long past the hum of boardroom debates and the clink of coffee cups in the lounge. Home felt like a stranger's house now, every corner whispering

spreadsheets and forecasts offered a refuge from the tension at home-a place where every

he amber glow of the emergency lights, he saw a familiar silhouette: Rowan Hale, leaning ag

-both with surprise and s

re you still doing

le but not unkind. He straightened

d ask you the

o the corridor, the door

"I'll give y

irked into a kn

use I can tell you weren't d

ed, surprised b

"Something

men caught between obligations neither had chosen. Outside, th

hen you're

hem. For the first time, Sebastian considered

dded toward the service elev

's a rooftop up th

ady pulse of the building settling into night. When the doors opened, they stepped onto the rooftop

his pocket, offering one to Rowan. The corn

: "You

"Only when I

ion in his jaw as he inhaled. Rowan watched him, then s

the city skyline stretching before them-glass tower

't look like you

eam of smoke, watching

hey built an empire, but th

ag, then let the smo

left my own place becau

him, surprise flic

n: "I did

"Few peo

eavy-shared confession loosening

fferent here, out

tian:

glow-that quiet confidence he'd noticed in e

Thanks for co

ipping his chin t

ne had to keep

mall smile, the first

"Then I ow

garette pack. Row

p it. You mi

and the hush of the city-finding, in each other's

n pressing in around him. He paused in the foyer, peeling off his jacket and draping it over the banister, careful not to creak

airs when his father's voice

sed doors): "Sebastian,

udy's threshold. Aaron Wexford sat behind his desk, papers neatly stac

r again-Serena will be havin

's pulse

(quietly):

in his ledger and looked

arles thought it best you all start the day toge

ping for a silent corridor, an empty kitche

an: "Und

ce, then return

t you're presenta

. In the darkness, the mansion's corridors felt colder than ever-another reminder tha

bed, sinking into its worn fabric as silence pressed in around him. Then, a sudden buzz in his pocket shattered the quiet. He re