he turned back toward her.
"Thank you."
She blinked.
"For what?"
"For not asking more questions."
Lillian shrugged lightly.
"You said you didn't want to talk about it."
"That doesn't usually stop people."
"Well… it stops me."
Sebastian looked at her for a moment.
Something softer passed through his expression.
"Good."
Then he turned and headed upstairs.
Lillian watched him disappear down the hallway.
The house grew quiet again.
She leaned back against the couch slowly.
Her mind replayed the conversation.
I used to have a brother.
Something about the way Sebastian said it stayed with her.
Heavy.
Unfinished.
Like a story with missing pages.
And somehow…
She had the feeling that one day she would learn the rest of it.
Just not today.