CHAPTER 14: The Father Kneels Where Fear Began

When the foyer emptied, Sebastian knelt on the marble again.
Not because he was a boss. Not because men were watching. Because Lily was standing in the same spot where she had learned to be afraid, and he wanted the floor to remember something different.
'I failed you,' he said.
Lily shook her head immediately, as children do when they believe a parent's pain is another thing they must comfort.
Sebastian touched the bent button eye of the teddy bear.
'I did,' he said gently. 'I was listening to rooms that applauded me instead of the room where you slept.'
Elena looked away, giving them privacy without leaving.
Lily whispered, 'Is Miss Elena fired?'
Sebastian turned to the woman in the gray uniform, seeing the exhaustion in her face, the courage she had paid for without knowing whether anyone would reimburse her.
'No,' he said. 'But that is her choice, not mine.'
Elena swallowed.
For months, she had been treated as help. For one impossible night, she had become proof that love could stand in a doorway and refuse orders.
'I will stay for Lily,' she said. 'Not for the house.'