Chapter 29 Chapter 29

Chapter 29 Chapter 29
  DREY’S POV 
  I stood silently just outside the office, my shoulders pressed lightly against the wall, every nerve in my body alert. The heavy oak door loomed before me, a barrier between the world and the storm brewing inside. I could hear the faintest scrape of movement, a shift in the air that spoke louder than words. Sebastian was not himself—he never truly had been since that day—but today, the darkness in him felt sharper, closer, almost tangible.
  Victoria, Regina, Katrine, and a few others had been standing outside for almost an hour. Lily still hadn’t come out.
  I hope everything is fine. I hope she is safe.
  If anything happens to her, I will hold myself responsible—because I was the one who pushed her to go inside. She didn’t even want to go. But I insisted. I kept telling her she could do it.
  I was still lost in my thoughts when another loud sound erupted from inside, making my heart jolt.
  “Please—please—can you try to find out what is going on?” Emma panicked, grabbing my sleeve. “Why is Lily not back? Hope she is fine… hope she is not hurt. She must not be hurt. She must not!”
  “Really? You think so?” Victoria scoffed. “She will surely be hurt.”
  “Why did she offer herself to go in there?” Victoria continued sharply. “She’s too confident, and that confidence might lead her to her own demise.”
  “My friend, what are we going to do?” Regina whispered, holding onto Katrine’s hand. “It seems nothing has changed about Sebastian.”
  “It was a waste of time sending Lily to calm him,” another shook her head. “Even his mother cannot calm him, but Lily will be the one to do it?”
  “Yes, exactly!” one maid added. “Who knows if she has died inside already?”
  “You’re right,” another murmured. “We’ve been hearing things breaking.”
  “What if she is hurt? Or maybe something bad happened?”
  “Mom,” Emma whispered shakily, “I can’t believe you’re worried for her. It serves her right. Next time she will know her place.”
  Then Victoria turned to me, her eyes sharp.
  “And Drey don’t ask someone to do something, especially a low and nothing person like Lily. They are maids. Maids are meant to serve.”
  I nodded like I agreed… but deep down, I didn’t.
  Yes, I was the one who suggested Lily should go in—not to test her, not to punish her, but because I had watched how she carried herself in this house. In this world of perfection, cruelty, and pressure, she didn’t break the way others did. She wasn’t the type to completely freeze. There was something about her—her heart, fragile though it seemed, had grit.
  She had to go.
  And yet… I didn’t fool myself. This could go very, very wrong. He could lash out, lose himself entirely. And if that happened… she would not be spared.
  I swallowed hard, trying to steady my pulse.
  But I trusted Lily. Yes, I actually trusted her. Among all of us, she was the only one who could reach him. I could feel it ….Sebastian liked her more. To him, she was not just a secretary. She was more than that, even though he tried to hide it. He used his sister as an excuse for being soft with Lily, but deep down, I knew it was a lie.
  Maybe… maybe a little love between them would make Lily succeed.
  And if she truly calmed him down, then I would accept they were meant for each other.
  Another shout erupted from inside Sebastian’s voice, sharp and guttural, echoing through the corridor. It was the kind of sound that made grown men flinch.
  He was close to breaking.
  Close to losing himself completely.
  I stepped closer to the window beside the office door to see without being seen. The office was dim, shadows heavy in the corners. Papers and files were scattered across the desk like battlefield debris. His chair was tilted slightly, and every sharp line of his jaw, every tense muscle, screamed of someone standing on the brink.
  I couldn’t hear their words clearly,only Sebastian screaming but I saw him freeze. His eyes narrowed, something like recognition or fear passing across his features. The tension in the room was so thick I could almost see it… a storm cloud of grief, anger, guilt, and fury pressing down on them.
  He moved towards her suddenly—swift, predatory—and every instinct in me screamed step back, come out
  But before I could see what really happened, my phone rang.
  A call I had to answer.
  The moment I finished and rushed back, the corridor was silent. No noise. No scream.
  Had they settled it?
  Or… was Lily injured?
  I looked toward Madam Katrine. “Ma… seems like everything is settled.”
  “So why doesn’t she come out?” Victoria snapped. “Maybe she is hurt.”
  “I think she’s right,” another said. “Lily never stays long in Sebastian’s office.”
  “Could it be she is actually hurt?”
  “Or dead,” someone whispered.
  “No,” I said quickly. “Sebastian can’t do that. He cannot hurt Lily. He—he won’t.”
  “Have you forgotten?” a maid said. “Two maids got seriously hurt. One spent six months in the hospital. The other spent a year.”
  “What?” Emma gasped, grabbing my hand tightly. “Six months? One year? Please let’s go inside and bring her out! Please!”
  “It’s better you go now before it’s too late,” one of them urged. “The earlier the better.”
  “Drey, please.” Emma’s voice shook. “Please, let’s go.”
  I saw the fear in her eyes and nodded. “Okay… let’s go.”
  “Go and bring your injured friend out,” Victoria added with a smirk.
  We were just about to push the door open when it opened on its own—and Lily stepped out.
  She didn’t smile. She didn’t frown. But her face… she looked shaken. Like someone who had gone through something heavy. Something dark. Something close to hell.
  “Lily!” I rushed to her, holding her hand. “Are you okay?”
  “Yes… I am. I am.”
  “You are?” Victoria scoffed. “Don’t tell me you were able to calm Sebastian down—in your dreams.”
  “Is it true, Lily?” Katrine asked gently.
  “No,” Lily said softly.
  “I already knew it’s not possible,” Victoria said, folding her arms smugly.
  “He’s sleeping,” Lily finished.
  “What?!” all of us gasped.
  “Boss is sleeping?” I asked, shocked.
  “Yes,” she nodded.
  “Really? You did it, Lily! I’m so happy!” Emma said.
  “Lie,” Victoria spat. “You are lying. Even we his loved ones—could not calm him. But you? Never. Martha, go and check.”
  “Me?” Martha blinked.
  “Yes you! Stop asking questions!”
  Martha rushed in, then rushed right back out.
  “It’s true. Sebastian is sleeping.”
  Victoria’s phone dropped from her hand.
  Katrine hurried to Lily, taking her hands warmly. “Thank you for helping him. For calming him. You deserve a reward.”
  “I can now see why he chose you as his personal secretary,” she added with a smile. “You are truly amazing.”
  Lily smiled back. “Thank you, Ma Katrine.”
  “And you deserve a reward from me too,” I said, squeezing her hand gently. “Hope you’re not hurt?”
  “Well… I’m not. But I almost peed on my body,” Lily whispered.
  We laughed.
  “For real?” I asked.
  “Yes. It is more than going through hell.”
  “I want to continue my work,” she added.
  “Your work?” Emma blinked. “Seriously, Lily? I’m going out, and someone should be beside him, and nobody can—except you.”
  “Where are you going? And why me again?” Lily asked.
  “Well… you’re his secretary.”
  “And what are you?”
  “Me? I’m the outside secretary.”
  We all laughed again.
  “Okay, I will go,” Lily said finally.
  “I’ll send you food.”
  “Thank you.”
  Lily entered the office again, and I let out a breath.
  I was glad—grateful that I asked her to go.
  And as I predicted, she calmed him down.
  I never mispredict.
  I wonder how Sebastian will feel when he wakes up and realizes Lily was the one who brought him back from that edge. Especially when he sees her sitting right beside him.
  But… I also wonder…
  Who made Sebastian so furious like that?
  What did the person say?
  Who dared to provoke him to that extent?