Chapter 35 Chapter 35
Chapter 35
The HR’s tone was flat but carried a kind of warning.
“Celine,” she said, looking straight at her. “Don’t talk about what happened earlier. Mr. Castellan doesn’t like people discussing his health.”
Celine stood there quietly, her hands locked together. She hadn’t even thought of telling anyone, but the way the woman said it made her uneasy.
“Yes, ma’am,” she said softly.
The HR adjusted her glasses. “And don’t ask him questions either. Just act normal, like it never happened.”
Celine nodded again and left the office. She didn’t know what to feel — part of her wanted to make sure he was fine, but the other part didn’t want to lose her job on her Fourth week.
As she walked back to her desk, she replayed the morning in her mind.
The way Ethan sat frozen, his eyes open but not seeing anything, still made her shiver. She could still hear her own panicked voice shouting for help.
She sat back at her desk, staring at the files on her screen, but she couldn’t focus. The HR’s words kept echoing in her head — Don’t talk. Don’t ask.
\---
At the company clinic, Ethan’s eyes opened slowly. His head felt light, like he had been asleep for hours, though it couldn’t have been that long.
He blinked twice and realized where he was. The clinic again.
He sighed and sat up. His jacket was draped over the chair beside him, his shirt sleeves rolled to the elbow. A nurse was nearby, typing on a clipboard.
“You’re awake, sir,” she said carefully.
“I’ll leave now,” Ethan replied, already reaching for his jacket.
“Sir, please ” she hesitated, then spoke quietly, “I just wanted to say… the amount of oxycodone in your system is too high. You really need to stop ”
He cut her off before she could finish. “Focus on your work, ” he said coldly, standing up.
She looked down and nodded quickly. She had seen him like this before — polite, but unapproachable.
Ethan fixed his jacket and left the clinic without another word. He hated people talking about his condition.
The only person allowed to speak about it was his therapist, and even that was on his own terms.
\---
When the elevator doors slid open on the third floor, he stepped out slowly, one hand in his pocket, his expression as blank as ever.
A few workers lowered their heads and greeted him politely as he walked past. He gave no response.
Celine sat at her desk, typing slowly, trying to act normal, but her mind wouldn’t stop spinning. Her hands froze the moment she heard his shoes against the marble floor.
She glanced up. Ethan walked in — calm, collected, as if nothing had happened earlier. His face looked pale, but his posture didn’t show weakness. He went straight to his desk and sat down.
Celine’s heart skipped a beat. She wanted to ask if he was okay, but the HR’s warning hit her again.
Don’t ask him questions. Don’t talk about it.
She swallowed and looked back at her laptop screen. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, pretending to type.
For a moment, the room was silent except for the faint tapping of keyboards.
Then Ethan’s voice came, firm and controlled. “The next time you see me in that position,” he said, not looking up, “don’t touch me or raise an alarm.”
Celine froze. The words hit her like a cold splash of water.
She turned slightly. “I’m sorry, sir. I thought ..
”
“Don’t think,” he cut in. His tone wasn’t angry, but sharp.
She looked down quickly. “Yes, sir.”
Ethan opened one of the files on his desk. His movements were steady again, like nothing unusual had happened. But the way his fingers tapped the pen showed something else — a restlessness he tried to hide.
Celine kept her eyes on the screen, but she could feel the tension in the room. It wasn’t just fear — it was confusion too.
Why would anyone tell her not to help?
Why would a man like him, who nearly passed out at work, act as if nothing was wrong?
She stole a quick glance at him. He was reading through a document, his brows drawn together, focused like always.
It was almost hard to believe that the same man had been lying unconscious just hours ago.
“Strange,” she whispered under her breath without meaning to.
He looked up slightly. “What did you say?”
Her eyes widened. “Nothing, sir. I said nothing.”
\---
The rest of the day moved slowly.
Celine kept herself buried in work, trying to act normal. Ethan barely spoke to anyone. He made calls, reviewed reports, and only once in a while, pressed his hand against his temple like he was fighting a headache
.
Every time he did that, Celine’s stomach twisted, but she didn’t say a word.
By lunch break, most of the staff had already whispered about the incident. Even though HR had warned everyone, news spread fast in the building. People talked quietly in corners — “Did you see the nurses earlier?” “He collapsed again.” “Must be stress.”
Celine tried not to listen, but she caught pieces of their gossip.
It made her realize how different their worlds were.
To everyone else, Ethan was just their boss — strict, cold, distant. But to her, in that one brief moment when he didn’t move or blink, he had looked fragile, almost human.
Still, she pushed the thought away and focused on typing.
When it was closing time, Ethan stood up first. He grabbed his keys, his phone, and without a word, headed for the door.
His steps were slow but steady.
Celine watched him leave quietly. She exhaled, not realizing she’d been holding her breath the whole time.
When the elevator doors closed behind him, she sat back, feeling strangely tired.
Maybe it was fear. Maybe curiosity. Or maybe it was just the stress of working for a man like Ethan Castellan — someone who lived with walls so high that even his pain wasn’t allowed to be seen.