Chapter 10 I Was Already Too Late

SELENE

I had promised myself I would tell Sebastian the truth today.

But when the moment came, I couldn't bring myself to do it-not after everything we had shared yesterday. Not after the laughter, the quiet conversations, the meal we'd eaten together. Not after lying beside him, breathing the same air. Not after the words he'd whispered to me in the dark.

What was I supposed to do after that?

The question weighed heavily on my chest, leaving me torn between guilt and longing. I knew what the right thing was. I had always known. And yet, the selfish part of me, the part that wanted this fragile peace to last just a little longer won.

So I stayed silent.

And I kept the truth to myself.

There was no point telling him. That was the excuse I clung to, the one I repeated to myself until it dulled the edge of guilt pressing against my chest. The truth would only confuse him. At least, that's what I told myself.

"What are you thinking about?" A raspy voice murmured beside me.

I turned my head and found Sebastian already awake. He lay on his side, facing me, one arm bent beneath his head, his knuckles propping his cheek as he watched me with quiet attentiveness.

I blinked, still not fully accustomed to waking up this close to him. "Nothing." I replied, pushing myself upright. "I should go-"

My words dissolved into a sharp breath as he reached out, his hand circling my waist and gently but firmly pulling me back. The movement stopped me in place, my pulse skidding as I realized he had no intention of letting me slip away so easily.

He leaned closer, his grip loosening though his hand remained firm at my waist.

"Disappearing again?" He murmured, his voice low, almost lazy.

I shook my head quickly. "I just wanted to take a shower."

"Hm." The sound vibrated against my skin as his thumb began tracing slow, absent circles at my side. "And you're planning to get up without doing it?"

I tilted my head, genuinely confused. "Doing what?"

His lips curved into a faint pout.

I frowned, studying his face, trying to decipher what he meant, only to realize he was enjoying my confusion far too much.

"I'm running low on energy." He murmured, a slow smile tugging at his lips. "I need a recharge."

Recharge?

"Are you hungry?" The question slipped out before I could think.

"Yes." His answer came easily, his thumb still tracing idle circles along my side, sending an unfamiliar flutter through my stomach. His touch was doing things to me-quiet, unsettling things I wasn't prepared for.

Then he leaned closer, close enough that I felt his breath brush my cheek.

"But not for food."

His voice dropped. "There's something else I'm craving."

Oh.

Heat rushed to my face as understanding dawned on me.

Right.

I definitely knew what he meant.

I swallowed and tried to look away, but he caught my chin with a single finger, tilting my face up, as though giving me time to pull back if I wanted to. I didn't. My lips parted on a shaky breath as our noses brushed, his warmth so close it stole the air from my lungs. His lips hovered there, a heartbeat away.

Sebastian was about to kiss me. I felt it in the charged stillness between us, in the way the world seemed to narrow until there was nothing but that fragile distance. One small movement, just one, and our lips would meet.

Did I want this? Of course I did.

But my heart wasn't racing with anticipation. It was pounding with fear.

What if he remembered the kiss on the couch? What if, in this moment, another woman's name slipped from his lips? The thought tightened my chest, yet it didn't stop the ache of wanting him. I wanted his kiss. I wanted to know how it felt-again, or maybe for the first time.

His lips were just about to touch mine when the door swung open.

I flinched like a teenager caught doing something forbidden. We both snapped our heads toward the doorway, and there stood the Kingsley family, frozen in place, mouths hanging open. That was when reality crashed down on me. Sebastian was half over me, close enough that there was no mistaking what they'd walked in on.

I scrambled away and sat up, my face burning. Sebastian rolled off to the other side of the bed, muttering something under his breath that I couldn't quite catch.

"Don't you guys know how to knock?" He snapped, irritation sharp in his voice as he dragged a hand through his hair.

"Sorry." Mr. Kingsley said, waving a dismissive hand at Sebastian before turning to June. "Why didn't you knock before coming in?"

"I didn't know they would be..." Nora gestured awkwardly with her hands, trailing off.

I stared at my lap, my heart still racing for reasons I wasn't sure I wanted to untangle just yet.

"So... how are you feeling, Sebastian?" Mrs. Kingsley cut in quickly, her voice a little too bright as she crossed the room, a nylon bag of takeaways rustling in her hand.

Sebastian merely shrugged as he pushed himself upright on the couch, his expression unreadable, as though nothing unusual had just happened.

I slipped off the bed, suddenly unsure of where to place myself, and rubbed at my elbow in a nervous, absent motion.

Mrs. Kingsley's sharp voice cut through the room. "What are you doing just standing there? Don't you know you're supposed to arrange this?" She pointed pointedly at the takeaways as she set them down on the table.

"I'm sorry." I murmured, hurrying forward to do as told.

I had barely reached for the containers when a firm hand closed around my wrist, stopping me cold. I looked up, startled, straight into Sebastian's eyes.

"What are you trying to do?" His voice came out low and tight, edged with something that sounded dangerously close to anger.

I turned instinctively toward my mother-in-law. Her mouth hung open, shock written plainly across her face, as the room fell into a stunned, uneasy silence.

Mrs. Kingsley was the first to recover.

"Sebastian," she said carefully, the smile she forced into place failing to reach her eyes. "I was only asking Selene to help. There's no need for that tone."

His grip on my wrist didn't loosen.

"She doesn't work for you." He replied flatly.

A heavy silence settled over the room.

"I'm your mother," Mrs. Kingsley said at last, her composure stiffening. "And she's your wife. Arranging food isn't beneath her."

Sebastian's jaw tightened, a muscle ticking beneath his skin.

"And ordering her around isn't your place."

His mother scoffed. "When did I order her?" She asked, turning to the others as though searching for support.

No one spoke.

Sebastian turned to me then. His hand finally released my wrist, but the warmth of his touch lingered. "Go sit," he said gently. "I'll arrange it."

Without waiting for a response, he moved to the table and began unpacking the dishes himself.

He had told me to sit, yet I remained rooted where I stood. I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. I was used to the sharp words, the casual authority in my mother-in-law's voice, the way my sister-in-law echoed it. I had learned to accept it, to endure it.

But this... this version of Sebastian, standing between me and them without hesitation sent a warmth spreading through my chest. I tried to hide my smile, but it slipped out anyway, betraying me completely.

With Sebastian openly defying his mother, the atmosphere in the ward shifted. The air grew strained. I noticed how careful they became, how their words softened, how their confidence faltered.

They spoke of his health. Of the family business. Of things that felt suddenly trivial.

And yet, throughout it all, Sebastian never once let me out of his sight.

***

After days in the hospital, Sebastian was finally discharged. Relief should have been the loudest thing in my chest. Instead, it was dread.

To keep my lies intact, I called Vincent and asked him to bring Sebastian's belongings to the house. Clothes, shoes, the little things that made it look as though he truly lived there. Together, we rearranged the space, added items that had never belonged, filled empty corners with borrowed memories until the house resembled a matrimonial home.

Too convincing, perhaps.

As I stood there, surveying our handiwork, a question gnawed at me. Was I going too far? Was this still protection... or outright deception?

The question lingered as Sebastian stepped inside.

He paused just beyond the doorway, his gaze drifting slowly around the house, taking in every detail as though he were searching for something he couldn't name.

"Does it look familiar?" I asked, watching him carefully.

"No." He replied.

His eyes had settled on the wedding portrait hanging in the living room. It hadn't been there before. I had made sure of that. A married couple was supposed to have their wedding photo on display. At least, that was what I'd told myself when I hung it there.

"Would you like anything?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Water." He said, finally looking away from the portrait.

"Okay."

I walked to the fridge, retrieved a bottle of water, and turned back-

He was gone.

A sudden unease crept up my spine. I hurried into the living room and froze.

Sebastian stood between the couch and the table, an envelope clutched in his hand.

My heart stopped.

The divorce papers.

I had forgotten them. Forgotten to hide them. Forgotten to erase the one thing that could destroy everything I'd built.

"No!" I shouted, rushing toward him.

But I was already too late.

Sebastian had opened the envelope.