The CEO's Secret Obsession-Chapter 141: Sleepless Night

Pauline’s hand stilled.

She didn’t look up. "Tell him what?"

Margaret lifted an eyebrow. "That this isn’t temporary."

Pauline finally met her gaze.

There was no surprise there, only acceptance.

"You knew," Pauline said softly.

Margaret smiled. "Did you really think I wouldn’t?"

Pauline let out a small breath, something between a laugh and a sigh. "I didn’t want to burden him. He has been through enough."

"And you?" Margaret asked quietly. "When do you stop carrying everything alone?"

Pauline looked down at her hands.

"I don’t know," she admitted. "I just know I can’t leave again. Not this time."

Margaret reached across the table, resting her hand over Pauline’s.

"I don’t know what Jack said to you," she said honestly. "And I won’t ask."

Pauline’s throat tightened, but she said nothing.

"But whatever choice you make," Margaret continued, her voice steady, unwavering, "you will not make it alone. You never have." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Pauline blinked hard.

"If you stay," Margaret added, "I stay. That house was never meant to belong to one woman standing quietly in the corner."

Pauline’s lips trembled.

"You don’t have to do that for me," she whispered.

Margaret squeezed her hand. "I am not doing it for you. I am doing it with you."

The dam finally broke.

Pauline leaned forward, pressing her forehead briefly against Margaret’s hand, her composure cracking just enough to let the truth out.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I don’t know what I would do without you."

Margaret’s eyes softened.

"You never had to find out," she said gently. "I was always here."

The tea grew cold between them, forgotten.

But for the first time in twenty years, the garden felt full again.

And Pauline Reid—no longer just surviving—felt like she had come home.

....

[Reid Mansion — Late Night]

The house had finally gone still.

Most of the lights were off, the corridors dim and hushed, the kind of silence that only settled after a long day full of people and pretenses.

Somewhere upstairs, doors had closed, conversations had ended and the mansion had retreated into itself.

Alexander padded down the stairs slowly, careful with his still-healing body, one hand brushing the railing out of habit more than needed.

His throat felt dry and sleep hadn’t come easily.

The kitchen light was on.

He paused when he saw his father.

Benjamin stood by the counter, wearing the same work clothes he had seen him in earlier, sleeves rolled up and a glass of amber liquid in his hand.

He wasn’t drinking fast—just standing there, staring at nothing in particular, as if the night had demanded his attention.

"You are up late," Benjamin said without turning.

"Water," Alexander replied simply. "I will go back after."

Benjamin nodded once, taking a small sip.

Alexander filled a glass, hesitated, then stayed.

He leaned lightly against the counter opposite his father.

The silence between them wasn’t awkward, it never was.

It was familiar—earned over years of understanding each other without needing excess words.

"How is the pain?" Benjamin asked, eyes still on his glass.

"Manageable," Alexander said. "Annoying more than anything."

A faint exhale left Benjamin. It wasn’t relief or concern but something in between.

"Work has been heavy," Benjamin said after a moment. "Things pile up when you are not there."

Alexander glanced at him. "I am sorry for the extra burden."

Benjamin finally looked up, his sharp gaze cutting through the dim light. "Don’t apologize for surviving."

Alexander gave a small smile. "I will be back soon. I don’t like being away."

"I know," Benjamin said quietly. "You never did."

They stood there for another beat, the clink of glass the only sound.

Then Alexander spoke again, more carefully this time.

"Jack."

Benjamin’s jaw tightened—not enough to miss but not enough to call out.

"What about him?" he asked evenly.

"You are still planning to send him to Heinberg," Alexander said. It wasn’t a question.

"Yes."

Alexander nodded slowly. "I think that’s a good idea."

Benjamin studied him now. "You do?"

"He needs distance," Alexander said. "Responsibility or something that forces him to stand on his own."

Benjamin’s gaze softened just a fraction. "That’s what I thought too."

Alexander hesitated, then asked the question that had been sitting in his chest all evening.

"Do you know where he is?"

Benjamin didn’t answer immediately. He took another sip, slower this time.

"He is safe," he said finally. "That’s what matters."

Alexander frowned slightly. "You know where he is."

Benjamin’s eyes lifted to meet his calm, controlled and certain.

"He didn’t tell me," he said. "But I had to find out."

Something about the way he said it—quiet, final—told Alexander that was the end of that line of questioning.

Alexander accepted it.

"Okay," he said softly.

They stood together for another moment, two silhouettes in the kitchen light—father and son, bound by blood, burden and a future neither of them fully trusted yet.

"Go back to bed," Benjamin said at last. "You need rest."

Alexander picked up his glass. "Good night, Dad."

Benjamin watched him walk away, the sound of his footsteps fading up the stairs.

Only then did Benjamin finish his drink.

And only then did the weight of knowing exactly where Jack was—and why—settle fully in his chest.

The night, once again, kept its secrets.

....

[Carter Mansion — Late Night]

The balcony doors were open, letting the night air drift in.

Gregory stood near the railing with his hands resting on the cool metal, eyes fixed on the quiet stretch of lawn below.

The house behind him was dark and still but sleep hadn’t come to him at all.

Melissa noticed the empty space beside her in bed before she fully woke.

She pulled on her robe and followed the faint light spilling onto the balcony.

"You are going to catch a cold standing out here like this," she said gently.

Gregory didn’t turn at first. "I couldn’t sleep."

Melissa stepped beside him, leaning her elbows on the railing the way she had done a thousand times before.

For a moment, they just stood there together, the familiar silence settling between them.

She glanced at his face. "You are thinking about Evelyn."

He exhaled slowly. "Of course I am."

Melissa smiled softly. "It’s only for a couple of weeks after the wedding. You know that."

"I know," he said. "And Alexander will be there so that helps."

"But?" she prompted.

Gregory hesitated.

"I am not completely comfortable with her being under the same roof as Benjamin and Olivia," he admitted. "No matter how things look on the surface."

Melissa nodded, unsurprised. "That’s fair."

She waited.

"That’s not what is keeping me awake," he added

quietly.

She turned toward him. "Then what is?"

Gregory’s jaw tightened slightly.

"It’s the land."

....