The apartment was silent.
Completely silent.
The kind of silence that only existed in the middle of the night.
Ellie was asleep.
Lillian was asleep.
The city outside had gone quiet.
Only Sebastian remained awake.
He lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Then twenty.
Sleep never came.
With a frustrated sigh, Sebastian sat up.
His insomnia had always been terrible.
Now it felt unbearable.
Without alcohol, there was nothing to numb his thoughts.
Nothing to force his mind to slow down.
Nothing to help him sleep.
Which meant he was left alone with himself.
A situation he hated.
Eventually he gave up.
Carefully, he climbed out of bed and left the guest room.
The apartment remained dark.
Only moonlight filtered through the windows.
Sebastian lowered himself onto the couch.
Then pulled out his phone.
Immediately opening his work email.
Relief settled over him.
Work.
Something familiar.
Something predictable.
Something he understood.
Unlike the rest of his life.
He began scrolling through messages.
Reports.
Updates.
Questions from executives.
Nothing urgent.
Which should have been enough reason to stop.
Instead he started answering them anyway.
The tiny keyboard was infuriating.
The screen was too small.
Every email took twice as long.
After fifteen minutes he muttered:
"This is ridiculous."
Still, he continued.
Another email.
Another report.
Another message.
Time slipped by.
The longer he worked, the more focused he became.
The more he forgot about everything else.
The hospital.
His illness.
His recovery.
The seizure.
The fear.
Even Lillian.
For a little while, there was only work.
Then the headache started.
A dull ache behind his eyes.
Sebastian ignored it.
His hands started trembling.
He ignored that too.
The screen blurred slightly.
Still he continued reading.
Still he continued typing.
Then something warm touched his upper lip.
Sebastian froze.
Slowly he raised a hand.
His fingertips came away red.
Blood.
A nosebleed.
He closed his eyes.
The doctors had warned him.
Rest.
Avoid stress.
Avoid overworking yourself.
Sebastian had ignored every single instruction.
Again.
He grabbed a tissue from the coffee table.
Pressed it against his nose.
And continued reading emails.
Because apparently nearly dying had not improved his decision-making.
A floorboard creaked behind him.
Sebastian immediately froze.
Slowly he turned around.
And found Lillian standing in the hallway.
Her hair was slightly messy from sleep.
She wore oversized pajamas.
And she looked entirely unimpressed.
The tissue.
The blood.
The phone.
She saw everything.
"What are you doing?"
Sebastian immediately lowered the phone.
"Nothing."
Lillian stared at him.
Then at the phone.
Then at the tissue.
Then back at him.
The silence was devastating.
Finally she raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
Sebastian sighed.
"No."
"No?"
"No."
Lillian walked into the living room.
"You are literally sitting in the dark answering emails."
"They're important."
"At one in the morning?"
Sebastian glanced at the screen.
It was actually closer to two.
He wisely decided not to mention that.
Lillian sat her hands on her hips.
"Sebastian."
The tone instantly told him he was losing this argument.
"You had a seizure."
"I know."
"You were hospitalized."
"I know."
"The doctors told you to rest."
"I know."
Lillian stared at him.
"Then why are you working?"
Sebastian looked away.
Toward the dark windows.
Toward the city.
Anywhere except her.
"The company doesn't stop because I'm sick."
"The company survived before you."
"Barely."
"Sebastian."
"What?"
"You're not dying for a quarterly report."
The words hit harder than he expected.
The room fell silent.
Because they both knew she wasn't exaggerating.
Sebastian lowered his gaze.
For once, he didn't argue.
Didn't defend himself.
Didn't try to justify it.
Lillian's frustration slowly softened.
Because she suddenly understood.
This wasn't really about work.
Not entirely.
Work was simply easier.
If he worked, he didn't have to think.
Didn't have to think about the seizure.
Didn't have to think about liver failure.
Didn't have to think about missing three years of Ellie's life.
Didn't have to think about losing Lillian.
The realization made her chest ache.
Without saying anything, she walked over and sat beside him on the couch.
Not across from him.
Beside him.
Sebastian looked surprised.
Then she held out her hand.
"Phone."
"No."
"Sebastian."
"No."
"Phone."
He looked genuinely offended.
Like she'd asked him to surrender a limb.
"Lillian."
She didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't back down.
Finally Sebastian groaned.
The sound was dramatic enough to deserve an award.
Then he handed over the phone.
Lillian immediately locked it.
Sebastian looked horrified.
"How could you?"
"I'm very brave."
She placed the phone on the coffee table.
Well out of reach.
Sebastian stared at it.
Longingly.
Like a man watching his life savings disappear.
Lillian almost laughed.
Almost.
Then she noticed the bloody tissue.
Her smile vanished.
Carefully, she reached over.
"Let me see."
"It's stopped."
"Sebastian."
Reluctantly he lowered the tissue.
Lillian examined him.
The bleeding had slowed.
But seeing the dried blood still made her uneasy.
"You need to stop doing this."
Her voice was quieter now.
Less frustrated.
More worried.
Sebastian looked away.
"I know."
For a moment neither spoke.
The apartment remained silent around them.
Then Lillian stood.
"Go back to bed."
"I'm not tired."
"You were falling asleep while answering emails."
"I was thinking."
"You typed the same sentence twice."
Sebastian blinked.
"I did?"
"You did."
The realization genuinely surprised him.
Lillian shook her head.
Then a small smile appeared.
One he hadn't seen in years.
A familiar smile.
The same smile she'd always worn whenever she caught him doing something stupid.
The same smile she'd given him when he'd worked through weekends.
The same smile she'd given him when she'd cared.
His chest tightened unexpectedly.
"You're impossible."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Lillian's smile widened slightly.
"Good."
She started toward the hallway.
Then paused.
Looking back over her shoulder.
"Somebody has to keep you alive."
And with that she disappeared into her room.
Leaving Sebastian alone in the living room.
Speechless.
Staring after her.
The warmth in his chest lingered long after she was gone.
And for the first time that night, work wasn't what occupied his thoughts.
It was Lillian.