Chapter 151: Seren too still.
The voice came from behind him, light, almost teasing. Raymond stiffened. He hadn’t heard her approach. Of course, he hadn’t.
He turned slowly to find Janet standing there, a playful smile tugging at her lips, her eyes gleaming with curiosity, and something else he couldn’t quite place. She stepped closer and gave him a small, friendly push on the arm.
"Congratulations," she added warmly. Raymond forced his expression to soften, but the tension lingered in his shoulders, coiled tight beneath the surface. Why is she always everywhere? The thought flickered through his mind, sharp and immediate.
"Thank you," he managed, his voice steady, too steady.
Janet tilted her head slightly, studying him like she was trying to read between the lines he wasn’t saying. "So that’s why you needed the job so badly," she continued, her tone thoughtful now, though still laced with that easy charm. "Well... I’m sure your wife will be happy to know you have one."
Wife. The word lingered in the air between them. Heavy. Uncomfortable. Raymond didn’t respond. Couldn’t. He simply nodded once, a small, controlled movement. Janet smiled again, soft this time, almost knowing.
"Well... see you tomorrow." And just like that, she turned and walked away, her footsteps fading down the corridor. Raymond watched her go, his gaze sharp now, focused, tracking every step, every subtle movement.
That was close. Too close. Something about her presence felt less like a coincidence and more like timing.
Raymond crossed the street with measured steps until he reached the small store opposite. To anyone watching, he was just another man running an errand, another face in the quiet rhythm of the evening.
But he wasn’t. He pushed open the washroom door and stepped inside, locking it behind him with a soft click. For a moment, he simply stood there, staring at his reflection in the mirror, the version of himself he had been hiding behind.
Then, slowly, deliberately, he began to peel it away.
The disguise came off piece by piece. The posture, the expression, even the way he held his shoulders shifted as if he were shedding a second skin. And when it was done, the man staring back at him was no longer the one Janet knew.
This was Sebastian. And for the first time in a long time, something broke through his usual control, a quiet, dangerous happiness. He exhaled, a faint smile touching his lips. He had been close to her.
Closer than he had allowed himself to imagine. Amara.
The name alone stirred something deep and unrelenting inside him. His first love. His wife, yes, his wife, no matter what the world chose to call her now. Janet’s words echoed in his mind, and this time, he didn’t reject them.
Your wife.
"She still is," he murmured under his breath, almost like a vow.
It didn’t matter that there was another man standing beside her now. It didn’t matter what papers had been signed, what lies had been told, what life she appeared to be living.
None of that changed what she was to him. Nothing could. But then. Julian. The name struck like a spark against dry ground.
Seb’s expression darkened instantly, the warmth in his eyes cooling into something sharper, more dangerous. His jaw clenched, fingers curling slightly at his sides.
Julian. The man who stood where he should have been. The man who got to touch her, to stand beside her... to feel. His thoughts cut off, replaced by a surge of anger so sudden it almost made him laugh.
His son. The thought settled heavily in his chest, possessive and unyielding. His son.
And yet another man had been there... close enough to feel the child’s heartbeat, close enough to claim a place that didn’t belong to him.
Seb’s gaze hardened. "He dares..." he muttered, voice low, edged with something cold. For a moment, the silence in the washroom thickened, charged with everything he wasn’t saying.
Then, just as quickly, he pulled himself back together. Control.
He adjusted his cuffs, smoothing out the sharp lines of the elegant suit he now wore. Every movement is precise. Calculated. By the time he stepped away from the mirror, there was no trace of the man who had walked in moments ago.
Only Seb remained. Composed. Dangerous. Certain.
He unlocked the door and walked out, blending seamlessly back into the world, but this time, he carried himself differently. There was purpose in his stride now, a quiet confidence that drew attention without asking for it.
His car was parked a few blocks away, exactly where he had left it.
Inside, Adom waited. Sebastian slid into the back seat without a word.
Adom glanced at him through the rearview mirror, already sensing the shift in atmosphere, but he didn’t ask questions. He didn’t need to. The engine came to life.
"Drive," Sebastian said calmly. Adom obeyed.
At first, the direction was clear; they were heading toward the company, but halfway there, Sebastian leaned back slightly, his gaze drifting toward the window, though he wasn’t really looking outside.
He was thinking. About her. About the child. About everything that had just changed. A slow smile formed on his lips. "No," he said suddenly.
Adom’s hands tightened slightly on the wheel. "Sir?" Seb’s eyes sharpened, decision settling in fully. "Take me to the hospital."
There was no hesitation this time. No doubt. Just a man moving toward something he had already decided was his.
The hospital room hadn’t changed. It never did. Same quiet. Same machines. Same fragile stillness that stretched time into something unbearable.
Sebastian stood at the doorway for a moment before stepping in. Like he always did. Like crossing that line required strength, he had to gather every single time. She was still there. Exactly as he had left her. Seren. Small. Too still.
Too quiet for a child who once filled every space with laughter. He walked to her slowly and pulled the chair closer, the soft scrape of it against the floor sounding too loud in the silence.
Then he sat. His hand found hers. Careful. Gentle. Like she could feel it. "Hey..." he murmured, his voice softer than the world had ever heard from him.