<h4>Chapter 29: Chapter 29 Did She Just Kiss Him?!</h4>


    Cecilia’s pov


    The bed shifted beneath me—suddenly, sharply.


    Before I could react, arge hand pressed against the back of my head, pulling me forward.


    My lips brushed skin. Warm. Smooth. Solid.


    Not his shoulder.


    Not his neck.


    His jawline.


    My eyes went wide.


    The shock hit me like a truck. Then everything else came rushing in behind it.


    The faint heat of his skin. The crisp scent of his cologne. The masculine warmth that radiated from him like he was on fire.


    It was way too much. Too real.


    Sebastian froze beneath me.


    For a breathless beat, neither of us moved.


    Then his hand eased. Not away—just enough to tilt my face back slightly, creating a whisper of space between us.


    His palm still cradled the back of my head.


    Our eyes met.


    Mine, wide with rm.


    His... unreadable. Too still. Too intent.


    Time stopped. My pulse thundered in my ears, loud enough to drown out thought.


    I was the first to break.


    I jerked upright, scrambling off the bed like I’d been burned. My hands flew to my hair, smoothing it frantically—anything to distract from the chaos inside me.


    "It’s five-thirty, Alpha. You really should get up now," I managed to say, my voice betraying me with a slight tremble.


    And then I turned—no, ran. Out of the room. Down the hall.


    I didn’t stop until I reached my suite, mming the door behind me and locking it as if I were being chased.


    My heart was going crazy.


    I rushed to the bathroom and turned on the cold tap, sshing water onto my face like it might erase thest two minutes.


    In the mirror, my reflection stared back—cheeks flushed, eyes wide, lips parted.


    "What the hell was that?" I whispered, barely recognizing my own voice. "I was just doing my job. Wake the Alpha. That’s all it was."


    ...


    At six o’clock, I forced myself to return to Sebastian’s suite. Thank God, Beta Sawyer had also arrived. We stood together in the living room, waiting for our Alpha to emerge.


    As we waited, I nced at Sawyer. He’d worked for Sebastian much longer than I had. Had he also had to wake the Alpha? Had he ever found himself in a simrly... awkward position?


    The thought of Beta Sawyer identally kissing Sebastian made me want to crawl into a hole.


    "Cecilia, why are you staring at me like that?" Beta Sawyer asked, touching his face nervously.


    "Nothing, nothing, I just..." I pressed my hand against my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. "I was just thinking... our job has its... unexpected moments."


    "No job’s a cakewalk. You just have to adapt," he replied evenly.


    "You’ve got the right attitude."


    "What choice do I have? It’s not like I can give the Alpha attitude, can I?"


    He was right, of course. But forgive me if I wasn’t thinking straight after identally kissing my boss.


    Beta Sawyer sighed beside me, but before I could reply, I felt something change—like the air had gone electric.


    From the corner of my eye, I noticed a shadow near the dressing room entrance.


    Sebastian.


    He was already there, standing silently as if he’d been eavesdropping for a while.


    I had no idea how long he’d been watching—or how much he’d heard.


    But the way his gaze moved between us, lingering just a second too long on me, made my skin crawl.


    His eyes held something unreadable. Not amusement. Not annoyance.


    Something quieter. More dangerous.


    Beta Sawyer spotted him next and straightened. "Alpha."


    I turned too, and the moment our eyes met, my breath caught in my throat.


    I managed to hold his gaze for a single second—maybe less—before I dropped mine, focusing instead on the buttons of his shirt like they were the most fascinating things ever.


    Without a word, Sebastian walked past us and toward the exit.


    Beta Sawyer and I followed, trailing behind him like obedient assistants.


    We didn’t speak.


    In the car on the way to ONE°15 Marina, silence settled heavy.


    I sat in the back seat, rigid, every muscle from my neck to my toes wound tight.


    I wanted to rx. I tried.


    But each time I closed my eyes even for a moment, all I could remember was the heat of his skin, my lips on his jaw—unintentional, uninvited, unforgettable.


    "Cecilia."


    Sebastian’s deep, almostzy voice came from beside me.


    I responded instantly, like a puppet on strings. "Yes, Alpha? What can I do for you?"


    "Get me some water."


    "Of course." I retrieved a bottle from the car’s mini-fridge, opened it, and offered it to him.


    Sebastian pushed it back toward me. "Here. Drink. Calm yourself. Don’t overthink work-rted... mistakes."


    Outside the window, city lights glittered, casting multicolored reflections across mypletely embarrassed face.


    I looked straight ahead and took arge gulp as if it were vodka rather than water.


    ...


    When we arrived at the marina, the driver stayed with the car while Beta Sawyer and I followed Sebastian onto the yacht—a magnificent three-story vessel, gleaming white.


    The first level served as a business reception area, the second housed entertainment facilities including arge swimming pool, and the third contained guest rooms. The top deck offered the best view and privacy, furnished withrge circr sofas.


    Keith personally weed Sebastian, grabbing his arm with a smile that seemed way too eager, , almost intrusive.


    Inside, about a dozen local elites were gathered. Among them was a tiny, attractive young woman with tanned skin whose smile was absolutely radiant.


    "This is my granddaughter Vivian. She turned twenty-one today and just returned from studying art in America—the exact same university you attended, Alpha Sebastian," he bragged.


    Beta Sawyer and I remained on deck, but we could see everything through the floor-to-ceiling windows. We exchanged knowing looks... So this was a setup.


    Sebastian greeted Vivian politely.


    The young woman couldn’t take her eyes off him, clearly smitten. Standing barely five-foot-three, she had to look way up at the six-foot-three Sebastian, her excitement obvious even from where we stood.


    "If we’d known Keith was ying matchmaker, the Alpha never would have epted the invitation," Beta Sawyer sighed.


    "Well, Keith could hardly say ’I’m inviting you to meet my granddaughter,’" I replied, crossing my arms. "Besides, what if they actually click? It could be a great match."


    "She’s not for him," Beta Sawyer stated confidently.


    "How could you possibly know that?" I challenged.


    "Of course I—" Beta Sawyer suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his gaze fixed on the marina. "What the hell is she doing here?!" he eximed.


    "Who?" I followed his line of sight.


    A woman approached, every step unhurried, deliberate—like she owned the ce.


    Her figure was tall and lithe, wrapped in a slip of ck satin that gleamed like liquid obsidian.


    Shoulder-length waves framed a face too perfect to be natural, too symmetrical to be forgettable.


    "Amara, our regional branch manager," Beta Sawyer exined, rushing toward her.


    So this was Amara. I’d seen her name in reports but had no idea she was so stunning.


    "Ms. Amara," Beta Sawyer cut her off at the gangway.


    "Beta Sawyer." Her cold nce acknowledged him briefly. "Long time no see."


    As she moved to step past him, she noticed me, her expression turning arctic. "And who might this be?"


    I extended my hand with professional courtesy. "Hello, Ms. Amara. I’m Cecilia, Alpha Sebastian’s secretary."


    Maybe I was imagining it, but her expression seemed to get even icier, hurt shing across her features. "Secretary. Of course," she said with obvious bitterness.


    I stood there, hand still extended, totally confused.


    Without shaking my hand, Amara pushed past us, radiating hostility as she headed inside.


    "What’s her deal?" I asked Sawyer, thrown by the interaction.


    Beta Sawyer sighed. "She’s our former Beta’s daughter. Her mother and Luna Regina—Alpha Sebastian’s mother—are best friends.


    She basically grew up in the ck household and has a... messy history with the Alpha. It’splicated."


    "Ah, now I get it," I said, the pieces falling into ce.


    So that’s why Sebastian chose Singapore as his first destination—he had someone special waiting for him here.