Chapter 38 Major Mistake

Chapter 38 Major Mistake

Sebastian's gaze zeroed in on her face like a searchlight, catching the flicker of something wrong.

"You've been there?"

The question dropped like ice into boiling water, freezing the ambient chatter around them.

Sophie's entire body locked up. Her heart clawed its way toward her throat.

The Grand Crest Hotel. Where her career began. Where her nightmare started.

That chaotic night, that unfamiliar room, that domineering man... every fragment she'd buried deep came flooding back at those three words.

Her mouth opened, but her throat closed around an invisible fist. No sound came out.

Riley, ever the diplomat, read the tension immediately and laughed it off. "Mr. Carter, you forgot—last month's team building was at the Grand Crest Hotel too. Sophie had just started, though. Still getting her bearings. I think she felt awkward and left early."

The explanation was perfectly reasonable, acknowledging Sophie's presence while giving her an out for leaving early.

But Sebastian's eyes never left her face. Those ice-blue irises carried crushing weight, as if they could strip away every layer of pretense.

"You can go, Riley." His words to Riley were frost itself.

Riley took the dismissal with an awkward smile and found an excuse to disappear quickly.

The corridor emptied, leaving just the two of them. The air turned thick enough to choke on.

"I want to hear it from you." Sebastian watched her, tone flat but brooking no refusal.

This wasn't a question. It was a tribunal.

Sophie's fingers curled involuntarily. Cold sweat slicked her palms.

She knew any hint of panic could become ammunition for his suspicion.

She forced herself to meet his eyes, pulling on a professional smile.

"Yes, I'd almost forgotten until Riley mentioned it." She fought to keep her voice steady and natural. "Things have been so hectic. Last month feels like a blur."

The answer was seamless—acknowledging the fact while using "forgotten" to glide past the sensitive topic.

Sebastian stared at her for several seconds. Emotions churned in those fathomless eyes before slowly settling into stillness.

He didn't press further.

Maybe her performance was convincing. Maybe he couldn't find a concrete flaw. Either way, the oppressive atmosphere between them eased slightly.

"Take this file to the small conference room. Get the projector set up. Meeting in five minutes." He handed her the document, his tone returning to cold professionalism.

"Yes, Mr. Carter."

Sophie felt like she'd been granted a reprieve. She took the file and turned, practically fleeing toward the conference room.

The empty room let her wound-tight nerves loosen fractionally. She opened the laptop with practiced efficiency, connected the projector, and pulled up the first slide of the presentation.

The bright projection beam hit the screen, cold numbers and charts offering her chaotic mind a moment's peace.

Then her phone screen lit up on the table. A message from Samuel.

Warmth bloomed in Sophie's chest. She picked up the phone instinctively.

She didn't want to handle personal matters in the conference room, so she stepped into the hallway, finding a corner.

Samuel: [Sophie, how are you doing? Are the pregnancy symptoms still bad? Have you been eating properly?]

Samuel's concern was always blunt and clumsy, like a worried father.

Sophie's lips curved into an involuntary smile. She leaned against the wall, eyes lowered, fingers flying across the screen.

Sophie: [I'm okay. Not much appetite, but don't worry—I'm eating on schedule for the baby's sake.]

After sending the message, she pocketed her phone, collected herself, and pushed the conference room door open again.

The moment she stepped inside, the smile froze on her face.

The previously empty room was now packed.

The core project team members, including Aiden, had all arrived.

Everyone's heads were tilted up, their gazes converging on the same spot with eerie uniformity.

They weren't looking at her. They were looking past her, at the massive white screen behind her.

The conference room was tomb-silent. So quiet she could hear her own heartbeat hammering against her eardrums.

Sophie turned stiffly. The screen displayed her phone interface in crystal clarity.

The text conversation with Samuel was magnified a hundred times over, every word a resounding slap across her face.

The topmost message, Samuel's greeting, blazed so bright it nearly made her pass out.

[Sophie, how are you doing? Are the pregnancy symptoms still bad?]

Time stretched into infinity, solidifying into suffocating amber.

Her blood ran hot, then cold.

A massive ringing filled her ears, blocking out the collective gasps and muffled exclamations around the room.

Her world contained nothing but that blindingly bright screen and that line of text—magnified, condemning, exposing every secret she'd kept.

"Pregnancy symptoms." The words burned into her vision, etched into the minds of everyone present.

No one dared speak. Even breathing became cautious.

Aiden looked at Sophie, shock and helplessness warring in his eyes.

And Sebastian, sitting at the head of the table, had lost all trace of composed control. His handsome face had turned terrifyingly dark.

His gaze was twin blades forged from ice, pinning Sophie's bloodless face in place.

A sharp crack.

Sebastian slammed his laptop shut. The sound was jarring in the dead-silent room, like thunder snapping everyone back to reality.

"Meeting's over."

He bit out the words. His voice wasn't loud, but it was glacier-cold, carrying absolute command.

The moment the words landed, everyone scrambled up like they'd been pardoned, gathering their things at record speed, fleeing the blast radius of this storm.

No one dared look at Sophie, as if she carried a contagious plague.

Within moments, the vast conference room held only three people.