Chapter Five
1687 Words
%Lilly’s%
Lilly sat at her desk, trying her best to focus as she arranged the stack of documents before her. Her fingers moved mechanically, but her mind felt foggy, distracted by worries she couldn’t quite name.
Just as she tried to straighten the last pile, her elbow accidentally knocked into the files.
The entire stack scattered across the floor.
Papers flew everywhere.
“f**k… what’s wrong with me?” she muttered under her breath, frustration lacing her voice as she bent down quickly to gather them.
Her hands trembled slightly as she reached for the sheets.
Just then her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
Vanessa.
Lilly sighed and ignored the call, continuing to pick up the documents. But the phone kept buzzing… vibrating insistently against the desk.
Her heart began to pound for no reason she could explain.
She wiped her palm against her skirt, stood up halfway, and finally picked the call, placing the phone against her ear while still crouched.
“Can’t you see this is work hour? Why do you keep calling me?” Lilly said, her voice rushed, distracted as she gathered the last papers.
There was a pause.
Then Vanessa’s voice came through—shaky, uneven, nothing like her usual careless tone.
“Daddy has been rushed to the hospital.”
Lilly froze instantly.
The paper in her hand slipped back to the floor.
“What? How? What happened? Where is he admitted?” Her voice rose in panic as she shot up to her feet. “I’m coming right away!”
“He had a cardiac arrest,” Vanessa added, her breathing heavy like she had been crying. “They said… they said it’s because of his previous condition.”
Lilly felt her knees weaken.
“They’re demanding a deposit,” Vanessa continued, her voice breaking. “They said he needs emergency surgery immediately… or they can’t operate.”
The line went silent.
The call ended.
For a few seconds, Lilly just stood there, the phone still pressed to her ear, her mind blank.
Then slowly… she sank down to the floor.
Right there in her office.
Her back hit the side of the desk as tears welled up in her eyes.
Deposit? Surgery? Money?
Her chest tightened painfully.
She already knew the answer before thinking it through—
She had nothing.
No savings.
No backup.
No one to call.
She wiped her tears quickly, forcing herself to think.
I just got this job…
I haven’t even received my salary…
That was when the only option left surfaced in her mind.
Salary advance.
It was risky… humiliating even… but her father’s life was on the line.
Nothing else mattered.
Lilly inhaled shakily, pushed herself up from the floor, and quickly finished arranging the scattered documents with trembling hands.
Her vision blurred slightly, but she blinked the tears away.
You can’t cry now.
Not now.
Clutching her bag tightly, she stepped out of her office and began walking down the hallway toward the CEO’s office.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
Her heart pounded loudly in her chest—not just from fear for her father… but from the anxiety of facing the cold CEO again.
But this time…
She wasn’t going as an employee.
She was going as a desperate daughter… begging to save her father’s life.
She knocked softly and pushed the door open, stepping in cautiously as though the room itself might reject her presence.
The office was quiet—grand, intimidating, filled with an authority that made her chest tighten.
Just as she took a few steps forward, Sabastian raised his head from the documents on his desk.
Their eyes met.
Time froze.
Lilly’s breath caught in her throat as recognition hit her like a sudden storm.
It was him.
The man from the street.
The man from the elevator.
The man whose cold voice had ordered her out without even looking at her.
Her fingers stiffened around the edge of her bag.
So… he was the CEO.
She stood there, completely frozen, her feet glued to the spot. Her lips parted slightly as she tried to speak—but no words came out.
“You!—Are you the CEO?” she finally stammered, her voice barely above a whisper, disbelief flooding her eyes.
Sabastian leaned back slightly in his chair, studying her reaction carefully.
“Yes,” he said calmly. “I’m Sabastian Kingsley, CEO of Kingsley Empire.”
The confirmation hit harder than she expected.
Lilly swallowed hard, her mind spinning rapidly.
Every memory of their encounters replayed at once—
His cold glare.
His harsh words.
The humiliation of being thrown out.
The elevator confrontation.
So he knew… all along…
Everything has begun to make sense now.
Why she got the job.
Why he avoided looking at her.
Why his presence always felt so heavy.
She stood there, still unable to move, emotions clashing violently inside her—fear, gratitude, embarrassment, resentment.
“You wanted to see me for something, I guess,” Sabastian said, his voice pulling her out of her spiraling thoughts.
Lilly blinked quickly, snapping back to the present.
“Yes… I—I…” her voice trembled as she tried to form words, but her throat suddenly felt dry.
This wasn’t just about asking her boss for help.
This was about asking him.
The man who had looked at her like she was nothing.
She clenched her fingers tightly, summoning courage she didn’t feel.
“My father…” she started again, her voice softer this time, shaking under the weight of emotion. “He’s been hospitalized. He had a cardiac arrest this morning.”
Sabastian’s expression shifted slightly—subtle, but noticeable.
“They said he needs emergency surgery,” she continued, tears gathering in her eyes despite her effort to stay composed. “And they’re demanding a deposit before they can operate.”
She paused, swallowing the lump in her throat.
“I just resumed work… I don’t have any savings yet,” she admitted, her pride cracking. “So I came to ask if… if it’s possible to get a salary advance.”
Her eyes finally lifted to meet him fully.
For the first time since she had walked into his office, Sabastian’s gaze softened.
It was subtle—so subtle that anyone else might have missed it.
But Lilly didn’t.
He looked at her… not with irritation, not with cold dismissal… but with something that resembled concern.
She couldn’t quite place it.
Was it a pity?
Or genuine care?
She didn’t know.
But it made her heart beat unevenly.
“Is that why you look so pale?” he asked quietly, his voice losing its usual sharp edge as his eyes scanned her tired face—the faint dark circles, the trembling fingers, the fear she was trying so hard to hide.
Lilly nodded weakly, unable to speak again.
Sabastian leaned back slightly in his chair, exhaling slowly as though making a decision in his mind.
“Don’t worry about anything,” he said.
Lilly blinked, unsure she heard him right.
“The company will cover all the expenses,” he continued calmly. “As an employee of this company… It's company policy.”
The lie rolled off his tongue smoothly, but his eyes shifted briefly to the side, an unconscious tell he rarely showed.
There was no such policy.
Not for new staff.
Not for probation employees.
But he said it anyway.
Because in that moment, her desperation mattered more than corporate rules.
Lilly stared at him in stunned silence.
Then slowly… her face began to change.
Relief flooded in first.
Then disbelief.
Then overwhelming gratitude.
Her eyes brightened instantly, tears welling up—but this time, they weren’t from fear.
They were from hope.
“R-Really?” she asked softly, her voice breaking with emotion. “The company will… cover everything?”
“Yes,” Sabastian replied firmly, regaining his composed expression. “Focus on your work and your family. Leave the hospital bills to us.”
That was all it took.
Lilly’s shoulders dropped as though a mountain had been lifted off them.
Her lips trembled into a grateful smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“Thank you… thank you so much, sir,” she said, her voice filled with heartfelt relief. “I don’t even know how to repay this kindness.”
Sabastian didn’t respond immediately.
Because for a brief second…
He realized something unsettling.
He didn’t see it as kindness.
To him, it felt necessary.
Almost instinctive.
He cleared his throat lightly, pushing the thought away.
“You should go to the hospital,” he said instead, returning to his usual composed tone. “Your father needs you there.”
Lilly nodded quickly.
“Yes, sir. Thank you again.”
She turned to leave, her steps lighter than when she had entered—hope replacing the weight of despair she carried in.
But just before she reached the door…
Sabastian’s eyes lifted again.
And he watched her leave—
Realizing that for the first time in years…
Helping someone felt personal.
Just as Lilly stepped out of Sabastian’s office, gently closing the door behind her, Ava happened to be walking down the hallway.
Her heels clicked rhythmically against the polished floor—but her steps slowed the moment her eyes landed on Lilly.
There was something different about her.
Lilly’s face was glowing—lit up with a kind of excitement Ava had never seen on her before. Her eyes were bright, almost teary, but not from sadness. She clutched her bag tightly as though holding onto life itself, her steps quick, light… relieved.
Ava’s brows furrowed slightly.
Why does she look so happy?
She paused mid-step, watching Lilly from a distance, suspicion rising quietly in her chest.
Before she could call out… before she could walk closer to get a better look—
Lilly turned the corner hurriedly and disappeared out of sight.
Ava stood there, her expression slowly hardening as unease settled deep within her.
Her gaze shifted from the empty hallway… to Sabastian’s office door.
- Writer
