The red light above the operating room door was still on.
Lillian Parker stared at it.
Four hours.
That's how long Sebastian Wolfe had been inside.
The hospital hallway smelled like antiseptic and polished floors. Nurses walked past every few minutes, their footsteps quiet but constant. Somewhere down the corridor, a monitor beeped steadily.
Lillian sat in a chair outside the operating room, her posture straight, her expression composed.
But her phone kept buzzing.
She glanced down at the screen.
Another call from the company.
Of course.
She answered it.
"Miss Parker," a tense voice said immediately, "we need Mr. Wolfe's approval on the Henderson contract. The board is waiting."
Lillian closed her eyes for a moment.
"Mr. Wolfe is currently in surgery," she said calmly.
Silence filled the line.
"…Surgery?"
"Yes."
"But—."
"He will not be approving anything today."
The man sounded panicked.
"But this deal is worth millions—."
"So is his spine," Lillian cut in sharply.
The executive went quiet.
Lillian leaned back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other.
"If the company collapses because Sebastian Wolfe takes one day off," she said coolly, "then the board has much bigger problems than this contract."
Another pause.
"…Understood."
The call ended.
Her phone buzzed again almost instantly.
Lillian let out a slow breath before answering.
"Yes?"
"Miss Parker," another executive said nervously, "the investor meeting starts in two hours. Mr. Wolfe always attends."
"Well today he won't."
"But the investors—."
"Reschedule the meeting."
There was a stunned silence.
"Miss Parker…"
"That wasn't a suggestion."
Click.
Lillian lowered the phone.
For a moment, she just stared at the blank screen.
Sebastian really had built a company that depended entirely on him.
Every decision.
Every meeting.
Every approval.
No wonder he refused to rest.
No wonder he had been packing work files for the hospital earlier that morning.
The memory made her shake her head.
"You're impossible," she muttered under her breath.
Hours passed slowly.
The hallway gradually grew quieter.
Chloe had been sitting beside her for a while, scrolling through her phone, occasionally glancing toward the operating room doors.
Finally, she stretched.
"I swear hospitals make time move slower," Chloe complained.
Lillian didn't reply.
Her eyes were still fixed on the red light above the door.
Another hour passed.
Then finally—
The red light turned off.
Lillian immediately stood.
The operating room doors opened, and the doctor stepped out, removing his surgical mask.
Lillian walked straight toward him.
"How is he?"
The doctor gave a reassuring smile.
"The surgery was successful."
The tension in Lillian's chest eased slightly.
"He'll remain asleep for a few hours due to the anesthesia," the doctor continued. "But everything went smoothly."
Chloe let out a breath beside her.
"Thank God."
A nurse approached them.
"We're moving Mr. Wolfe to his private room now."
Lillian nodded.
"Thank you."
A few minutes later, Sebastian was wheeled down the hallway on a hospital bed.
His eyes were closed.
His face looked pale under the bright hospital lights.
The confident, intimidating presence he usually carried was gone.
For the first time since Lillian had known him, Sebastian Wolfe looked… vulnerable.
The nurse pushed the bed into a private hospital room.
The room was large and quiet, with a window overlooking the city.
The nurse carefully adjusted the bed before checking the monitors beside it.
"There may be some discomfort when he wakes up," she explained. "That's normal after this type of surgery."
Lillian nodded.
"When will he wake up?"
"Probably in a few hours."
The doctor gave her a final reassuring look.
"He'll be fine."
Then the staff left.
The room fell silent.
Only the soft beeping of the machines remained.
Chloe leaned against the wall.
"Well," she said, "that was terrifying."
Lillian sat down in the chair beside Sebastian's bed.
"He'll recover."
Chloe studied Sebastian for a moment.
"Still weird seeing him like this."
Lillian didn't disagree.
Sebastian was usually the most controlled person in any room.
Now he looked completely defenseless.
Chloe crossed her arms.
"You know," she said slowly, "I can't believe he was still trying to bring work files to the hospital this morning."
Lillian rolled her eyes slightly.
"Of course he was."
"That man is insane."
"Agreed."
The hours passed quietly.
Evening slowly turned into night.
The lights outside the window faded as the city darkened.
Chloe eventually checked the time.
"I should head home," she said. "Call me when he wakes up."
"I will."
Chloe grabbed her bag but paused before leaving.
She glanced at Sebastian once more.
Then she looked at Lillian.
"You're staying?"
"Yes."
Chloe smiled faintly.
"He's lucky you're here."
Lillian didn't respond.
Chloe waved once before leaving the room.
The door closed softly behind her.
Now the room was completely silent.
Just Lillian and Sebastian.
The machines beside the bed beeped quietly.
Lillian leaned back in her chair.
For a while, she simply watched him.
Sebastian Wolfe.
Powerful CEO.
Ruthless businessman.
The man everyone feared.
Yet right now…
He looked like someone who had been carrying too much for too long.
Lillian thought about what the doctor had said earlier.
About his father.
She hadn't known.
Sebastian had never mentioned him.
Never once.
He had only spoken about his mother before… and the way she had died years ago.
Now she knew something else.
His father was extremely ill.
And Sebastian was dealing with it alone.
The realization made something in her chest ache.
Maybe that explained a lot.
His constant work.
His cold attitude.
His refusal to rely on anyone.
Maybe Sebastian Wolfe had simply learned that there was no one to rely on.
The thought lingered in her mind.
The hospital room felt warmer than the hallway had been earlier.
The quiet was strangely peaceful.
But exhaustion slowly crept into her body.
She had been awake almost all night.
And the entire day had been stressful.
Her eyes grew heavy.
She shifted slightly in the chair.
"I'm just resting for a minute," she murmured to herself.
But the minute turned into more.
Her head leaned back against the chair.
Her breathing slowed.
Eventually…
Lillian Parker fell asleep.
The room remained quiet.
Outside, the city lights flickered in the distance.
Time passed.
Then—
Sebastian stirred.
A faint groan escaped his lips.
Pain spread through his back the moment he tried to move.
His eyes slowly opened.
The ceiling lights above him looked blurry at first.
He blinked a few times.
His vision slowly focused.
The hospital room came into view.
The machines beside his bed.
The dim lighting.
The quiet stillness.
Then his gaze shifted to the side.
And he froze.
Lillian.
She was sitting in the chair beside his bed.
Fast asleep.
Her arms were loosely folded.
Her head leaned slightly to one side.
A few strands of her hair had fallen across her face.
She looked completely exhausted.
Sebastian stared at her in silence.
She stayed.
The thought felt strange.
Unfamiliar.
No one had ever done that before.
Not through surgery.
Not through pain.
Not through anything.
Sebastian had always handled everything alone.
Always.
His father had been too sick for years.
His mother had been gone for a long time.
And everyone else in his life had always been there for one reason—
Business.
Money.
Power.
But Lillian…
She had stayed.
For hours.
Sebastian's eyes lingered on her sleeping figure.
Something unfamiliar stirred in his chest.
A strange warmth spread through him.
He frowned slightly.
The feeling was new.
Uncomfortable.
He didn't like it.
Sebastian turned his head slightly, staring at the ceiling again.
It was ridiculous.
She was just doing her job.
That was all.
He exhaled slowly.
But after a moment…
His gaze drifted back toward her again.
Still asleep.
Still there.
Her breathing was soft and steady.
The quiet presence beside him made the sterile hospital room feel… less empty.
Sebastian didn't understand why.
And he didn't want to think about it.
Instead, he closed his eyes again.
The pain in his back throbbed faintly.
But for some reason…
The room felt calmer than it had before.
And without realizing it—
Sebastian Wolfe slowly drifted back to sleep.
While Lillian Parker remained in the chair beside him.
Still waiting.
Still there.