Noah was still standing in Sebastian’s office, his pulse racing. The air felt dense, hard to breathe, as if the walls themselves were pressing in on him. Even so, he gathered the little courage he had left, forcing his shoulders to stay straight.

“I want to help you,” he said, his voice firm despite the tremor beneath it. “To recover what you lost. I’m going to try… if you give me a chance. Even just one.”

Sebastian watched him harshly, eyes sharp, calculating, as if searching for a crack in his words. For a moment, he said nothing. The silence stretched, heavy and deliberate. But Noah’s words began to take effect —slow, uncomfortable.

“Do you really think you can make up for all the damage you caused me?” he finally asked, his voice low.

Noah lowered his head. He wanted to remember, he needed to, but his mind refused to obey. That blank space in his past felt like a betrayal in itself. He hated having forgotten those years. He hated not having clear images or precise details to cling to, to explain himself properly.

“No,” he admitted quietly. “I can’t make up for it.”

He paused, then lifted his gaze again. “But… I’ll try. I’ll do everything within my reach. I want to help you move forward.”

Sebastian looked at him with a mix of surprise and confusion. That answer wasn’t what he had expected —not excuses, not deflection, not resistance. For a second, the impulse to write to Damien crossed his mind. He needed a voice to organize the chaos forming in his thoughts.

Instead, he stepped closer and took Noah’s chin. This time, with less force than before, but the gesture was no less invasive.

“Why?” he asked. “Why would you want to help me?”

Noah held his gaze, even though his hands were trembling at his sides. He tried to reach him somehow, through the years of resentment and unspoken pain.

“B-because if you give me the chance…” he said slowly, choosing every word, “…I’ll never hurt you again.”

Sebastian shook his head. He was still stubborn, distrustful. Years of bitterness didn’t dissolve so easily. But there was something in Noah’s remorse that didn’t fit the image he had built of him over time —something raw, unpolished, painfully sincere.

“And why should I believe you?”

Noah swallowed, his throat tight, but remained firm in his intention to improve his relationship with his boss and… former schoolmate.

“I hope,” he said, “that my actions can make you trust me again.”

Sebastian stepped away, breaking the contact abruptly. He walked to his desk, placed both hands on its surface, and took a deep breath, as if steadying himself.

“All right, Noah,” he said at last, still not looking at him. “If that’s what you intend, I’ll give you a single chance.” He paused. “It won’t be one month’s worth of reports.”

Noah’s chest tightened, but he didn’t interrupt.

“It’ll be four,” Sebastian continued. “And I’m giving you just one more week. Everything must be reviewed. No mistakes.”

Noah nodded. He didn’t protest, nor did he ask for an extension. He knew better.

“And also…” Sebastian added, turning slightly. “You’ll clean this office during that time.”

The words landed heavily. Guilt weighed like a slab of stone on Noah’s shoulders.

“Understood.”

Sebastian gestured with his chin toward an overstuffed filing cabinet, drawers barely able to close.

“All the pending reports are there. You’d better do it fast,” he said, then added after a beat, “…and perfectly.”

Noah took the documents in silence, holding them close to his chest, and left the office without another word.

Sebastian remained alone, staring at the door long after it had closed. Noah’s determination, his willingness to yield, to apologize without conditions —everything unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.

***

Noah walked toward his cubicle with his gaze lowered. His steps felt heavier with every meter. He could barely register his coworkers, who had heard part of the shouting. He felt the weight of every stare, every whisper brushing against his skin like static.

Nicholas was still checking a colleague’s computer when someone asked him, laughing, what all the commotion had been about.

“Don’t pay attention,” replied the man whose computer he was fixing. “Noah deserves it. They say he did something horrible to the boss years ago. That Sebastian didn’t even realize who he was when he hired him.”

Nicholas froze, his fingers hovering over the keyboard.

He couldn’t believe it. Had Sebastian hired Noah to punish him?

He said nothing. He finished his work, closed the program, and walked toward the elevator. Before leaving, he glanced one last time at the office area: Noah was sitting there, surrounded by a monumental stack of new reports, his face tense and his shoulders hunched inward.

Noah tried to focus, but frustration overwhelmed him. The words blurred together. His head throbbed. After a few minutes, he stood up and went to the cafeteria, looking for a few moments of calm —or at least silence.

Not far away, Nicholas watched him leave. After a brief hesitation, he decided to follow him.