The apartment felt strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
After spending the past few days around Ellie, the silence felt unusual.
No cartoons.
No laughter.
No tiny voice asking a hundred questions.
No small feet running through the apartment.
Just silence.
Ellie was at school.
And for the first time since Sebastian had moved in, it was only him and Lillian.
Lillian sat at the dining table with her laptop open.
Several documents filled the screen.
Emails.
Reports.
Meeting notes.
Work.
Across the room, Sebastian sat on the couch.
A book rested in his lap.
Though he hadn't turned a page in nearly fifteen minutes.
His attention kept drifting.
Toward the dining table.
Toward Lillian.
Toward the woman who had somehow become part of his daily life again.
Three years after she'd left.
Sebastian looked away before she noticed.
Or at least he thought she hadn't noticed.
"Lunch."
His head lifted.
"What?"
Lillian closed her laptop.
"I said lunch."
Sebastian glanced at the clock.
He hadn't even realized it was afternoon already.
"You should eat."
"I'm not hungry."
Lillian stood.
"You said that yesterday."
"And?"
"And yesterday was a terrible argument."
Sebastian sighed.
She wasn't wrong.
Lillian headed toward the kitchen.
A moment later he heard cupboards opening.
Then the refrigerator.
Then pans.
"What are you doing?"
Lillian didn't even look at him.
"Making lunch."
"You don't have to."
"Good thing I wasn't asking."
The response was immediate.
Effortless.
Familiar.
For a second Sebastian felt like he'd traveled back in time.
Back to before everything fell apart.
Back when conversations like this happened every day.
A strange ache settled in his chest.
An hour later, lunch was ready.
Simple.
Nothing fancy.
Just something warm and homemade.
The kind of meal Sebastian hadn't eaten much of over the past three years.
Most days he'd survived on coffee.
Alcohol.
Takeout.
Whatever was convenient.
Lillian placed a plate in front of him.
"Eat."
"You sound like a doctor."
She sat down.
"You've had enough doctors."
That earned the smallest smile.
For a while they ate quietly.
The conversation stayed light.
Mostly about Ellie.
Her school.
Her drawings.
The fact she'd recently become obsessed with dinosaurs despite knowing almost nothing about them.
"It's because one of the kids in her class likes them."
Sebastian nodded.
"That makes sense."
Lillian smiled.
"Yesterday she informed me that she wants a pet dinosaur."
Sebastian nearly choked.
"A real one?"
"Apparently."
For the first time all afternoon, he laughed.
A genuine laugh.
The sound made Lillian smile too.
Then she noticed something.
Sebastian's fork slipped.
A piece of food fell back onto the plate.
He quietly adjusted his grip.
Tried again.
The fork shook.
Missed.
His jaw tightened.
Lillian watched silently.
Sebastian tried a third time.
The shaking became worse.
Not dramatic.
But enough.
Enough for frustration to appear in his eyes.
He hated this.
Hated every second of it.
The weakness.
The dependence.
The loss of control.
Sebastian tried again.
His hand trembled.
The fork nearly slipped from his fingers.
Before it could, Lillian reached over.
Gently taking it from him.
Sebastian immediately stiffened.
"Lillian—."
"Stop."
"I can do it."
"I know."
A pause.
"I didn't say you couldn't."
Sebastian looked away.
Embarrassment flickering across his face.
"I don't need—."
"Let me help anyway."
The words were quiet.
Simple.
And impossible to argue with.
For a moment he didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Then slowly, reluctantly, he nodded.
Lillian offered him a small bite.
Sebastian accepted it.
The entire situation felt ridiculous.
Humiliating.
And strangely comforting all at once.
Because Lillian wasn't treating him like he was broken.
She wasn't pitying him.
She was simply helping.
The same way she'd always helped.
The same way she always cared.
A warmth settled in his chest.
One he hadn't felt in years.
Then suddenly—
A drop of red landed on the table.
Lillian froze.
Sebastian froze.
For a second neither reacted.
Then another drop followed.
Blood.
Lillian immediately stood.
"Sebastian."
He already knew.
The familiar metallic scent reached him.
The doctors had warned him.
Nosebleeds.
A symptom.
A reminder that his body still wasn't healthy.
Lillian was already moving.
She rushed into the kitchen.
Sebastian barely had time to react before she returned.
A clean cloth in her hand.
Without hesitation she sat beside him.
Close.
Much closer than before.
Then gently pressed the cloth against his nose.
"Hold still."
For some reason Sebastian obeyed immediately.
Lillian focused entirely on stopping the bleeding.
Her expression full of concentration.
Concern.
Worry.
The sight affected him more than it should have.
Because she was close.
Close enough that he could smell her shampoo.
Close enough to hear her breathing.
Close enough to notice the tiny details he'd once known by heart.
And suddenly—
Three years disappeared.
The hospital disappeared.
The apartment disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
For a brief moment it felt like the past.
Like the countless evenings they'd spent together.
Like the future they'd once planned.
Like the life they'd lost.
That familiar warmth returned.
The one he'd always felt around her.
The one he'd spent three years trying to forget.
The one he'd never actually succeeded in forgetting.
Sebastian found himself staring at her.
Unable to stop.
Unable to look away.
Lillian eventually noticed.
Her eyes lifted.
Meeting his.
"What?"
The question broke the moment.
Sebastian blinked.
For a second it looked like he might say something.
Something important.
Something dangerous.
Maybe about the way he still felt.
Maybe about the photograph beside his bed.
Maybe about the fact he'd never stopped loving her.
The words reached the edge of his throat.
Then stopped.
Because he wasn't ready.
Not yet.
So instead he shook his head.
"Nothing."
Lillian didn't look convinced.
But she let it go.
The bleeding gradually slowed.
Then finally stopped.
Lillian lowered the cloth.
Neither immediately moved.
They were still sitting close together.
Much closer than either normally would.
For a brief second neither looked away.
The air felt different.
Heavier.
Charged.
Then Lillian's work phone suddenly rang.
The sharp sound shattered the moment instantly.
Lillian blinked.
Then quickly stood.
"I need to get that."
Sebastian nodded.
Of course.
The moment was gone.
Just like that.
Lillian walked away toward the dining table.
Answering the call.
Leaving Sebastian alone at the kitchen table.
The warmth in his chest remained.
Persistent.
Unavoidable.
As he watched her speak quietly on the phone, Sebastian realized something.
Something he'd been denying for years.
Something he could no longer pretend wasn't true.
No matter how much time passed.
No matter how much distance separated them.
No matter how badly he'd tried to bury it.
He never stopped loving Lillian Parker.
Not for a single day.