Morning light slipped quietly through the tall windows of Sebastian Wolfe's bedroom.
Soft gold spilled across the floor and crept slowly up the side of the massive bed.
Lillian stirred.
For a moment she didn't move. Her mind floated somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, the world around her still hazy.
Then the dull ache in her wrists pulled her fully awake.
Her eyes opened.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar—high, elegant, framed with dark wooden beams. The sheets beneath her were softer than anything she had ever owned.
She frowned slightly.
Where…?
Then the memories came back.
Not all at once.
Fragments.
Ethan's apartment.
The ropes cutting into her wrists.
His voice.
The door bursting open.
Sebastian.
Her breath caught sharply as she pushed herself upright.
Pain pulsed through her wrists and she looked down immediately.
Both of them were wrapped in clean white bandages.
For a second she simply stared at them.
Someone had treated the bruises.
Carefully.
Her eyes slowly lifted as she looked around the room.
And then she saw him.
Sebastian.
He was sitting in the armchair beside the bed.
Asleep.
Lillian blinked in surprise.
Sebastian Wolfe… asleep?
That alone was shocking enough. She knew about his insomnia. He rarely slept properly.
But that wasn't what caught her attention.
It was the blood.
Dried streaks of dark red clung to his hair near his temple. More had soaked into the collar of his shirt, the fabric stiff and dark where it had dried overnight.
Her stomach tightened.
He hadn't even treated himself.
He stayed here.
Watching over her.
All night.
For a long moment she simply looked at him.
His head had tilted slightly to one side, messy dark hair falling across his forehead. The hard lines of his face looked softer in sleep, the usual cold control absent.
Without the sharpness in his eyes, he looked… tired.
Human.
The realization stirred something strange in her chest.
Carefully, she slid her legs off the side of the bed.
The floor felt cool beneath her feet.
Her body still felt weak, but she managed to stand.
She glanced at Sebastian again.
Still asleep.
Quietly, she walked toward the bathroom.
Inside the sleek marble space she found a cabinet stocked with medical supplies. Antiseptic, cotton pads, gauze.
She gathered what she needed and returned to the bedroom.
Sebastian hadn't moved.
Lillian hesitated for only a second before kneeling beside the armchair.
Up close, the injury looked worse.
The cut at his hairline had bled more than she'd realized.
And faint bruising had already started forming around his temple.
Her brows knitted together.
"He probably has a concussion," she murmured softly.
Carefully, she soaked a cotton pad with antiseptic.
Then she reached up and gently brushed the messy strands of his hair aside.
Her fingers barely touched him as she began cleaning the dried blood.
Sebastian didn't wake.
His breathing remained slow and even.
Lillian worked slowly, carefully wiping away the blood from his skin.
"Idiot," she muttered under her breath.
"You didn't even treat your own injury."
She pressed a fresh piece of gauze against the cut.
Just as she was about to secure it—
A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Her breath caught.
Sebastian's eyes snapped open instantly.
Sharp.
Alert.
Pure instinct.
"Who—."
His voice was rough with sleep and tension.
Then his gaze focused.
On her.
"Lillian."
Relief flickered across his face before he could hide it.
His grip loosened slightly as he looked down at what she was holding.
"You shouldn't be out of bed," he said immediately.
Lillian frowned.
"You shouldn't be bleeding all over your own house."
For a moment they simply stared at each other.
Then Sebastian pushed himself up from the chair.
Big mistake.
The moment he stood, the room tilted violently.
Darkness crept into the edges of his vision.
His hand shot out, gripping the back of the chair to steady himself.
Lillian reacted instantly.
"Sebastian!"
She grabbed his arm before he could fall.
His body swayed slightly.
His jaw tightened in irritation.
"I'm fine."
"You are absolutely not fine," she snapped.
Without hesitation, she pushed him back down into the chair.
He looked like he was about to argue.
But the faint dizziness still lingering in his vision made him hesitate.
"You're dizzy," she said firmly.
"It's nothing."
"You probably have a concussion."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Lillian crossed her arms.
"You fought someone while recovering from surgery and now you're bleeding from the head. Don't argue with me."
Sebastian opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
For once, Sebastian Wolfe didn't argue.
Lillian knelt beside the chair again and finished cleaning the wound.
Her movements were careful as she secured the gauze against his forehead.
Sebastian watched her quietly the entire time.
His blue eyes followed every small movement.
When she finished, she leaned back slightly to examine her work.
"That should stop the bleeding."
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
The quiet morning light filled the room.
Finally Sebastian said quietly,
"You should be resting."
Lillian looked at him.
"So should you."
A small silence stretched between them.
Then she said softly,
"You stayed with me all night."
Sebastian's expression didn't change.
"You fainted."
"That's not an explanation."
Another pause.
Then his voice lowered slightly.
"I needed to make sure you were safe."
The words hung in the air between them.
Lillian felt something tighten in her chest.
Sebastian didn't look away.
He meant it.
For a moment she didn't know what to say.
So she simply stood.
"I should lie down again," she said quietly.
She turned toward the bed.
"Lillian."
She stopped.
Slowly she looked back at him.
Something in his expression had shifted.
The usual cold confidence was gone.
In its place was something unfamiliar.
Regret.
"I'm sorry," he said.
The words hit her like a shock.
Sebastian Wolfe didn't apologize.
To anyone.
Her brows pulled together slightly.
"For what?"
His gaze dropped briefly before returning to hers.
"I should have gotten there sooner."
Lillian felt her chest tighten.
He wasn't apologizing for the fight.
Or for the chaos.
He was blaming himself.
For not saving her faster.
And for the first time since she had met him…
Lillian realized something.
Sebastian Wolfe hadn't just rescued her.
He had been terrified of losing her.