Selena woke slowly, the kind of slow that came from a night that hadn't just been sleep. For a moment, she didn't move. She stayed where she was, eyes half-open, aware of the unfamiliar ceiling above her and the quiet weight of everything that had changed.
Then it came back, not all at once, but enough. The room. Him. The way he had looked at her like she wasn't something temporary. She exhaled softly and turned her head.The other side of the bed was empty. That settled something different in her chest.
She pushed herself up, pulling the sheet slightly with her, and that was when she noticed the note on the bedside table. It wasn't long. Just a few lines in a handwriting that was as controlled as the man himself.
Had to leave early. Eat something. Don't disappear on me.
Selena stared at it for a second longer than necessary. Then she let out a quiet breath that almost turned into a smile.
"Don't disappear," she murmured under her breath. "You say that like I would."
Still, she folded the note carefully and set it back down, like it mattered more than it should. By the time she stepped out into the main space, the penthouse was already awake in its own quiet way. The table was set. Breakfast had been laid out neatly, like someone had anticipated exactly when she would come out.
Daniel of course.
She moved toward the table, pouring herself a glass of juice before sitting down. For a moment, everything felt… normal. Too normal, considering everything that had shifted just hours ago.
And then her phone rang.
She frowned slightly, reaching for it.
Julia.
Selena hesitated for half a second before answering. "Good morning, Jules."
"Selena, where are you?"
The urgency in her sister's voice made her sit up straighter. "At home. Why?"
"You need to see this. Right now."
Selena's brows pulled together. "See what?"
"Just check your phone. Or turn on the TV. It's everywhere."
The call ended before Selena could ask anything else. That was enough to make the unease settle in. She didn't rush at first. She reached for her phone, opened one of the news apps almost absently, like she expected nothing serious.
Then she saw it. The headline came first.
"Sebastian McGrey Appears Publicly After Weeks—But Who Is the Woman With Him?"
Her fingers stilled. And then the images loaded.Clear enough. Sharp enough.
Her. Standing beside him at the charity event. His hand in hers. Another image—closer this time. The angle different. The kind that wasn't taken by invitation.
Then the next one.
Sebastian.
And—
Selena's breath caught.
Althea Virelle.
The photo wasn't from last night. It was older, but not old enough to be irrelevant. Althea stood close to him, her hand resting on his arm, her expression familiar in a way that suggested something more than casual. The caption didn't help.
"Sourcessuggest past involvement between McGrey and Virelle resurfaces as new woman appears."
Selena lowered the phone slowly. The quiet of the penthouse pressed in around her. It wasn't jealousy that hit first. It was something sharper.
Confusion.
Followed closely by something she didn't want to name.
Her phone rang again.
This time, Emilia.
Selena closed her eyes briefly before answering. "Emilia."
"Tell me you've seen it," Emilia said immediately.
"I have."
"And?" Emilia pushed. "Because from where I'm standing, this doesn't look small, Selena. That woman Althea Virelle is not just anybody."
"I can see that."
There was a pause on the other end. Then, more carefully, "Are you okay?"
Selena looked back at the screen, at the image she hadn't fully processed yet.
"I don't know," she admitted.
And that was the most honest answer she had.
—
Annelise appeared not long after. Selena didn't hear her come in. She only looked up and found her already there, composed as always, her bag resting lightly against her arm like she had somewhere else to be. Her eyes moved once across the table, then to Selena.
"You've seen it."
It wasn't a question.
Selena nodded. "Yes."
Annelise walked closer, setting her bag down before taking a seat across from her. "And?"
Selena let out a quiet breath. "I don't like not knowing what I'm looking at."
"That's fair," Annelise said calmly. "But if you're asking whether there's something current between Sebastian and Althea, the answer is no. They never was "
Selena met her gaze. "You sound certain."
"I am."
There was no hesitation in it. No performance, just certainty.
Selena studied her for a moment. "Then why does it look like that?"
Annelise's lips curved slightly, but there was no humor in it. "Because Althea has always liked it to look like that."
Selena leaned back slightly. "So she's done this before."
"Not like this," Annelise said. "But she has never been subtle about wanting proximity."
Selena glanced back at her phone. "And Sebastian?"
Annelise didn't take long to answer. "Sebastian doesn't entertain what doesn't matter."
Something about the way she said it eased the tension—but not completely.
Annelise stood after a moment, picking up her bag again. "I'm heading out. Try not to let the headlines decide what you believe."
Selena gave a small nod. "That's easier said than done."
Annelise paused, then added, "Then wait for him to say it himself."
And just like that, she left.
—
Selena didn't move for a while after that. She stayed where she was, the phone still in her hand, her thoughts moving in quiet circles she couldn't quite organize. It wasn't the pictures, it wasn't even Althea. It was the fact that this—this part of his world was now touching hers. And she didn't know where she stood in it yet.
The sound of the door opening pulled her out of it. She looked up.
Sebastian.
He didn't pause at the entrance. Didn't take his time. He walked straight to her.
"Why didn't you call me?" he asked.
Selena blinked slightly at the intensity of it. "I figured you already knew."
"I did," he said. "That's not the point."
He stopped in front of her, his gaze moving over her face like he was checking for something.
"What did you think when you saw it?"
The question caught her off guard. Not because of what he asked—but because he asked it at all.
Selena held his gaze. "I thought I didn't have enough information to decide anything."
That seemed to register, but not fully.
"And now?" he pressed.
She hesitated, then said honestly, "Now I think I'd rather hear it from you."
Something in his expression shifted, less Sharp, more grounded
"Althea Virelle is someone I've known for years," he said. "Not by choice. Our families move in the same circles."
Selena listened without interrupting.
"There was never anything between us," he continued. "Not then, not now. Whatever she's trying to imply—it's hers, not mine."
The clarity in his voice made it hard to doubt.
But Selena still asked, "Then why does she act like there was?"
Sebastian's jaw tightened slightly. "Because she benefits from it."
That answered more than he probably intended. Selena studied him for a second longer, then nodded slowly. "Okay."
He didn't move immediately.
"You believe me?" he asked.
Selena met his gaze fully. "If I didn't, I wouldn't still be sitting here."
And that settled completely. The tension in his shoulders eased just slightly, but not entirely.
"Good," he said quietly.
Then, after a beat, "Because this doesn't stop here."
Selena frowned. "What do you mean?"
He glanced briefly toward her phone, then back at her. "If they've started watching, they won't stop at pictures."
The weight of that landed slowly.
Selena exhaled. "So this is what it's like."
"This is the part I didn't want near you yet," he admitted.
Selena stood slowly, closing the distance between them without overthinking it. "Well," she said quietly, "it's here now."
His gaze dropped briefly to her lips before returning to her eyes. And this time—He didn't hold back. His hand found hers, firm, certain, like there was no version of this where he let go.
"Then we deal with it," he said.
Not just him. We. And some how, that made all the difference.