A few days passed after Sebastian's return to Sovereign.
Outwardly, everything seemed normal.
The company continued operating.
Meetings continued.
Deadlines continued.
Employees continued whispering every time Sebastian walked through the executive floor looking like he should still be in a hospital bed.
And Sebastian continued ignoring everyone.
Including his doctors.
By Wednesday evening, he had worked nearly twelve hours straight.
Again.
His laptop sat open in front of him.
Reports covered his desk.
His phone buzzed twice with incoming messages.
He ignored all of them.
Because no matter how much work he buried himself under, his thoughts always returned to the same place.
Lillian.
The little girl.
The hospital.
The unanswered questions.
His jaw tightened.
Three years.
The number seemed impossible to escape.
Every time he thought he was finished thinking about it, his mind circled back again.
Like a wound that refused to heal.
Eventually he shut his laptop.
Hard.
The sound echoed through the empty office.
He was done.
Not with work.
With thinking.
At least for tonight.
An hour later, Sebastian sat alone at the corner of an upscale Manhattan bar.
A glass of whiskey rested in front of him.
The amber liquid reflected the dim lighting.
He took a drink.
Then another.
Then another.
The bartender watched him carefully.
Not because he was causing trouble.
Because he wasn't.
Sebastian was one of the quiet drunks.
The dangerous kind.
The ones who sat alone and drowned themselves slowly.
The bartender approached after a while.
"You should probably slow down."
Sebastian didn't look up.
"Didn't ask."
The bartender sighed.
He had expected that answer.
Several more drinks followed.
The edges of Sebastian's thoughts blurred.
Not enough to erase them.
Just enough to make them quieter.
For a little while.
Meanwhile, across the city, Lillian exited a grocery store carrying several shopping bags.
The cold evening air brushed against her face.
She adjusted the bags in her hands and began walking toward the parking lot.
Her evening had been pleasantly normal.
She had finished work.
Picked up groceries.
Bought ingredients for dinner.
Bought a new coloring book for Ellie after spotting it near the checkout counter.
The little girl would be thrilled.
Thinking about that made her smile.
Chloe was watching Ellie at the apartment.
Probably letting her eat more snacks than she should.
Lillian could already imagine the scene.
Ellie sitting cross-legged on the couch.
Chloe pretending to be strict while secretly spoiling her.
The thought warmed her.
For once, her mind wasn't occupied by Sebastian.
Then a nearby bar door opened.
Someone stumbled out.
Lillian barely glanced in that direction.
At first.
Then she froze.
Her entire body stopped moving.
Sebastian.
He looked terrible.
Not just tired.
Not just exhausted.
Terrible.
His tie hung loose around his neck.
His suit jacket was partially unbuttoned.
His movements lacked their usual precision.
And even from this distance she could tell he had been drinking.
A lot.
Lillian stared.
This wasn't the Sebastian she remembered.
The man she remembered had always been composed.
Controlled.
Careful.
Even when he was struggling.
Especially when he was struggling.
But this version looked like he had stopped trying.
Her chest tightened.
Sebastian took several unsteady steps forward.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then his balance failed completely.
Everything happened in seconds.
His foot caught awkwardly against the edge of the pavement.
His body tilted.
And suddenly he was falling.
The impact echoed against the sidewalk.
Several nearby pedestrians stopped.
A woman gasped.
Someone muttered something under their breath.
Lillian's shopping bags slipped from her hands.
"Sebastian!"
She ran.
By the time she reached him, he was already trying to push himself upright.
Typical.
Even now.
His hand pressed against the pavement.
He attempted to stand.
Failed.
Tried again.
Failed again.
Frustration flashed across his face.
The third attempt wasn't much better.
Lillian immediately crouched beside him.
"Stop."
"I'm fine."
"You just fell."
"I'm standing."
As if determined to prove his point, Sebastian pushed himself upward.
His legs immediately wobbled.
Lillian caught his arm before he could hit the ground again.
The moment she touched him, he froze.
Slowly he turned his head.
Blue eyes met green.
For a second neither of them spoke.
Recognition settled between them.
Then Sebastian laughed.
A short sound.
Humorless.
Empty.
"Of course it's you."
Lillian hated how tired he sounded.
She hated how broken he looked.
The alcohol on his breath was impossible to miss.
"How much have you had to drink?"
Sebastian shrugged.
"Enough."
"Sebastian—."
"What?"
His voice wasn't angry.
Just exhausted.
Dangerously exhausted.
Lillian looked at him carefully.
His face was thinner than it had been three years ago.
His eyes carried permanent exhaustion.
Even now he looked like he hadn't slept properly in weeks.
Maybe months.
The realization hurt more than she expected.
Sebastian looked away first.
"Thought you stopped caring."
The words were quiet.
Not accusing.
Somehow that made them worse.
Lillian swallowed.
"You've been drinking after ending up in the hospital."
A bitter smile appeared briefly.
"Excellent observation."
"Your liver is damaged."
"So I've been told."
"Several times, apparently."
Sebastian laughed again.
The sound felt wrong.
Cold.
Detached.
Like someone who had forgotten how to genuinely laugh.
For a moment neither spoke.
The city moved around them.
Cars passed.
People walked by.
Life continued.
Yet somehow they remained stuck here.
Three years later.
Still carrying the same pain.
Sebastian rubbed a hand across his face.
"You should go home."
"What?"
"You have somewhere to be."
His eyes remained fixed on the pavement.
"You always did."
Lillian's chest tightened.
Because she finally understood.
To Sebastian, the breakup hadn't just been a breakup.
It had confirmed every fear he'd carried his entire life.
Every fear of abandonment.
Every fear of not being enough.
Every fear of being left behind.
And three years hadn't healed any of it.
If anything, it had made it worse.
Lillian looked at him.
Really looked at him.
The drinking.
The hospital.
The exhaustion.
The loneliness.
Then she thought about the mansion.
Empty.
Silent.
A man with liver damage.
A man who had collapsed in public.
A man who clearly wasn't taking care of himself.
And suddenly one thought became impossible to ignore.
What if something happened tonight?
What if he went home alone?
What if nobody found him next time?
Lillian exhaled slowly.
Then she made a decision.
"Come on."
Sebastian frowned.
"What?"
"You're getting up."
"I'm perfectly capable of—."
He attempted another step.
His balance immediately disappeared.
Lillian caught him again.
The argument died instantly.
She stared at him.
Firm.
Determined.
The same expression she used whenever Ellie was being stubborn.
"You're not fine."
Sebastian opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Nothing came out.
For once, he didn't have a response.
Lillian tightened her grip on his arm.
"I'm taking you with me."
Confusion flickered across his face.
"What?"
"You heard me."
For several seconds he simply stared at her.
Too tired.
Too drunk.
Too exhausted to properly process what she had said.
Then something in his expression softened.
Only slightly.
Only for a moment.
And he stopped fighting.
Slowly, Lillian helped him to his feet.
His weight leaned partially against her.
Something Sebastian would normally never allow.
But tonight wasn't normal.
Tonight he was too exhausted to pretend.
Together they began walking toward the parking lot.
Toward Lillian's car.
Neither of them spoke.
The forgotten shopping bags remained on the sidewalk behind them.
And neither realized how much was about to change.
Because for the first time in three years—
Sebastian Wolfe was going home with Lillian.