<h4>Chapter 74: Chapter 74 Vulnerability</h4>


    Cecilia’s pov


    I closed the door behind me with a soft click, my heartbeat quickening.


    I approached therge bed, stopping about three feet away, trying my best to appear professionally concerned. "How is your wound, Alpha Sebastian?"


    But my question hung in the air, unanswered.


    I stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do next.


    Alpha Sebastian was reading a book, his darkshes lowered, head bent slightly.


    From the moment I knocked until now, he hadn’t even nced up to acknowledge my presence.


    About a minute passed in ufortable silence.


    Finally, his long, pale fingers turned a page with deliberate slowness—the movement oddly graceful—before he spoke. "Cecilia, don’t you think your concern is a bitte?"


    His voice filled the quiet room—cool, distant, with an edge of mockery.


    My smile, already stiff, frozepletely on my face.


    [Definitely not good.]


    I gave a polite smile, keeping my tone light.


    "I actually wanted to stop by earlier, but there were too many people around the hospital. I didn’t want to start rumors."


    "Rumors?"


    Alpha Sebastian finally looked up, and when his eyes locked on mine, I forgot how to breathe for a second.


    He tilted his head slightly, voice smooth as silk but sharp beneath the surface.


    "What makes you think anyone would care enough to gossip just because you happened to show up where I was?"


    My smile faltered.


    He’d done the same thing at the golf course, using me of dressing to catch attention,when it was clear whose attention he couldn’t stop giving.


    My cheeks burned with embarrassment, feeling as though they’d been set on fire. The humiliation was so intense I could barely breathe.


    "I..." Words failed me. The lump in my throat was painful, but I couldn’t argue with him. "I’m sorry. I overthought things. It won’t happen again."


    "I’m sorry for interrupting your reading. I’ll leave now."


    I stumbled out of the room in mortification, nearly hitting the doorframe on my way out.


    Sebastian


    The front door clicked shut behind her, and silence settled back over the penthouse like a heavy fog.


    I stared at the door for a long moment, my book forgotten in myp.


    Eventually, I closed it and tossed it aside, leaning back against the headboard.


    A sigh escaped me as I rubbed my temples.


    Pathetic.


    I had taken a knife for her, and now I was pushing her away with words sharper than a de. Why? Because I didn’t know what to do with how I felt.


    Somewhere deep down, I’d hoped she would stay anyway.


    I was still sitting there, lost in thought, when Liam entered with the dinner.


    His voice came through the door crack,casual but pointed.


    "Her eyes were teary when she left."


    My hand froze midair, the spoon I’d just picked up hovering above the bowl.


    He set another dish in front of me. "I think she might’ve gone home to cry."


    I set the spoon down slowly. "Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"


    Liam offered a neutral shrug. "Wouldn’t dream of it, Alpha Sebastian. I just find it strange—you took a knife for her, but tonight, you made her cry and walk away."


    I didn’t answer.


    I picked up the spoon again, stirred the soup, then stopped. Tried again. Stopped again.


    "Did she really cry?" I finally asked, my voice lower than I meant it to be.


    Liam didn’t look up. "Why don’t you go downstairs and find out?"


    "Your nagging is unbelievably annoying," I muttered, shooing Liam out of the room.


    I could hear the faint sound of Liam chuckling under his breath.


    And for some reason, it made me feel even worse.


    Cecilia’s pov


    I curled up on my couch hugging a pillow, lost in thought.


    Sometimes I sighed, sometimes I frowned with frustration.


    The earlier euphoric feeling—that I’d experienced when learning how Alpha Sebastian had protected me from the Shadow Pack hadpletely evaporated.


    Looking back, I realized I’d been foolishly delusional.


    Yes, he’d saved me. And he’d protected me. But that didn’t mean we were equals.


    An employer was still an employer. An Alpha was still an Alpha.


    He could be kind and gentlemanly toward me one moment, then cutting and arrogant the next if I said something that challenged his authority.


    If I allowed myself to be hurt by that, it only proved I hadn’t properly understood my ce.


    I needed to be more clearheaded from now on.


    I definitely shouldn’t be presumptuous enough to think he might be interested in me!


    It took me a full hour to sort through these thoughts and put everything in perspective.


    I got up and went to the kitchen to make myself some pasta.


    I’d barely taken a few bites when my phone rang.


    It was Liam calling.


    I bit my lip, feeling a sense of dread. Most of the time, Liam functioned as Alpha Sebastian’s messenger.


    I answered, "Hello, Liam."


    "Cecilia, do you have ns this evening?" he asked.


    "Um..."


    "Alpha Sebastian needs someone to help change his bandages and apply medication for the next few days. Beta Sawyer can’t make it tonight, and I’ve just received an urgent call from my wife that I need to attend to. I was hoping you might help."


    I felt my heart sink the moment he started exining.


    I’d just left the penthouse, still smarting from the humiliation.


    While I wouldn’t quit over a few harsh words, I wasn’t emotionally strong enough to return so quickly with a serene attitude.


    "Liam, couldn’t someone else do it? Perhaps a doctor could make a house call?" I suggested.


    Liam was quiet for a moment. "Alpha Sebastian may seem harsh, but he’s soft-hearted underneath. He values you highly and genuinely likes you."


    He meant tofort me, but to my ears it sounded like: The Alpha values you as his secretary, so when he summons you, youe.


    "Alright, I’lle up after dinner," I agreed.


    My appetite was gone.


    I hung up and spent several minutes mentally preparing myself before heading back upstairs.


    Standing outside Alpha Sebastian’s bedroom door, I took a deep breath and knocked.


    "Come in," came his characteristically cool voice from inside.


    I entered, closing the door behind me, and approached the foot of his bed with a forced smile, trying to appearposed. "I heard you needed help with changing your bandages."


    Alpha Sebastian studied my strained smile and overly respectful tone, then simply replied, "...Yes."


    "Where’s the first aid kit? I’ll get started right away."


    "Over there," he pointed toward his walk-in closet.


    I walked to where he indicated and found the medical supplies, bringing everything back to set on his nightstand.


    I arranged all the necessary items neatly.


    But when I finally turned my attention to his body, my mind wentpletely nk.


    Because only then did I remember a very awkward detail.


    His wound was near his lower back. He was wearing a robe.


    So did that mean he should take off the top... or lift up the bottom... or remove it entirely?!


    "Weren’t you going to treat my wound?" Alpha Sebastian said coolly.


    "...You’ll need to remove your clothing," I said finally, steeling myself for what was toe.