CHAPTER 434: CHAPTER 434 YOU’RE MARRIED?

Within minutes, the door clicked open. She walked in gracefully, balancing the porcelain cup on a small tray, placing it quietly in front of him. Her scent—a soft blend of lavender and something faintly sweet...lingered in the air.

He looked up at her slowly, expecting her to turn and leave like always.

But today... he wanted to talk. Just a little longer.

"Miss Parker," he said suddenly, his voice lower. "Do you always wear the same shade of lipstick?"

Lilith blinked, slightly caught off guard. Then nodded gently, not losing her professional calm. "It’s the one that suits me best, sir."

He leaned back, eyes narrowing as he watched her. "It does."

She tilted her head slightly, polite but distant. "Is there anything else you need, Mr. Carter?"

His lips twitched, a smirk threatening to appear. "Not really. Unless you’d like to tell me why every other man in the building keeps making excuses to visit my office ever since you arrived."

Lilith didn’t blink.

"They come for files, sir. Not for me."

He chuckled softly. "Of course. Must be the files."

There was a beat of silence between them.

Her calm expression never changed. "Will that be all?"

Sebastian nodded slowly, not trusting himself to say more. She turned and walked out of the room, the soft click of her heels echoing like a slow drumbeat in his chest.

And when the door shut behind her, he ran a hand through his hair, gripping it at the roots in frustration.

"Who the hell are you really, Lilith Parker?" he muttered under his breath.

Because the more he looked at her...

The more he felt like she wasn’t a stranger at all.

***

Sebastian Carter had handled empires collapsing, stocks crashing, and betrayals in boardrooms but nothing, absolutely nothing, had prepared him for the chaos that entered his life the moment his new secretary walked in.

Lilith Parker.

She wasn’t loud or overly confident. She didn’t wear perfume so strong it gave headaches like the others. She didn’t try to flirt or cling or prove anything. No. She simply walked in with calm footsteps, handled every task with quiet precision, and left a trail of disturbance in his chest that refused to settle.

It was ruining his peace.

And ever since she joined, he had started calling her more often into his office. Not because he needed anything urgent but because he couldn’t stop himself. Today was no different.

"Sir, the files you asked for," Lilith said as she stepped in, placing a neatly organized folder on his desk.

Sebastian’s eyes stayed fixed on the ring on her finger—not the files, not her perfect handwriting, not even her soft voice this time. That simple silver band had just pierced a hole right through his chest.

"You’re married?" he asked, voice sharper than intended.

Lilith blinked, lips curving into a small polite smile. "Yes, sir."

A cold wave moved through him. He cleared his throat. "To who?"

The question shot out before he could stop it.

Even he knew it sounded too personal, far beyond the boundary of boss and secretary. But the way she looked, so calm and unreadable, made his frustration worse.

"To my husband," she answered simply, as if the question wasn’t odd at all.

Sebastian leaned back in his chair, watching her. "I meant... what’s he like?"

Lilith tilted her head, almost studying him now. "Why do you ask, sir?"

"I don’t know." He ran a hand through his hair, clearly irritated. "You don’t seem like the type to flaunt marriage. No photos on your desk. No calls to a husband. No mention of him."

She smiled faintly. "Not all love stories are meant to be loud, Mr. Carter."

His eyes narrowed.

There was something in her voice. A softness. A sadness.

"I see," he muttered. "So, what is he like then?"

Lilith hesitated. Just for a heartbeat.

Then her voice dropped softer, more distant. "He’s the kind of man who never thought he could love. But when he did, he gave everything. He gets jealous easily. Overthinks. And sometimes, he has this look in his eyes... like he’s afraid I’ll disappear."

Sebastian suddenly felt like the air in the room had changed.

A strange ache bloomed in his chest. A flicker of déjà vu. As if he had heard those words from her lips before. In another room. Another time.

"Sounds intense," he said slowly.

"It was," she whispered. "But it was beautiful."

He studied her. "Was?"

She blinked, her expression unreadable. "Is," she corrected gently.

"Right," he mumbled, trying to pull his gaze back to the folder she’d placed.

Lilith gave him a polite nod and turned to leave.

But Sebastian stopped her with a final question.

"What’s his name?"

She paused at the door but didn’t answer.

Sebastian stared at the door long after she left.

Why did his chest feel like something important had been taken... or forgotten?

He shook his head, trying to brush off the feeling. But as he looked down at the untouched files..

After finding out that Lilith was married, Sebastian Carter had made a silent vow to keep his distance.

She was his secretary. Professional. Graceful. Married.

End of story.

But reality wasn’t so simple.

Each day that passed, she became harder to ignore. The calm way she worked beside him. The way her blue eyes focused on every task. The way her lips curved when she solved problems no one else could. She had this quiet confidence, and it was driving him insane.

And today was worse.

Lilith walked in wearing a simple navy blouse tucked neatly into a pencil skirt that hugged her waist perfectly. Her hair was tied up, a few loose strands brushing against her cheek. No jewelry except that damned ring.

Sebastian glanced up when she entered and then quickly forced himself to look down at the file he wasn’t even reading. He pretended to check a figure, but his eyes flickered to her reflection in the glass partition.

Calm. Confident. Beautiful.

He bit the inside of his cheek. Stay professional.