The conference room felt colder than usual.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
The long glass walls overlooked the city skyline while a large digital presentation glowed softly at the front of the room.
Executives sat around the polished black table with tablets, reports, and contracts spread neatly in front of them.
Everything looked normal.
Professional.
Controlled.
But tension lingered beneath every interaction today.
Because Sebastian Wolfe was back.
And everyone in the room felt it.
Sebastian sat at the head of the table, expression unreadable as he reviewed the financial report in front of him.
Perfect posture.
Perfect composure.
Perfect control.
At least externally.
Lillian stood near the presentation screen, tablet in one hand while the next slide appeared behind her.
She looked calm too.
But only if someone didn't know her well.
Sebastian noticed immediately.
The slight tension in her shoulders.
The way she swallowed more often than usual.
The faint paleness beneath her makeup.
Nobody else seemed aware of it yet.
But Sebastian was.
Unfortunately.
"Moving into the fourth quarter projections," Lillian said evenly, forcing steadiness into her voice, "Sovereign's international expansion has exceeded expected performance margins by fourteen percent."
Her tone sounded professional.
Measured.
But internally, she felt awful.
The nausea had been lingering since morning.
Now it was worse.
A twisting discomfort sat heavily in her stomach while heat slowly crept beneath her skin.
She discreetly tightened her grip on the presentation remote.
Focus.
Just focus.
One meeting.
That was all.
Sebastian's gaze lowered briefly to the report in front of him.
But his attention remained partially fixed on her anyway.
Against his will.
Lillian clicked to the next slide.
"The Henderson acquisition has also stabilized considerably compared to initial projections—."
She paused.
Only for a second.
But Sebastian noticed.
Her eyes unfocused slightly before she recovered almost immediately.
An executive near the end of the table frowned faintly.
"Miss Parker?"
Lillian blinked once.
Then forced herself forward again.
"Sorry. As I was saying…"
Sebastian's jaw tightened subtly.
She looked genuinely unwell.
And yet she was still standing there pretending otherwise.
Part of him wanted to tell her to sit down.
The other part reminded him coldly that she was no longer his responsibility.
So he stayed silent.
Because distance was safer.
For both of them.
Outside the conference room, Chloe sat at her desk reviewing emails while occasionally glancing toward the glass walls.
She could see Lillian presenting inside.
And even from here—
something looked wrong.
Lillian kept shifting her weight slightly.
Too subtly for most people to notice.
Not subtly enough for Chloe.
Inside the room, Sebastian reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket while everyone's attention focused on the quarterly figures.
His fingers closed around the hidden flask automatically.
The motion was practiced now.
Controlled.
He unscrewed it slightly beneath the table before taking a discreet sip.
Whiskey burned down his throat quietly.
Lillian noticed.
Her eyes flicked downward for only a second.
But that second was enough.
A cold heaviness settled in her chest immediately.
He was drinking during executive meetings now.
Actually drinking.
The realization made her stomach twist violently.
Lillian looked away quickly.
Focus.
Just finish the presentation.
"The projected revenue increase should place Sovereign ahead of—."
The nausea hit suddenly.
Hard.
Lillian stopped speaking immediately.
Heat rushed upward sharply.
Her stomach lurched violently enough to make her press a hand lightly against the table beside her.
The room blurred slightly.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed instantly.
Everyone else finally noticed.
"Miss Parker?" another executive asked carefully.
Lillian swallowed hard.
"I'm—."
Her voice failed.
The nausea surged again, worse this time.
She covered her mouth quickly.
"I'm sorry."
Then she turned and rushed out of the conference room without another word.
The glass doors closed sharply behind her.
Silence crashed into the room immediately afterward.
Several executives exchanged confused looks.
Sebastian remained completely still at the head of the table.
Expression unreadable.
But his grip around the pen in his hand tightened hard enough for his knuckles to pale slightly.
Outside, Chloe stood instantly the second she saw Lillian rush out.
"Lillian!"
She hurried after her immediately.
The executive floor blurred around Lillian as she moved quickly toward the bathrooms near the corner hallway.
Her breathing felt uneven now.
Too fast.
The nausea unbearable.
She barely made it inside before gripping the sink tightly.
Chloe entered seconds later.
"Lillian?"
Lillian leaned heavily against the counter, breathing hard.
"I'm okay," she whispered automatically.
Chloe stared at her in disbelief.
"No, you're absolutely not okay."
Lillian closed her eyes briefly.
Everything still felt hot.
Dizzy.
Wrong.
"I think I just need a minute."
"You've needed 'a minute' for weeks now."
That made Lillian open her eyes again.
Chloe moved closer carefully.
Concern had fully replaced irritation now.
"This keeps happening," Chloe said quietly.
"The nausea, dizziness, exhaustion—."
"It's stress."
"Lillian."
The sharpness in Chloe's voice made her finally look up properly.
Because Chloe suddenly looked genuinely alarmed.
Not annoyed.
Not skeptical.
Alarmed.
"You almost collapsed in the middle of a board meeting."
Lillian looked away immediately.
Her stomach still twisted painfully.
Chloe studied her carefully for several seconds.
Then something in her expression changed.
Subtly.
Like pieces connecting internally.
Her voice became slower now.
More cautious.
"…Lillian."
Lillian frowned faintly.
"What?"
Chloe hesitated.
Which immediately made dread creep slowly into Lillian's chest.
"When was your last period?"
Silence.
Complete silence.
Lillian stared at her.
For a second she genuinely didn't process the question.
Then suddenly—
everything inside her went still.
Because she realized something horrifying.
She couldn't remember.
Her chest tightened sharply.
No.
No, that wasn't—
Stress.
It had to be stress.
The breakup.
Everything with Sebastian.
Her sleep.
Her appetite.
That explained it.
Didn't it?
Chloe watched realization slowly spread across Lillian's face.
And her own expression shifted further into concern.
"…Lillian."
Lillian stepped backward slightly from the sink.
"No."
The word came out barely above a whisper.
Not denial.
Fear.
Her breathing became uneven again.
"No, that's not…"
But she couldn't finish the sentence.
Because suddenly memories hit her all at once.
Sebastian's birthday preparations.
That night together.
The weeks afterward.
The nausea.
The exhaustion.
The dizziness.
Her hand moved unconsciously toward her stomach before she stopped herself immediately.
"No," she repeated softer this time.
Meanwhile, back inside the conference room, discussion had awkwardly resumed.
Barely.
No one seemed fully focused anymore.
Sebastian certainly wasn't.
"…Mr. Wolfe?"
One of the executives looked toward him carefully.
Sebastian blinked once.
"What?"
"The Henderson projections?"
Sebastian stared at the report in front of him without properly seeing it.
His mind remained fixed elsewhere entirely.
Lillian's face before she rushed out.
Pale.
Shaking slightly.
Something felt wrong.
Actually wrong.
And the fact he still reacted this strongly to her after everything only irritated him further.
Sebastian lowered the pen slowly onto the table.
Then stood.
"I'll review the remaining figures later," he said calmly.
The executives immediately straightened.
"Mr. Wolfe—."
"Meeting adjourned."
And without another word, Sebastian walked toward the conference room doors.
Outside the bathroom, Lillian still stood frozen while Chloe watched her carefully.
Neither woman noticed the sound of approaching footsteps in the hallway beyond.
Because both of them were still trying to process the possibility that had just changed everything.