Something I Cant Name
Country: Aurivelle
City: Auremont
Grayson
I remained seated even after the meeting ended.
One by one, they all left.
Cassian.
Lucienne.
Matteo.
Even Vivienne.
Soon…
It was just me and Mother.
The silence settled easily between us.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
“Good.”
“I already spoke to the finance company,” I said.
“Our budget has been sent to them.”
She nodded once.
“Alright.”
“Hope you’re done for the day?” she asked, standing up.
“Yes.”
I rose to my feet.
“Let’s go.”
We walked out together, heading toward her office.
She picked up a few things, then we made our way to the elevator.
“I really hope Alvara makes it into the top three,” she said casually.
“I have a lot of plans for her.”
I looked at her.
But said nothing.
“I like her,” she added, a small smile forming on her lips.
That made me pause.
“Why?” I asked, studying her.
Mother wasn’t one to take special interest in people.
She was kind.
Polite.
But this…
This was different.
“There’s something about her,” she said softly.
“She has a beautiful spirit.”
A small pause.
“And she’s… lovely.”
She looked at me when she said it.
Smiling.
I looked away.
The elevator doors slid open, and we stepped in.
Silence.
“Grayson.”
I turned to her.
Her expression had shifted.
Softer.
But curious.
“Why do you hate her?”
I frowned slightly.
“Who?”
She nudged my arm lightly.
“Alvara, of course.”
I let out a quiet breath.
“Hate is a strong word, Mom.”
She tilted her head, still smiling.
“Then do you like her?”
“Mom…”
“No,” she said lightly, cutting me off.
“You have to choose. It’s either you like her… or you hate her.”
I shook my head slightly.
“I don’t hate her.”
“I have no reason to.”
Her smile widened immediately.
“Then you like her.”
I didn’t respond.
The elevator doors opened.
Saved.
We stepped out and walked toward the entrance.
Our cars were already waiting.
“Good night, darling,” she said, pulling me into a brief hug.
“Good night, Mom.”
She stepped back, then paused.
“And just so you know…”
I looked at her.
“You’re free to do whatever you want.”
A knowing smile.
Then she turned and got into her car.
I stood there for a moment…
Watching.
Thinking.
Before finally getting into mine.
Inside the car, my thoughts wouldn’t settle.
You’re free to do whatever you want.
What did she mean by that?
Did she know?
No…
That didn’t make sense.
Or did it?
I exhaled quietly.
Whatever it meant…
I wasn’t going to think about it.
Not now.
The car pulled into my estate.
I stepped out and walked inside.
“Welcome, Mr. Hawthorne,” the head maid greeted.
I gave a slight nod as I walked in.
Then I saw him.
Sitting comfortably in the living room.
Like he owned the place.
Sebastine.
“Look who decided to come back,” he said, turning with a grin.
I shook my head slightly.
“What are you doing here?”
“To torment you,” he replied easily.
“That’s all I live for.”
“Good,” I muttered, loosening my cufflinks.
“At least, for once in your life, you have a purpose.”
He laughed low, leaning back even more.
“You’ve been busy,” he said, eyes scanning me.
“Meetings. Deadlines. Brooding.”
“I don’t brood.”
“You brood.”
“I don’t.”
“You walked in like a man fighting invisible demons.”
I paused.
He smirked.
“Ah,” he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“So there is something.”
“There isn’t.”
“Her name?”
I shot him a look.
He raised his hands in mock surrender.
“Relax. I didn’t say anything yet.”
“You were about to.”
“And I would’ve been right.”
I walked past him, pouring myself a drink.
“You’re insufferable.”
“And you’re distracted.”
I took a slow sip.
Ignored him.
Big mistake.
“Let me guess,” he continued casually.
“She’s not your type.”
I said nothing.
“That’s always how it starts.”
“Stop talking.”
“She challenged you.”
“Sebastine…”
“And now you can’t get her out of your head.”
I set the glass down harder than necessary.
He grinned.
“There it is.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head slowly.
“I’ve known you too long. You only get like this when something slips past your control.”
I didn’t respond.
That answer was enough.
He leaned back again, satisfied.
“So…” he dragged it out.
“Who is she?”
I exhaled slowly.
Not answering.
Not naming it.
Not giving it life.
Sebastine chuckled under his breath.
“Whatever she did… she must be dangerous.”
I picked up my glass again.
This time, my grip tightened slightly.
Then his smile returned…slower this time.
“Now I’m interested.”
I ignored him and walked away.
Leaving him there.
I headed upstairs.
A quick shower.
Time to clear my head.
It didn’t work.
Nothing did.
I changed and went back down for dinner.
Sebastine was already seated at the dining table.
Waiting.
Like he had all the time in the world.
And like he wasn’t done with me yet.
Dinner was served, and we started eating.
“I really want to know who she is,” Sebastine said, cutting into his food like it was just another casual conversation.
I didn’t respond immediately.
For once…
I didn’t have a sharp comeback ready.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
Sebastine slowly set his cutlery down.
“Well,” he said, studying me now,
“this just got serious.”
I exhaled quietly, staring at my plate.
“It’s nothing.”
He scoffed.
“You’ve never said ‘it’s nothing’ and meant it in your entire life.”
Silence stretched between us.
“I don’t even know when it started,” I said finally.
The words felt strange coming out of my mouth.
Unfamiliar.
“I saw her once… and that should have been it.”
Sebastine didn’t interrupt.
Didn’t joke.
Just listened.
“But it wasn’t,” I continued.
“She stayed.”
A quiet breath left me.
“In my head… in my thoughts… it’s like…”
I stopped.
I shook my head slightly.
“This doesn’t happen to me.”
Sebastine leaned back slowly, eyes fixed on me.
“No,” he said softly.
“It doesn’t.”
I let out a dry, humorless laugh.
“I’ve always been in control.”
Of everything.
My decisions.
My emotions.
My life.
“And now?” he asked.
I looked up at him.
There was no point pretending anymore.
“Now I think about her when I shouldn’t.”
“When I’m working.”
“When I’m trying not to.”
My jaw tightened slightly.
“And the worst part?”
Sebastine didn’t speak.
I let the words fall anyway.
“I didn’t even see it coming.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Real.
“I’ve met women before,” I said.
“Many.”
None of them stayed.
None of them mattered.
“But this…”
I ran a hand through my hair, frustration slipping through.
“This was fast.”
Too fast.
“Unreasonably fast.”
Sebastine let out a low breath.
“And you don’t like that.”
“No.”
No hesitation.
“I hate it.”
Because something slipped past me.
Something I didn’t approve of.
Something I didn’t control.
“And you think it’s love?” he asked carefully.
That word again.
That word I refused to name.
I looked back down at my plate.
My voice dropped.
“I don’t know what it is.”
“But if it isn’t…”
I lifted my gaze to his.
“…then I don’t know what else it could be.”
Sebastine stared at me for a long moment.
Then slowly…
a smile formed.
Not teasing.
Not mocking.
Just… knowing.
“Well,” he said, picking up his glass,
“You’re in trouble.”