<h4>Chapter 91: Chapter 91 Tension and Retreat</h4>


    Cecilia’s pov


    The moment my ear touched the door, it swung open.


    I stumbled forward, nearly colliding with his chest.


    With lightning reflexes, I grabbed the door frame, using every ounce of strength to pull myself back.


    "Good morning," I gasped, steadying myself while brushing away the hair that had fallen across my face, offering an awkward but dignified smile.


    Alpha Sebastian stared at me silently for a moment. "What are you sneaking around for this early in the morning?"


    The casual way he spoke made it seem like I had been the one who’d lost control twice the night before, not him.


    He stood before me impably dressed in a vintage-style dark brown suit, tall and elegant, showing no trace whatsoever ofst night’s... loss of control.


    Internally, I scoffed. So he’d regained his senses and now had the audacity to criticize me for sneaking around?


    "I came to wake you up. We’re leaving this afternoon, so we should pack our bags," I improvised.


    He was silent for a few seconds. "Let’s have breakfast first."


    Breakfast?


    No way in hell did I want to have breakfast with him! I couldn’t even imagine how awkward that would be.


    "You go ahead. I prefer to work first," I said, stepping backward.


    Alpha Sebastian walked out of his room, took a few steps forward before turning back, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Cecilia, you wanted to enter this room. I hope you won’t regret it."


    Without further exnation, he turned and walked away.


    I stood there, bewildered.


    Regret?


    Had he hidden a woman in there? Or a man?


    This confusion persisted until I entered the bathroom and caught the lingering scent still hanging in the air.


    Then I understood.


    ...I regretted it indeed.


    Now I knew more than I ever wanted to!


    After packing his luggage, I deliberately returned to my room to pack mine as well, stalling as long as possible before heading downstairs, assuming he would have finished breakfast by then.


    Downstairs, I immediately spotted him sitting on the living room couch.


    "Did you renovate the entire upstairs?" Alpha Sebastian raised his cool gaze. "Let’s go have breakfast."


    My brain short-circuited.


    Why had he waited for me?


    I didn’t want this at all!


    "Don’t just stand there," Alpha Sebastian rose, and seeing I wasn’t following, urged me again.


    I felt utterly trapped.


    As I walked, I patted my cheeks, trying to stay calm. It wasn’t such a big deal thatst night I experienced... and this morning discovered...


    But when I sat down and saw him looking so cold and proper in the sunlight... my mind betrayed me by conjuring images of him with his ck robe half-open, his body radiating desire... and worst of all, my imagination added a scene of him alone in the bathroom...


    Dear God!


    I closed my eyes, feeling like I was losing my mind.


    I swear I wasn’t doing it intentionally.


    I was an adult woman—those images just invaded my brain automatically!


    I didn’t want my thoughts to be so... explicit.


    Forgive me!


    "I told you you’d regret it," Alpha Sebastian sighed.


    I clenched my fists. How could he be so damn calm?!


    Alpha Sebastian looked at me with concern. "Your behavior worries me. Did I frighten you?"


    "No need to worry!" I raised my hand abruptly in a stopping gesture, my expression solemn. "I’m quite brave."


    I pretended to be rxed as I started eating breakfast.


    I moved food around my te without eating, and tried desperately to think about anything else...


    I was desperately trying to turn the page on this situation.


    But Alpha Sebastian flipped it right back when he casually said, "I apologize for kissing you without your consent."


    I choked on air, coughing violently.


    Why did he have to bring that up again?


    Alpha Sebastian poured a ss of water and handed it to me.


    I drank most of it before recovering. "That... let’s just pretend it never happened."


    "I need to take responsibility for my actions."


    I realized what he meant and frantically waved my hands. "No , no , no need!"


    I repeated it three times, my expression horrified.


    Alpha Sebastian’s eyes darkened, like falling stars.


    After a long moment, heughed softly. "And you im to be brave? You’re easily frightened."


    I sat holding my ss without responding.


    The atmosphere became slightly strained.


    I ufortably looked down at my ss. The crystal was clear and beautiful, but I knew all too well how fragile and illusory it was...


    Alpha Sebastian stood up and left.


    I put down the ss and slowly exhaled.


    Perhaps it was the mountain’s strange energy field, or maybe it was the drug-induced kiss fromst night that had momentarily created some false impression of me in his mind.


    Things would return to normal once we got back.


    Yes, definitely. Once we returned, he’d be back to normal.


    ...


    When I went outside, Marcus Reid was already there.


    He was reporting to Alpha Sebastian, "Mr. Remy left before dawn. Said he had food poisoning, acute gastroenteritis. His friends left with him."


    Alpha Sebastian nodded without furtherment.


    I thought to myself: Smart move, old man. Looks like my message got through to him.


    With Remy gone citing illness, the inspection ceremony originally nned for both him and Alpha Sebastian was left to Alpha Sebastian alone.


    From 10 AM until 4 PM, Alpha Sebastian attended the inspection ceremony and lunch banquet, then toured the resort with a group of escorts.


    I apanied him throughout.


    By the time we finished and prepared to return, it was already 4:30 PM.


    On our way here, Alpha Sebastian had asked me to ride in the back—he imed it was safer on those winding mountain roads—and I’d agreed without much thought.


    But on the return trip, I wasn’t willing to sit with him in the back again.


    As we approached the car,Alpha Sebastian had already slid inside, settling into the seat and shifting over—clearly expecting me to sit beside him again.


    I paused.


    Then, without a word, I mmed the door shut.


    And walked around to the front passenger side.


    Click. I got in and buckled up, keeping my gaze forward.


    From the corner of my eye, I could feel both Alpha Sebastian and the driver staring.


    "Let’s get going," I said to the driver as I buckled my seatbelt.


    He nodded silently and started the car, and the ride waspletely quiet.


    But this silence felt like the calm before a storm, or the aftermath of an apocalypse—the air pressure so low it was suffocating.


    I didn’t doze off; I sat properly throughout the journey.


    The driver, unable to bear the tension, considered opening a window.


    As we left the mountains, darkness gradually fell, and the distant city lights began to appear.


    Alpha Sebastian received a phone call. After hanging up, he told the driver, "We’re not going to the airport yet."


    He gave the driver the address of a private club.


    I turned my head slightly from the front seat.


    I’d overheard the call—from the conversation, it seemed to be a very close friend.


    But if we made this detour, could we still return to Denver tonight?


    "Cecilia, if you want to return to Denver first, you may go ahead," came the deep, emotionless voice from behind me.