Morning sunlight spilled through the apartment windows.
Soft.
Warm.
Peaceful.
Lillian was already awake.
She stood in the kitchen wearing one of her oversized sweaters while Ellie sat at the table coloring.
For a few moments, everything felt normal.
Then Lillian's eyes drifted toward the hallway.
Toward the guest room.
Toward Sebastian.
He was still asleep.
Which wasn't surprising.
The doctors had warned her that recovery would leave him exhausted.
Still, there was something she needed to do before he woke up.
Something important.
Lillian quietly opened one of the kitchen cabinets.
Then another.
And another.
Ellie looked up from her coloring book.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"What doing?"
Lillian smiled.
"Cleaning."
Technically not a lie.
Over the years she'd occasionally kept alcohol in the apartment.
A bottle of wine.
A few unopened bottles from holidays.
Nothing excessive.
But Sebastian couldn't be around any of it.
Not right now.
So she gathered every bottle she could find.
A bottle from the kitchen.
One from a cabinet above the refrigerator.
Another hidden in the pantry.
Each one went into a cardboard box.
Ellie watched curiously.
"Why?"
Lillian paused.
How exactly did you explain addiction to a three-year-old?
"You know how Daddy is sick?"
Ellie nodded immediately.
"The doctor said some things can make him feel worse."
Ellie thought about that.
Then nodded again.
"Like yucky medicine?"
Lillian laughed softly.
"Something like that."
Apparently satisfied, Ellie returned to her coloring.
Lillian carried the box into her bedroom and placed it inside her closet.
Out of sight.
Out of reach.
Hopefully out of mind.
When she returned to the kitchen, she immediately began preparing breakfast.
Pancakes.
Ellie's favorite.
The smell quickly filled the apartment.
A few minutes later, slow footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Lillian looked up.
Sebastian appeared.
His dark hair was slightly messy.
He looked exhausted.
And despite sleeping all night, he somehow still looked tired.
Ellie immediately spotted him.
"Daddy!"
Sebastian smiled.
A real smile.
"Morning, Ellie."
She proudly held up her coloring page.
"Look!"
Sebastian walked over.
Immediately taking the picture seriously.
"Wow."
Ellie grinned.
Lillian watched the interaction while flipping pancakes.
Something about it made her chest ache.
Because it looked so natural.
Like this should have happened years ago.
Like this should have been their normal.
Eventually Sebastian sat down at the table.
"You look busy."
Lillian placed a plate in front of him.
"I am."
He glanced up.
"Doing what?"
"I'm taking Ellie to school."
Ellie proudly announced:
"School!"
Sebastian nodded.
Then looked back at Lillian.
"And after that?"
Lillian hesitated briefly.
Then answered.
"I'm going to your mansion."
Sebastian blinked.
"My mansion?"
"You need clothes."
A pause.
"And other things."
That was true.
His entire life was still there.
His medications.
His belongings.
His laptop.
His personal items.
Everything.
Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck.
"Right."
Lillian took a sip of coffee.
"I still have the key."
The words hung in the air.
Neither mentioned why.
Neither mentioned that she'd never given it back.
And neither mentioned that Sebastian had never changed the locks.
Instead, Sebastian simply nodded.
"Okay."
Breakfast continued quietly after that.
An hour later, Ellie was happily dropped off at school.
After hugging both her mother and Sebastian goodbye.
Though she'd looked slightly disappointed that Sebastian wasn't coming inside.
Once Ellie disappeared into the building, Lillian returned to her car.
Then headed toward Sebastian's mansion.
The drive felt strangely familiar.
Three years had passed.
Yet she still remembered every turn.
Every traffic light.
Every street.
Eventually the massive iron gates appeared.
Lillian slowed the car.
Pressed the remote.
The gates opened.
Just as they always had.
Her stomach tightened.
Because suddenly it didn't feel like three years.
It felt like yesterday.
The mansion came into view.
Large.
Impressive.
Beautiful.
And painfully empty.
Lillian parked.
Stepped out.
And walked toward the front door.
The familiar key still fit perfectly.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Silence greeted her.
The house felt frozen in time.
Nothing had changed.
Not the furniture.
Not the artwork.
Not even the arrangement of books in the living room.
Everything looked exactly as she remembered.
As though the last three years had never happened.
Lillian slowly walked upstairs.
Past rooms she knew by heart.
Until she reached Sebastian's bedroom.
Her hand rested on the doorknob.
For a moment she hesitated.
Then entered.
The room looked exactly the same.
The dark furniture.
The large windows.
The neatly made bed.
Everything.
A lump formed in her throat.
Because she'd spent so much time here once.
This room had once felt like home.
Pushing the memories aside, Lillian opened the wardrobe.
Then pulled out a suitcase.
She began gathering clothes.
Shirts.
Sweaters.
Trousers.
Comfortable clothes for recovery.
One by one she placed them neatly on the bed.
Eventually she zipped open the suitcase.
Then started packing everything inside.
That's when she noticed it.
A photograph.
Sitting on the bedside table.
Lillian froze.
Slowly, she turned toward it.
Her breath caught.
Because she recognized the picture immediately.
It had been taken years ago.
Before everything fell apart.
Before Sovereign came first.
Before the arguments.
Before the resignation.
Before Ellie.
The photograph showed her and Sebastian standing together.
Both smiling.
Happy.
Truly happy.
She looked younger.
So did he.
The picture had clearly been handled countless times.
The frame showed small signs of wear.
Yet it remained there.
Not hidden away.
Not packed into a box.
Not shoved into storage.
Right beside his bed.
Where he would see it every morning.
And every night.
Lillian stared at it.
Unable to look away.
Three years.
Three years had passed.
Three years of separation.
Three years of silence.
Three years of believing he'd moved on.
And yet...
The photograph was still here.
In the most personal room in the house.
On the table beside his bed.
The realization hit her slowly.
Then all at once.
Sebastian never stopped loving her.
The thought made her chest tighten painfully.
Because if that was true...
Then neither of them had truly moved on.
Lillian lowered herself onto the edge of the bed.
Still staring at the photograph.
Still trying to process what it meant.
Outside, sunlight streamed through the windows.
And for the first time in years, Lillian found herself wondering whether the story between her and Sebastian Wolfe had really ended at all.