🖤
Cassy didn't sleep well. Again. It wasn't exhaustion from work. It was something else. Something she couldn't name.
Caleb Garcia's voice kept replaying in her mind. "Eat dinner." Simple words. But they didn't feel simple. Not anymore.
—
At Garcia Enterprises, the morning was unusually quiet.
Cassy noticed it immediately. No rushing employees. No urgent calls echoing through the halls. Just… stillness. Too much stillness.
"Something's off," Adrian muttered beside her.
Cassy glanced at him. "What do you mean?"
He leaned closer. "Boss hasn't come out of his office since he arrived."
That made her pause. "…That's normal," she said carefully.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Not like this."
—
Cassy hesitated for only a second before standing. "I'll check on him."
Adrian gave her a look. "You sure about that?"
"No," she admitted softly. "But I should still do it." And before she could overthink it, she walked toward the CEO office.
—
She knocked once. No answer. Again. Silence. "…Mr. Garcia?"
Still nothing. Her chest tightened slightly. Without thinking too much, she opened the door slowly. "Sir?"
The room was dimmer than usual. Curtains half-drawn.
Caleb sat behind his desk, staring at a document—but not reading it. He didn't look up immediately. "You're early," he said flatly.
Cassy stepped in carefully. "You didn't respond."
A pause. Then he finally looked at her. Tired. Not physically. But in a way she hadn't seen before. "I was busy," he said.
But his desk told a different story. Nothing was moving. Nothing was being done. Just silence.
Cassy walked a little closer. "You've been like this since morning?"
"That's none of your concern." It was the usual answer. Cold. Sharp. But it lacked strength.
And Cassy noticed. "You didn't eat breakfast," she said quietly.
Caleb's eyes flickered. "I'm not hungry."
"That's not true," she replied softly.
Silence. Longer this time. The kind that didn't feel like distance— But avoidance.
Cassy placed a small paper bag on his desk. "I brought something," she said gently.
"I didn't ask you to."
"I know." Another pause. Then she added, quieter: "But you also didn't say no."
That made him stop. Really stop.
—
Caleb looked at the bag. Then at her. Too calm. Too understanding. Too present. It was unsettling. "You shouldn't do things like this," he said.
"Like what?" she asked.
"Care."
Cassy blinked slightly. Then smiled faintly. "I think people are supposed to care."
A beat. Caleb leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing slightly. "People disappoint you when you do."
Cassy didn't look away. "Maybe," she said softly. "But not everyone does."
That silence after her words felt different. He didn't respond immediately. And for the first time— Cassy didn't feel like she needed to fill the silence.
—
After a moment, Caleb finally spoke. "…Why do you stay?"
Cassy blinked. "At work?"
"At everything," he corrected quietly. The question wasn't professional.
It wasn't about her job. It was something else. Something deeper. Cassy hesitated. Then answered honestly. "Because if I don't… I might lose the people I still have."
That landed. Harder than expected. Caleb's expression shifted—just slightly. But he didn't speak. Couldn't.
—
Cassy took a step back. "I should let you work," she said softly.
But before she turned— "Cassy." She stopped.
He didn't look at her. But his voice was lower now. Different. "…Don't disappear," he said.
Cassy froze. Her heart skipped. But she kept her voice steady. "I'm not planning to." A pause. Then she left.
—
Caleb stayed still long after she was gone. The bag remained unopened on his desk. But he was no longer looking at it. He was thinking about her words. And the way she said them like staying was simple. Like it wasn't dangerous. Like he wasn't dangerous.
And for the first time— That scared him more than anything else.