By the time Lillian reached Chloe's apartment, the city had gone quiet.
Winter air clung to her coat as she stepped inside.
Chloe was curled up on the couch with her laptop.
She looked up immediately.
"There you are."
Lillian slipped off her shoes. "Hi."
Chloe narrowed her eyes slightly. "Where have you been?"
"Work."
"It's almost eleven."
"I had something to retrieve."
Chloe slowly closed her laptop.
"Retrieve what?"
"Files."
Chloe glanced at her hands.
Then at her shoulder.
Then back at her hands.
"You don't have anything."
Lillian froze for half a second.
"I already dropped them off."
"At the office?"
"No."
Chloe leaned forward slightly. "Lillian."
Silence stretched.
Lillian walked toward the kitchen, avoiding eye contact.
"I went to Mr. Wolfe's house."
Chloe blinked.
"You what?"
"I had access. He's sent me before."
"That's not what I'm reacting to."
Lillian poured herself a glass of water.
"I went to get something."
"And?"
"And he was home."
Chloe stood up now. "Obviously."
Lillian hesitated.
"I didn't actually get any files."
Chloe's eyes widened slightly. "Then why did you go?"
The truth felt heavier when spoken out loud.
"I went to check on him."
Silence.
Chloe stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
"You what?"
"He hasn't been at work," Lillian defended quickly. "He canceled meetings. That's not like him."
"So you drove to his mansion. At night."
"Yes."
"Alone."
"Yes."
Chloe blinked again.
"And?"
Lillian looked down at the glass in her hands.
"And I walked in on him."
Chloe's eyebrows shot up. "Doing what?"
"Sleeping."
Chloe waited.
Lillian swallowed.
"He was having a nightmare."
The room went very still.
Chloe's expression changed.
From teasing.
To curious.
"To be clear," Chloe said slowly, "you saw Mr. Wolfe — the Mr. Sebastian Wolfe — having a nightmare?"
"Yes."
"Like… actually?"
"Yes. But you can't tell anyone about this, okay?"
"...Okay."
Lillian shifted uncomfortably.
"He didn't know I was there at first."
Chloe walked closer, lowering her voice instinctively.
"What was he saying?"
Lillian hesitated.
"I don't want to repeat it."
"Why?"
"Because it wasn't meant to be heard."
Chloe studied her carefully.
"Did he see you?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"He was disoriented. For a second."
"Disoriented?"
"Yes."
"That's… very human of him."
Lillian exhaled. "Exactly."
"And that surprised you."
"Yes."
Chloe crossed her arms thoughtfully.
"So you didn't get any files."
"No."
"You went to check on him."
"Yes."
"You saw him vulnerable."
"Yes."
"And now you're standing in my kitchen looking like you just discovered something."
"I didn't discover anything."
Chloe tilted her head.
"You like him."
Lillian's head snapped up. "Absolutely not."
"That was fast."
"Because it's ridiculous."
"Is it?"
"Yes."
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You drove to his house at night."
"He's my boss."
"You stayed."
"I left."
"You stayed long enough to talk."
Lillian's jaw tightened.
"I can't possibly like someone like that."
"Like what?"
"Cold. Rude. Impossible."
Chloe nodded slowly. "You forgot protective."
Lillian looked away.
"He punched Ethan."
"After Ethan insulted his mother."
"That doesn't make it right."
"No," Chloe agreed. "But it makes it personal."
Lillian shook her head. "He's difficult. He's controlling. He oversteps."
"And?"
"And I don't even know who he is."
Chloe's gaze softened slightly.
"You saw a part of him tonight."
"That doesn't mean anything."
"It might."
Lillian set her glass down harder than necessary.
"It doesn't."
Chloe studied her a moment longer.
"You told me not to tell anyone about the nightmare."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it's private."
"Or because it feels intimate?"
Lillian went still.
"That's not what this is."
Chloe held up her hands. "Okay. I won't push."
But the suspicion didn't leave her expression.
Lillian turned toward the hallway.
"I'm going to bed."
"Lillian."
She paused.
"If he was just your boss," Chloe said gently, "you wouldn't have gone."
Lillian didn't respond.
She walked into the spare bedroom and closed the door softly.
The room was dark.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
She changed slowly and slipped into bed.
Pulled the blanket up.
Closed her eyes.
And immediately saw him again.
Sheets twisted in his hands.
Brow furrowed.
Breathing uneven.
"Stop."
The word echoed in her mind.
Her chest tightened.
She turned onto her side.
Why am I thinking about this?
He was her boss.
Cold.
Sharp.
Demanding.
She replayed the moment his eyes opened.
That flicker of confusion.
Of vulnerability.
He hadn't looked powerful.
He hadn't looked untouchable.
He had looked… human.
And that unsettled her more than his anger ever had.
She turned onto her back.
Staring at the ceiling.
Why do I care?
She tried to reason with herself.
He pushed you.
He overstepped.
He controls everything.
But another voice countered quietly—
He apologized.
He disappeared because he felt guilty.
He didn't want you to see him like that.
Her stomach tightened.
She pressed her face into the pillow briefly.
This is ridiculous.
He's just your boss.
Her mind refused to settle.
Instead, it wandered.
Is he sleeping now?
Is he still awake?
Did he go back to sleep after I left?
Does he have nightmares often?
The questions irritated her.
Why am I worried about him?
She sat up slightly in bed.
The digital clock read 1:47 a.m.
She exhaled slowly and lay back down.
"Cold. Rude. Impossible," she muttered softly into the darkness.
But her mind betrayed her.
Because when she pictured him now—
She didn't see the cold CEO behind the glass office walls.
She saw the man gripping the sheets in his sleep.
And that image refused to leave.
Across the city, in a silent modern mansion, Sebastian lay awake.
Staring at the ceiling.
Not sleeping.
Not resting.
Just thinking.
And for the first time in years—
He wasn't alone in his thoughts.
Because he knew she had seen.
And somehow—
That changed everything.