CHAPTER 436: CHAPTER 436 I’M IN TROUBLE

She paused.

"...The kind that takes away pieces of who you are. But he’s getting better."

There was something in her voice. A quiet grief. A strength held together by tired threads.

And that ache in Sebastian’s chest tightened.

He turned his face away and laughed dryly. "He must be some man. To make a woman like you stay."

Lilith stood, slowly, walking toward the glass wall.

"He is," she whispered.

He followed her gaze, looking at her reflection in the glass. She stood tall. Poised. But her eyes... they were heavy with something he couldn’t name.

"Does he make you happy?" he asked one last time.

Lilith turned to him, eyes steady, full of so many things.

"Yes," she said. "But more than that... he makes me stay."

Sebastian didn’t speak. Couldn’t.

He just watched her. And wondered why her words felt like déjà vu—why the grief in her eyes made something twist in his chest. Why he felt like the man she was describing... was him.

***

Sebastian tapped his pen on the table, his brows furrowed as he stared at the quarterly report—but his mind wasn’t on numbers anymore.

It was on her.

Her soft voice from earlier still echoed in his head.

"He makes me feel like I belong somewhere..."

He clenched his jaw. His pen snapped in half.

"Sir?" Assistant Quinn peeked in through the glass, pretending not to notice the broken pen.

Sebastian raised a brow. "Why are you so jolly lately? Humming in the morning? Smiling like a lunatic every five minutes?"

Quinn grinned like a child. "Because of my wife."

Sebastian scoffed. "Tch."

"If you marry, boss, you’ll know," Quinn said proudly, adjusting his tie. "Having someone wait for you at home, loving you even when you’re tired or angry, reminding you that you’re human... it changes everything."

Sebastian gave him a deadpan stare.

The woman I want to marry is already married, he thought darkly. To someone who doesn’t even come here. Who is this guy that keeps her loyal like that?

He hated the thought.

He hated how Lilith smiled to herself sometimes while reading texts on her phone.

He hated how she wore that subtle, pretty ring on her finger and never once took it off.

He hated how graceful she was when she walked into his office, confident and elegant, making it harder for him to breathe.

And worst of all...

He hated how he cared.

He rubbed his temple. "Damn..."

He wasn’t supposed to be this way.

He was the boss. Cold, rational, composed.

But lately, even seeing another man pass her documents would irritate him.

And Quinn? That fool kept grinning like a cartoon character, talking about love and home and breakfast on Sundays.

Sebastian stood abruptly, pushing the chair back, his jaw tense.

"Quinn," he said sharply.

"Yes, boss?"

"Clear my schedule after 3."

"Why?"

"I need to take a walk."

"To cool your head or—?"

"To figure out why the hell a married woman makes me want to burn this whole building down," he muttered under his breath, brushing past him.

Quinn blinked. "...Wait, did you say—"

"Nothing. Shut up."

He walked away, the weight in his chest growing tighter.

If her husband is that perfect... why does she look so lonely when no one’s watching?

And for the first time, Sebastian Carter wondered...

What if she wasn’t as happily married as she claimed?

**

After 3 a.m., Sebastian found himself in the gym, drenched in sweat, punching the bag like it had personally offended him. His fists ached, but the pressure in his chest didn’t go away.

"Out of my system," he muttered under his breath, delivering one last hit before grabbing a towel. "She’s married. I need to stop."

But the dreams didn’t help.

Lilith. In red. In black. In his arms.

Her soft voice whispering things she never said in real life.

Her lips almost brushing his—then fading as he woke up.

By morning, his mood was worse. His hair messy. His collar a little loose. And his temper just waiting to explode.

But the moment she entered the office, all that rage dropped into silence.

Lilith was wearing a soft cream blouse tucked into a high-waist skirt, her dark hair falling down her back in waves. There was a calmness about her, like the storm in his chest had never touched her at all.

She gently placed a stack of documents on his desk. "These need your signature, Mr. Carter."

He barely nodded, pretending to look at the papers, pretending he didn’t just swallow hard from the way her perfume lingered in the office.

But then it happened.

Her heel slipped.

"Ah—!"

She gasped as she lost balance, and before either of them could think, her body tipped—

And fell right onto his lap.

He caught her.

Their eyes locked.

Time stopped.

Her hands were on his chest. His arm instinctively wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer out of reflex. Her hair brushed his jaw. Her breath hitched as she realized where she landed.

"I—I’m so sorry!" she stammered, trying to stand up, but he didn’t move.

He couldn’t.

His fingers tightened ever so slightly around her.

She was warm.

Soft.

Real.

He had dreamed of this moment but reality was far worse because now he didn’t want to let go.

He stared into her eyes. "Are you okay?" His voice was husky, deeper than usual.

She nodded quickly, face pink, avoiding his gaze. "Yes... just... slipped."

She tried again to stand, but her movement only brought her closer. Her knee brushed his inner thigh. Her hand steadied on his shoulder.

His breath hitched this time.

"You... should be careful," he murmured, his eyes fixed on her lips.

She finally stood, smoothing her skirt with shaky hands. "I’ll be more careful, sir."

Sebastian leaned back in his chair, trying to look composed, but his heart was beating out of rhythm.

Lilith cleared her throat. "I’ll bring the next file after lunch."

He only nodded.

As she walked out of the room, he whispered to himself—

"I’m in trouble."