Chapter 6
1176 Words
Alex kept checking the time.
It was weird being back at the office after the strange night at Sebastian’s penthouse. And despite everything — the tension, the almost-kiss, the message from that unknown number — he told himself he was fine.
But deep down, he wasn’t.
He had barely slept. That text kept flashing in his mind like a warning.
Don’t get too comfortable. You’re just a distraction.
He had deleted it. Blocked the number. Told himself it was spam.
And yet… the words clung to his chest like ice.
He stepped off the elevator, balancing a stack of documents, and walked toward Sebastian’s office with cautious steps. His stomach flipped. He wasn’t sure what kind of mood Sebastian would be in — if he would even speak to him. He clearly had moons swings.
Alex paused outside the office door, smoothed his shirt, and knocked.
“Come in,” came the deep voice from inside.
He pushed open the door. Sebastian was seated at his desk, glasses on, flipping through papers with that signature frown on his face.
Alex held up the files. “I brought the reports from last night. They’re all finalized.”
Sebastian looked up at him for only half a second — no smile, no trace of the warmth they’d shared the night before.
“You didn’t file them?” he asked flatly.
Alex blinked. “Um… these are the updated versions. I just wanted to confirm everything before—”
“I asked you last night to file them.”
“I— I know, but we didn’t finalize until nearly midnight, and you said—”
Sebastian waved a hand, cutting him off. “I don’t need excuses. I need results.”
Alex’s cheeks flushed. The sharpness in Sebastian’s voice stung more than it should’ve.
“Yes, sir,” he murmured, setting the files on the desk.
He didn’t know what else to say. The man sitting across from him now wasn’t the one who’d nearly kissed him last night. This one was cold. Distant. Like none of it had ever happened. Well, what did he expect?
Alex hesitated. “Is there anything else you need me to—”
“I’ll let you know,” Sebastian cut in, eyes already back on the documents.
Alex swallowed and nodded.
He was halfway to the door when he heard the elevator ding outside. Then—
A woman’s voice.
Loud. Sharp.
“Don’t act like you didn’t see my messages, Sebastian.”
Sebastian stood immediately, his jaw tightening. “Vanessa?”
The door opened wide without a knock, and in stormed a tall woman in a sleek beige trench coat, dark sunglasses perched high on her head. Her heels clacked against the floor like a warning bell. She was so pretty she looked like a model. Sebastian does have taste.
Alex froze in place. He didn’t know whether to leave or stay. But he had paused too long, and now it would be awkward to walk out. So he stood there, as quiet and invisible as he could be, clutching his tablet to his chest.
Vanessa didn’t even glance at him.
Her eyes were fixed on her ex-husband.
“You said we’d talk about the settlement. It’s been weeks, Sebastian. Weeks. I’m not going to sit around while you play pretend in this skyscraper with your little secrets.”
Sebastian sighed. “This is not the time or place.”
“Oh, now you care about timing?” She laughed bitterly. “You weren’t thinking about timing when you started screwing around behind my back.”
His voice dropped. “Vanessa.”
“With a man, Sebastian.” Her voice cracked like a whip. “Do you have any idea how humiliated I was when I found out?”
Alex’s stomach dropped. He stayed absolutely still, hoping the ground would swallow him whole. But neither of them had looked at him. He was wallpaper. A plant. Nothing.
Sebastian was stone-faced. “You didn’t ‘find out’ anything. You made assumptions, as usual.”
“Oh please,” she spat. “Was the picture an assumption? Or you think I didn’t notice all these while ? The late nights, the sudden business trips, the fake hotel receipts. And now you expect me to just sit quietly while you live your best double life?”
“I’m not discussing this with you here,” Sebastian said through gritted teeth.
Vanessa stepped closer, finger pointed. “You’re going to pay for this, Sebastian. I’ll take it to court if I have to. I’ll ruin your reputation. Get you kicked off the bar. What judge is going to believe in a man who lies to his own wife and sleeps with—”
“That’s enough,” Sebastian snapped. His voice was sharp and deadly now. “You don’t get to rewrite history just because your pride is hurt.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Watch me.”
She turned on her heel and marched back toward the door, then paused and threw a final dagger over her shoulder. “You may be hiding it from your firm, but I know exactly who you are, Sebastian King. A liar. A cheat. A disgrace.”
And then she was gone.
The silence she left behind felt deafening.
Sebastian stood still, jaw clenched, hands curled into fists at his sides.
Alex didn’t move.
He didn’t know what to say. Or if he was even allowed to say anything. His mouth was dry, and his heart was racing, but he stood frozen like a statue.
Finally, Sebastian turned toward him slowly, his eyes unreadable.
Alex opened his mouth to speak, but Sebastian beat him to it.
“Why are you still standing there?” he said, voice low. Dangerous. “Will you get out?”
Alex flinched.
He nodded quickly, grabbed his tablet, and walked out with stiff legs, heart thudding.
He didn’t look back.
He didn’t even return to his desk. He walked straight to the bathroom and locked himself in a stall.
His hands were shaking.
He wasn’t even part of that mess, but it felt like the air had been punched out of him.
Sebastian had looked so different. Angry. Humiliated. Like a man trying not to fall apart in public.
And that woman… Vanessa. She had cut deep. Brutally. Viciously.
Alex had no idea what their marriage had been like. He didn’t know anything about Sebastian’s past except what he could guess. But one thing was certain now:
There were cracks in the man. Big ones. The kind you couldn’t ignore.
And whatever this thing was between them — if it even was a thing — it wasn’t going to be easy. Actually, it probably was never going to work.
Alex let out a breath and leaned back against the cold wall.
He wasn’t sure what scared him more — how intense what just happened was, or how much it stirred something in him.
Not fear.
Curiosity.
And maybe, just maybe… a little desire.
- Writer
