Chapter 16: Under the Surface
740 Words
The night didn’t feel like night.
Not anymore.
Regal stood by the window, staring out into the quiet street.
Still.
Watching.
Waiting.
Her phone rested in her hand.
Unread messages.
Silence from Daisy.
That silence felt… wrong.
⸻
Across the house—
Sebastian sat at his desk.
A glass of water untouched beside him.
His laptop glowed in the dim room.
Files.
Reports.
Names.
His jaw tightened slightly.
“Lucas…”
He said the name under his breath.
A pause.
Then he leaned back.
Eyes narrowing.
Something wasn’t adding up.
⸻
At dawn—
Regal heard the door open.
She turned.
Sebastian.
Again.
“You didn’t sleep,” he said.
Not a question.
She shrugged lightly.
“You didn’t either.”
A small pause.
Then he stepped inside.
“Walk with me.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere you can breathe.”
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
⸻
They walked in silence.
The air outside was cooler.
Sharper.
Regal crossed her arms slightly.
Not from cold.
But from the weight of everything.
“You’re quiet today,” she said.
Sebastian glanced at her.
“I’m thinking.”
“About me?”
A beat.
“…About everything.”
That wasn’t a denial.
It made her look at him differently.
⸻
They reached a quiet spot.
Empty.
Secluded.
Sebastian stopped walking.
Regal followed his lead.
For a moment, they just stood there.
Then he turned to her.
“You shouldn’t have met Daisy.”
Regal didn’t flinch.
“I didn’t know who she really was at first.”
“And now?”
“…Now I do.”
Silence.
Sebastian studied her.
Careful.
Like he was trying to read something deeper.
“Then why are you still reaching out?”
Her grip tightened slightly.
“Because she’s involved.”
“With what?”
She hesitated.
Just for a second.
“Lucas.”
That name again.
Sebastian’s expression changed.
Subtle.
But real.
“You don’t know what you’re getting into.”
“Then tell me,” she replied.
But he didn’t.
Not fully.
Instead he stepped closer.
Too close again.
“You trust her?”
Regal didn’t answer immediately.
“…I don’t know yet.”
That was honest.
He nodded slightly.
“That’s smarter than trusting too easily.”
Their eyes held.
Something softer slipped through.
Just for a moment.
Then her phone buzzed.
They both looked down.
Daisy.
Regal opened the message.
Daisy:
I can’t talk long.
He’s watching me.
Meet me tomorrow. Alone.
I know what happened to Lucas.
Regal’s breath caught.
She looked up.
Sebastian noticed immediately.
“What is it?”
She hesitated.
Then handed him the phone.
He read it.
Slowly.
His expression darkened.
“Absolutely not.”
“Seb—”
“No.”
His voice was firmer now.
“You’re not meeting her.”
Regal stepped forward.
“I need answers.”
“And I need you alive.”
The words hung between them.
Heavy.
She didn’t back down.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“I do when it concerns your safety.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair.”
Silence again.
But this one felt different.
Charged.
Frustrated.
Regal looked at him.
Really looked.
And something in her softened.
“Why do you care this much?”
Sebastian froze.
Just slightly.
But enough.
Regal noticed.
“Answer me.”
He exhaled slowly.
“…Because you’re the one thing I can’t control.”
That was honest.
Too honest.
And it shifted something between them again.
Regal stepped closer.
Not challenging.
Not angry.
Just closer.
“And that scares you?”
His gaze dropped to her lips again.
“…Yes.”
A pause.
Neither moved.
The world around them seemed to pause with them.
Then Regal spoke softly.
“I’m still going.”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened.
“…Then I’m coming with you.”
Her lips parted slightly.
Surprised.
“That’s not how alone works.”
“It is if I say so.”
She shook her head slightly.
“You really don’t trust me.”
His voice lowered.
“I trust you too much.”
That made her heart stop for a second.
⸻
Back at the mansion—
Daisy paced her room.
Locked.
Again.
Her father’s voice echoed in her mind.
“Stay out of it.”
She stopped pacing.
Her expression hardened.
“No,” she whispered.
Because now it was personal.
And now she was too deep to turn back.
- Writer
