Chapter 25
Kairen's stomach dropped, the world blurring around him. He was in deep soup now. He could already imagine Sebastian's fist flying at his face, an uppercut in front of everyone. His body shook, trembling so hard he thought his knees might give out.
The once-busy employee section had shifted, as it always did whenever Sebastian appeared. Fingers moved on keyboards, pages rustled, but it was all pretend. Everyone was watching. Everyone was listening.
Sebastian's footsteps echoed as he walked forward, unhurried and deliberate, each step dragging Kairen deeper into dread.
Julian hadn't moved. He remained at his desk, though his eyes were locked on Kairen, concern plain in his gaze. He looked as if he wanted to say something, to intervene, but even he knew better.
Finally, Sebastian stood face to face with Kairen. The silence between them stretched, taut and suffocating.
"Nu nu…" Sebastian's voice was low, cutting. "Who's the devil?"
Kairen's lips parted, but no words came. His throat locked. He looked like a trapped animal, gasping soundlessly.
Sebastian's jaw flexed, hazel eyes burning into him. Seconds ticked, each one heavier than the last. For a moment, Kairen swore the man might hit him.
Then, unexpectedly, Sebastian smiled. It was sharp, dangerous. He leaned in, tapped Kairen on the shoulder, and whispered so only he could hear:
"Now you look like a man."
Kairen flinched at the words, bile rising in his throat. He didn't need to look at himself to understand Sebastian meant the janitor's uniform, the humiliation, the degradation. A cruel joke passed off as praise.
Then Sebastian brushed past him, as though he were nothing at all.
He walked to the center of the employee section, and his voice rang out, smooth and commanding:
"Ladies and gentlemen, can I get your attention, please?"
The effect was immediate. The keyboards went still. The chatter died. Every head lifted, every gaze drawn to him as if on command.
Kairen turned slowly, his legs moving against his will. He drifted closer until he stood beside Sebastian, though his body screamed to retreat. The shame was unbearable, but staying was safer than moving away.
Julian's eyes followed him. He didn't look away, didn't bother pretending to work like the others. He just sat there, jaw tight, his gaze steady on Kairen—a quiet anchor in the storm.
Sebastian's smile lingered as he let the silence settle, heavy and expectant. He had every single person in the room waiting, watching.
And Kairen, humiliated and trembling, stood at his side like a prisoner presented to the court.
Sebastian glanced over his shoulder, and sure enough, Kairen was within reach. Without warning, he hooked an arm around him and pulled him forward until their bodies collided, chest to chest. Kairen stiffened, caught completely off guard, and instinctively tried to wriggle free. But Sebastian's grip tightened like a vice, the pressure biting into his arm until it hurt. Defeated, Kairen went still, his breath caught in his throat.
Sebastian turned back to the floor of employees, his voice smooth, commanding, as though he had orchestrated this entire moment.
"You all might already be familiar with this new face," he said, giving Kairen a little tug closer, almost possessive. "His name is Kairen Noel. He joined us—what?—three days ago."
The room shifted with curiosity. Heads lifted from screens. Workers leaned against doorframes, exchanging glances, whispering. A ripple of murmurs passed through the office surprise, intrigue, even envy. Being publicly acknowledged by Sebastian Cross was rare. Most of them muttered about how lucky this newcomer must be.
All except Julian. He hadn't moved. His eyes flickered between Sebastian and Kairen, his jaw tight, suspicion carved across his features.
Sebastian's tone softened into something that sounded almost fond. "Now, what most of you don't know is… Kairen and I go back. We were schoolmates. I was his senior back in high school."
The murmurs thickened, rising louder this time, tinged with a different flavor. So that was it. The connection. Suddenly, it made sense how someone barely three days in was already standing at the center of attention. At Maison de la Croix, where merit and long service meant everything, the idea of someone sliding in by privilege left a sour taste. And that was exactly the seed Sebastian wanted planted.
Kairen felt the shift in the air as surely as if the room had turned against him in unison. His stomach knotted. He didn't need to look around to know what they were thinking.
Sebastian wasn't done. He smiled, that cruel half-smile that promised ruin, and gave Kairen's shoulder a slow, taunting pat.
"But let me give you all," he said, voice ringing with mock-pleasure, "a quick backstory of Nu-Nu here."
The nickname sliced through Kairen like a blade. His blood ran cold, his knees wavered beneath him. He braced himself, knowing humiliation was seconds away knowing Sebastian would strip him bare in front of every set of eyes in the room.
And there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Sebastian's voice rang through the employee section, smooth and deliberate, carrying the weight of a story only he could control.
"You see my Nu-Nu here?" He gave a small nod toward Kairen, the words dripping with mock fondness. "He was a chronic weakling. A coward too. He couldn't fight for himself. Always hiding behind girls."
The office broke into brittle laughter, shallow and sharp, the kind people use when they know they shouldn't laugh but want to be part of the moment. It was laughter that cut.
Kairen's chest caved in on itself. He could feel himself melting, the floor rising beneath his unsteady feet. His knees almost buckled but Sebastian's grip on his arm was iron, pinning him upright. The pressure was unbearable, his skin reddening under the hold. Pain bit into his flesh, and still he endured it. No one else noticed no one except Julian, whose eyes had fixed on the scene with quiet alarm.
But Sebastian wasn't finished.
"Nu-Nu here was also a snitch." He smiled, cruel and triumphant. "And one thing about snitches is they never change."
His gaze slid sideways, catching Kairen in the trap of a question.
"Do they?"
Kairen's lips parted, but no sound came. His throat was locked, strangled by humiliation.
Sebastian turned back to the room as though addressing a jury. "So if Nu-Nu here catches you doing anything improper, he'll run and snitch. That's what he was doing to me to his own boss. Running to some…" His words slowed, sharpened like glass. "…low life."
His eyes cut across the room and landed on Julian. It wasn't subtle it was a glare, cold and challenging. The meaning was clear: What are you going to do about it?
The air in the room shifted. Chairs creaked as people leaned back, murmurs spilling like smoke. Sebastian knew exactly what he was doing. This wasn't just humiliation—it was exile. In a company where respect was earned through sweat and loyalty, there was one thing worse than being weak: being branded a snitch. And Sebastian was etching that label into Kairen's skin for everyone to see.
"If you know what's best for you," Sebastian went on, his voice calm, commanding, "don't do things that contradict the laws of this company. My Nu-Nu here owes his loyalty to me because I brought this job to his doorstep."
The silence that followed was thick with judgment. No words were spoken, but Kairen could feel them anyway the whispers, the side-eyes, the silent accusations. Unworthy. Untrustworthy. Pathetic. Their glares burned hotter than Sebastian's grip, each one searing him in place.
Kairen's chest tightened. Every breath felt like glass scraping down his throat. He could already feel the walls of isolation closing in, pressing him into a corner where no one would reach.
And Sebastian smiled, satisfied.
Sebastian had already loosened his grip, almost letting Kairen stumble free, but a thought struck him. He paused, lips curling, and turned back to the eager faces around him.
"Ah," he said softly, as if remembering something important, "there's more."
Every pair of eyes sharpened. The employees, who had already been hanging on his every word, straightened like an audience waiting for an encore. Even those pretending to work froze mid-keystroke.
Sebastian tilted his head toward Kairen, his voice carrying the perfect mix of pity and disdain. "You see, my little Nu-Nu here… he dropped out of school." He placed his hand theatrically on his chest, as though the memory weighed heavily on him. "Tragic, isn't it? A young boy with so much potential—throwing it away because he was too proud to be corrected by his seniors. Rude, arrogant… it was that bad."
Gasps and mutters rippled through the room. Unbelievable. Ridiculous. What kind of person does that?
Kairen stood stiff as stone, nails biting into his palms. The truth clawed inside him—he hadn't dropped out because of pride. He hadn't dropped out because of arrogance. But he knew better than to open his mouth. His silence was his shield, but in this twisted arena, it only made him look guilty.
Sebastian leaned closer, his voice dropping low but loud enough for the room to hear. "I was his role model. One of his best seniors. Wasn't I, Nu-Nu?"
Kairen's body was nearly crushed under the vice of Sebastian's grip. Pain spiked up his arm until his vision blurred. He could feel the command laced in the pressure the unspoken threat and with his throat closing, he gave the smallest, reluctant nod.
Sebastian's eyes gleamed. "That's right. I cared for him. I only ever tried to guide him. But guess what he did?" His gaze swept the room before landing back on Kairen. "He framed me. Tried to get me expelled. Cocky, reckless boy… but still, I forgave him."
The office swelled with murmurs again. But now the tone was sharp, spitting, their sympathy squarely in Sebastian's corner. A few workers cursed under their breath, their disdain seeping into the air like rot.
Sebastian knew he had them. He didn't stop there. Straightening to his full height, he projected his voice so every corner of the employee section carried his words. "And to prove how forgiving I am, from this day forward, anyone who wants to reach me must pass through him. Anything for the higher secretaries, anything for my office, goes through Kairen Noel."
The reaction was instant. Staff exchanged furious glances. Faces soured. This meant more delays, more hassle, more workload piled onto the man now standing in disgrace before them. It was a punishment disguised as privilege, and they loathed him already for it.
Kairen felt their eyes stabbing into him, hot and merciless. A thousand silent knives tearing at his skin. His chest tightened—he couldn't breathe.
Sebastian, satisfied, adjusted his cufflinks, ready to add another layer of humiliation when—
A voice rang sharp and cutting from the entrance.
"Do you know who I am? I can get you fired!"
The entire room froze. Heads whipped toward the doorway. For the first time, Sebastian's theatrics were interrupted, and even his smug expression flickered.