Devilish secretary-Chapter 341 Not good

Ana’s voice trembled as she spoke through the phone, her words rushed and filled with regret. "Sebby, Mom is so sorry... I forgot your birthday, sweetheart. I—I sent the new car model you wanted. It’s already on the way. I know it’s late but—please accept it..."

There was silence for a moment.

On the other end, Darkness sat lazily on a leather couch in the hotel lounge, legs crossed, one arm draped over the backrest. His phone was on speaker, lying on the table, but his eyes weren’t even on it. He stared out the window, expression unreadable.

Then he chuckled softly.

A dark, cold sound.

"Well," he said, voice low and sarcastic, "I can’t really expect a stranger to remember my birthday."

Ana’s breath hitched on the other side.

But Darkness didn’t stop there. "You remember to send gifts. That’s something. Very motherly."

His lips curled into a smile, but it wasn’t kind. "Anyway, thanks for the car. It’ll go nicely with the things I don’t care about."

He reached over and ended the call without waiting for her reply.

He leaned back, eyes half-lidded.

Ana stood frozen, still holding the phone in her hand, even though the call had ended.

Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted in shock. That voice just now cold, detached, like she was nothing more than a name on a list. It wasn’t the same Sebastian she once cradled as a child. No... it felt like a stranger.

His tone had sliced right through her, deeper than his words ever could. She felt a chill crawl up her spine.

"That... wasn’t him..." she whispered to herself.

Tears welled up in her eyes, not from guilt this time but from fear.

She pressed her fingers to her lips, shaken, and for the first time, Ana realized something terrifying—

She might’ve truly lost her son.

•••••

Lilith did her skincare that night, but her thoughts refused to quiet down.

Even as the cool serum settled into her skin, her mind wandered back to him to the way he looked at her during that camp night, the warmth of his voice when he whispered her name, the way his eyes softened under the golden lights.

Ugh. Stupid heart.

She tried to distract herself by checking emails, flipping through a few scripts, but nothing held her attention.

Unlike other rising stars, Lilith didn’t have a full-fledged team of agents and stylists. Just her. And him.

Sir Sparkleton.

Her assistant, her butler. He was probably cleaning the house, talking to plants, or dancing to old rock songs by now. A small smile tugged at her lips. She suddenly missed her quiet little home.

"I’ll go tomorrow," she whispered, brushing her hair one last time before bed.

•••

Next Morning

Lilith arrived at her small house. She unlocked the front door and stepped inside, expecting the usual blaring, robotic greeting:

"MISS LILITH, WELCOME BACK TO YOUR CASTLE!"

Silence.

Only the sound of her keys dropping into the bowl by the door.

"...Charging?" she murmured, raising an eyebrow.

She slipped off her coat and heels, walking inside slowly. The air was still, unusually still. No scent of his favorite oil diffuser running. No music. No chaos. Something didn’t feel right.

"Sir Sparkleton?" she called out. "Tin can? Metal thing? Where are you...?"

No answer.

Lilith’s playful voice turned into concern as she walked faster. The kitchen was empty. Living room—silent.

Then she turned the corner toward the guest room, his favorite place to rearrange flowers and scroll through the database of outdated fashion shows.

The door was slightly open.

Lilith’s footsteps slowed. She gently pushed it open.

Her heart dropped.

There he was, lying on the floor like a fallen statue. His limbs sprawled, screen dark, no glow in his eyes, no sarcastic greeting. Just... stillness.

Lilith rushed to his side, dropping to her knees.

"...Sir Sparkleton?" she whispered.

No response.

Her hands hovered before grabbing his shoulder. Cold. No power hum. No system light blinking near his chest.

Not good. Not good. Not good.

Her lips tightened as she opened the small access panel on his back. Battery? Still full. No physical damage.

She quickly grabbed her phone, fingers trembling slightly as she dialed his number.

The call connected after a single ring.

"Lili?" Alex deep, warm voice came through, making her feel a little steadier.

"Human doll..." she breathed out, trying to keep her voice calm but he could tell something was off.

"What happened?" he asked, immediately alert.

Lilith looked down at Sir Sparkleton lying motionless on the floor, her throat tightening. "It’s Sparkleton... he’s not working. I don’t know what happened. He was fine before I left, but now he’s just... off. Nothing’s responding."

There was a short pause on the other end. Then his voice lowered, serious and gentle.

"Stay there. Don’t touch anything else. I’ll come pick you up right now."

Lilith blinked, surprised by how fast he responded.

"You... you’ll come?"

"Of course," he said without hesitation. "Wait for me. I’m on the way."

The call ended, and Lilith slowly lowered the phone, her eyes still on the lifeless metal shell on the floor. Somehow, just knowing he was coming... made her chest feel a little less tight.

Her fingers gently touched the edge of his metallic arm, not daring to move him too much. His glossy surface was still warm, which meant the core hadn’t shut down completely yet. That gave her a little hope.

Lilith leaned in, inspecting the area beneath his neck plate, where a faint hum usually came from. Now, it was silent.

She tapped twice near the sensor port—nothing.

Her brows furrowed deeper. She had dealt with other assistant bots, and most of them had a basic power core and emergency restart switch beneath their back panel. But Sir Sparkleton... he wasn’t like them.

His system design wasn’t standard.

"This isn’t regular AI tech," she muttered, brushing her hair behind her ear. Her expression turned more serious as she looked at his wrist, where a strange pattern flickered faintly before vanishing.

She didn’t touch it again.

Lilith exhaled slowly.