The executive floor felt tense before Sebastian even arrived.
Nobody said it directly.
But everyone knew.
Assistants moved faster than usual.
Executives arrived earlier.
Conversations stayed quieter.
Even the atmosphere itself seemed sharper somehow, like the entire building had unconsciously straightened its posture.
Lillian noticed all of it the moment she stepped off the elevator that morning.
The floor was already active despite the early hour.
She adjusted the strap of her bag slightly against her shoulder and walked toward her desk outside Sebastian's office.
The glass walls were still dark.
Empty.
But not for long.
That thought settled heavily in her chest.
Chloe looked up from her desk the second she saw her.
And immediately frowned.
"You look awful."
Lillian sighed softly as she set her bag down.
"Good morning to you too."
"I'm serious."
Chloe stood slightly.
"You're pale."
Lillian avoided her gaze while turning on her monitor.
"I didn't sleep well."
"That's becoming a pattern."
Lillian didn't answer.
Because it was true.
The past month had ruined her sleep almost as badly as the breakup itself.
And lately—
the nausea had gotten worse too.
She felt it again now.
A faint twisting discomfort low in her stomach.
Not enough to stop functioning.
But enough to make her quietly miserable.
Lillian reached for the bottle of water on her desk.
Chloe watched carefully.
"Did you eat breakfast?"
"A little."
"That means no."
"I had toast."
Chloe gave her a look.
Lillian almost smiled faintly despite herself.
Almost.
Then the elevator dinged.
The entire floor subtly changed.
Not dramatically.
Just instantly quieter.
Like a current passing through everyone at once.
Lillian felt her chest tighten before she even looked up.
And then—
Sebastian stepped out of the elevator.
Every instinct inside her reacted immediately.
Because it had been over a month.
A month since she had seen him in person.
Properly.
Not through a screen.
Not through silence.
Not through memory.
Reality hit much harder.
Sebastian looked thinner.
That was the first thing she noticed.
His suit fit perfectly as always, dark and immaculate, but his face looked sharper now.
More hollow beneath the cheekbones.
There were faint shadows beneath his eyes too.
Exhaustion carefully hidden beneath composure.
But still visible if you knew him well enough.
And Lillian knew him too well.
Sebastian walked across the executive floor calmly.
Controlled.
Unreadable.
Several employees greeted him carefully.
"Good morning, Mr. Wolfe."
"Morning, sir."
Sebastian acknowledged each one with brief professionalism.
Then his gaze finally landed on Lillian.
For one terrible second—
everything inside her stopped.
Because he looked at her differently now.
Not with warmth.
Not with softness.
Not even with visible anger.
Just distance.
Controlled distance.
Sebastian paused briefly beside her desk.
Lillian stood automatically.
The silence stretched.
Then calmly, professionally—
"Good morning, Miss Parker."
The words hit much harder than they should have.
Miss Parker.
Not Lillian.
Not the softness that used to exist beneath even his coldest moods.
Just formality.
Like she was everyone else now.
Lillian forced herself to answer evenly.
"…Good morning."
Sebastian gave a single nod.
Then walked past her into his office without another word.
The glass door closed quietly behind him.
Lillian remained standing for a moment longer.
Like her body hadn't fully caught up yet.
Across from her, Chloe stared openly.
"…Wow."
Lillian slowly sat back down.
Her chest hurt.
Actually hurt.
Not dramatically.
Just quietly.
Deeply.
Because somehow she had expected awkwardness.
Maybe tension.
Maybe sadness.
But not this.
Not Sebastian acting like emotional distance itself was now mandatory.
Chloe lowered her voice slightly.
"He's worse than I thought."
Lillian looked toward the office automatically.
Sebastian was already working.
Laptop open.
Reading something on screen.
Completely composed externally.
Like nothing had shifted at all.
But Lillian knew better.
Because Sebastian only became this controlled when something underneath was unstable.
The morning passed slowly.
Painfully slowly.
Sebastian remained inside his office for most of it.
Meetings.
Emails.
Calls.
Everything handled with perfect professionalism.
And complete emotional detachment.
Lillian noticed something else too.
He barely looked at her.
Before the breakup, Sebastian's attention used to find her automatically no matter what he was doing.
Now—
he avoided it deliberately.
That hurt more than she expected.
At around eleven, Lillian stood from her desk too quickly.
Dizziness hit almost immediately.
She grabbed the edge of the desk subtly before anyone noticed.
A wave of nausea rolled through her stomach sharply enough to make her close her eyes briefly.
Chloe noticed instantly.
"Lillian?"
"I'm fine."
"You're definitely not fine."
Lillian exhaled carefully.
"It'll pass."
Chloe frowned harder.
"You need to see someone."
"It's stress."
"Stress doesn't usually make people look like they're about to faint."
Lillian opened her mouth to answer—
then stopped.
Because Sebastian's office door opened.
Both women looked up instinctively.
Sebastian stepped out calmly with a folder in one hand.
His gaze passed briefly over the executive floor.
Then landed on Lillian for less than a second.
But he noticed.
Of course he noticed.
Her pale face.
Her grip against the desk.
The exhaustion.
Something unreadable flickered briefly across his expression.
Then disappeared immediately.
Sebastian walked past her desk.
Close enough now that Lillian caught the faint scent of whiskey beneath his cologne.
Her eyes widened slightly.
No.
Sebastian never drank at Sovereign.
Never.
A cold heaviness settled in her stomach immediately.
As Sebastian passed, the edge of his suit jacket shifted slightly.
Just enough for Lillian to glimpse metal.
A flask.
Hidden inside his coat pocket.
Her chest tightened sharply.
Sebastian noticed her expression.
His gaze met hers briefly.
Cold.
Guarded.
And fully aware she had seen it.
Lillian lowered her voice immediately.
"…You're drinking?"
Sebastian's expression didn't change.
"Quietly, Miss Parker."
The formal title again.
It felt intentional now.
Like punishment.
Lillian stared at him.
"You're at work."
"And?"
The single word carried exhaustion more than irritation.
Lillian stepped slightly closer, lowering her voice further.
"You never used to do this."
Something colder entered Sebastian's expression then.
Not rage.
Something worse.
Distance sharpened by hurt.
"A lot of things changed."
The words landed heavily between them.
Lillian's throat tightened.
"Sebastian—."
"Mr. Wolfe is sufficient during office hours."
That one hurt enough to physically sting.
Sebastian looked at her for another second.
Then calmly adjusted the folder in his hand.
"I have a meeting."
And walked away.
Just like that.
Leaving Lillian standing there completely still.
Chloe watched the entire interaction from her desk.
Her expression darkened immediately.
Once Sebastian disappeared into the conference room, Chloe stood and walked toward Lillian quietly.
"…Okay," Chloe said softly.
"That was brutal."
Lillian looked down briefly.
Her nausea twisted again suddenly.
Worse now.
She swallowed hard against it.
Chloe's concern deepened immediately.
"Lillian."
"I'm okay."
"No, you're not."
Lillian pressed her fingers lightly against her temple.
Because suddenly everything felt too warm.
Too loud.
Too heavy.
And underneath all of it—
Sebastian's voice kept replaying in her head.
A lot of things changed.
Chloe softened slightly.
"I think he's trying to make himself stop needing you."
That hit directly somewhere painful.
Because it sounded true.
Lillian looked toward the conference room doors quietly.
And for the first time since the breakup—
she truly understood how deeply she had hurt him.
Not because he yelled.
Not because he blamed her.
But because Sebastian Wolfe—someone who once held her like she was the safest thing in the world—now treated closeness to her like something dangerous.
Hours later, as the workday slowly came to an end, Lillian remained seated at her desk pretending to review documents.
Her focus barely existed anymore.
The nausea still lingered faintly.
But something else hurt more now.
The distance.
Because Sebastian was physically here again.
Only a few feet away behind glass walls.
And somehow—
he had never felt further from her than he did now.