Chapter 109 Chapter 109
Chapter 109
Celine tried to focus on the spreadsheet open in front of her, but the numbers kept blending together. She blinked twice and adjusted her glasses even though they weren’t slipping.
Her pen tapped lightly against the desk before she forced herself to stop. She didn’t want to look distracted. Not here. Not in front of him.
Ethan sat across the office, going through documents with the same sharp attention he gave everything. His posture was straight, his face calm, and his voice steady whenever he spoke into the phone or responded to emails.
Anyone looking from outside would think everything was normal.
But to Celine, something felt… off.
Not something she could point at. Not something obvious.
Just different.
She glanced up without meaning to and caught him already looking at her. The moment their eyes met, he looked away quickly, picking up another file like it had been waiting for him all along.
Celine lowered her gaze immediately, pretending she hadn’t noticed. Her fingers tightened slightly around her pen.
“You’re imagining things,” she whispered under her breath.
Still, she couldn’t shake it. The way he had been careful all morning. The way he spoke to her only when necessary.
The way he avoided standing too close to her when they both reached for the same folder earlier.
She told herself it was professionalism. Maybe he was stressed. Maybe she was reading too much into small things.
That had to be it.
Outside the building, at the main security gate of Castellan Enterprise, a black sedan rolled to a smooth stop.
One of the guards stepped forward, adjusting his cap as he approached the driver’s side window.
“Good afternoon, sir. Please state your purpose.”
The man inside lowered the window slowly. He wore a neat grey suit and dark sunglasses, his expression calm but alert. He handed over an ID card with steady fingers.
“I’m from Castellan Enterprise branch in Canada,” he said politely. “I’m here to confirm staff movement reports and structural coordination between branches.”
The guard studied the card carefully.
“We were not informed of any visitor from Canada today.”
“It’s an internal audit request,” the man replied smoothly. “Unannounced visits help maintain accurate reporting.”
The second guard stepped closer, scanning the card through a handheld device. The system didn’t reject it, but it also didn’t confirm scheduled clearance.
“What department?” the guard asked.
“Administrative coordination,” the visitor answered. “Specifically reviewing new staff placement across executive floors.”
The guards exchanged quick glances.
The first guard folded his arms slightly. “You’ll need to specify which floor.”
“The fourth floor,” the man said casually. “I need information about newly assigned staff there. Especially female staff working directly with Mr. Castellan.”
The guards’ expressions hardened immediately.
“I’m afraid we cannot release staff information,” the first guard said firmly.
The visitor offered a small smile. “It’s a company internal review.”
“Fourth floor staff details require direct authorization from Mr. Castellan himself.”
The visitor tilted his head. “Then kindly call him.”
“That won’t be necessary,” the second guard replied. “We already have instructions.”
The man’s smile tightened slightly. “Instructions?”
“No external or internal visitor is allowed to request staff details from that floor.”
The visitor leaned back in his seat, tapping his fingers lightly against the steering wheel.
“I see. At least confirm if a new female staff member joined recently.”
“We cannot confirm or deny anything,” the first guard said calmly.
The visitor nodded slowly, as if accepting defeat, but his eyes sharpened behind the sunglasses.
“Understood,” he said, starting the engine. “I’ll relay that to headquarters.”
The guards stepped back as the sedan drove away, but their expressions remained tense.
Inside the security control room, the head of security watched the camera footage replay on a large screen.
His jaw tightened as he replayed the moment the visitor asked about female staff on the fourth floor.
He reached for his phone immediately.
Upstairs, Ethan was halfway through reviewing a contract when his private line buzzed.
He glanced at the caller ID and answered instantly.
“Yes?”
“Sir,” the head of security said carefully, “we had a visitor at the main gate claiming to be from the Canadian branch.”
Ethan’s pen paused mid-signature.
“Continue.”
“He requested staff information about the fourth floor. Specifically female staff working directly with you.”
Ethan leaned back slowly, his expression calm.
“And?”
“We refused to release anything. The visitor left shortly after.”
“Did you verify his credentials?”
“They were convincing but not scheduled in our system. We’re currently running deeper checks.”
Ethan stared at the desk in front of him, his face unreadable.
“You did the right thing,” he said evenly.
“Yes, sir.”
“Send me his entry footage and vehicle details.”
“Already forwarded to your secure mail, sir.”
“Good,” Ethan replied before ending the call.
He placed the phone down carefully, his fingers lingering against the desk longer than usual. His breathing slowed, controlled, but inside his thoughts raced through possibilities he didn’t want to accept.
Amelia was moving faster than he expected.
He closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them, returning to the contract in front of him as if nothing had happened.
\---
Celine walked toward his desk minutes later, holding a folder against her chest. She knocked softly against the wooden edge of his desk out of habit.
“Come in,” Ethan said, eyes still fixed on his laptop.
She stepped closer and placed the folder carefully beside his keyboard. “These are the revised projections you asked for.”
“Leave them there,” he said without looking up.
She hesitated slightly before nodding. “Alright.”
She turned to walk back to her desk, but paused halfway, her fingers tightening around the edge of the chair beside her workspace. She waited, hoping he would say something else. Anything that sounded like him… not this version that felt careful and distant.
Nothing came.
She slowly pulled her chair back and sat down quietly, switching her computer screen back on even though she hadn’t finished the email she was pretending to work on earlier.
Her thoughts felt scattered. She tried reading the same line on the screen three times, but the words refused to stay in place long enough to make sense.
She told herself she was overreacting.
He was her boss. He had responsibilities. He wasn’t obligated to talk to her beyond work matters. She repeated that inside her head like she was reminding herself of a rule she already knew but didn’t want to accept.
Still… something about the way he spoke today felt different.
She adjusted a file on her desk, pretending to stay busy, but her attention kept drifting toward him without her permission. Every few minutes, she found herself glancing up, only to quickly look back down before he noticed.
Except… he had noticed.
Across the room, Ethan sat behind his desk, pretending to review documents while being fully aware of her presence only a few feet away. He could hear the soft tapping of her keyboard. He could hear the rustle of papers each time she rearranged something on her desk. Even the faint sound of her chair shifting made him look up without thinking.
Twice, their eyes almost met.
The first time, he quickly reached for a pen and flipped through a contract, acting like he had been searching for something important.
The second time, he leaned toward his phone, typing an email he didn’t need to send immediately.
He hated how obvious his reactions felt to him. Hated how natural it had become to check if she was okay without asking.
He straightened in his chair and forced himself to focus on his laptop screen, rereading the same paragraph until it finally started making sense.
If Amelia was already looking into the fourth floor, he couldn’t afford to make anything obvious. Not even small things. Not even eye contact that lasted too long.
His jaw tightened as he opened another email and began typing faster than necessary.
Every second he kept his distance felt wrong, but fear settled in his decisions, pushing him to stay exactly where he was emotionally far enough to protect her, even if it hurt her… and him.
Behind him, Celine shifted slightly in her seat, glancing up again before lowering her eyes to her desk, pressing her lips together quietly as she continued typing.
\---
Outside, the SUV assigned to take her home waited near the entrance. One of the drivers opened the door politely.
“Good evening, ma’am.”
“Good evening,” she replied softly, sliding into the back seat.
The ride home felt longer than usual. She stared out the window, watching the city pass by in blurred colors. Her mind replayed every moment from the day, searching for something she might have done wrong.
Nothing made sense.
house felt calm and quiet as Celine changed into her nightwear and climbed into bed. She placed her phone beside her pillow, glancing at the screen again.
Still nothing.
She turned onto her side, staring at the wall, then reached for the phone one more time. She opened their chat, reading their last conversation slowly, as if the words might suddenly change.
They didn’t.
She locked the phone and placed it back down, staring at the ceiling.
“Why am I hurt?” she whispered to herself.
The question lingered in the room with no answer.
She closed her eyes eventually, but sleep didn’t come easily.