He remembered my stomach issues. He always did.
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Soup would be nice.”
Anything to make him leave.
This hospital room wasn’t a room at all—it was a private luxury suite. His money had turned it into something closer to a penthouse.
When the door finally closed behind him, I felt my way across the nightstand until my fingers brushed cold glass. No buttons. Just smooth surface.
I pressed the edge until the phone vibrated in my palm.
A mechanical voice echoed in my ear.
“Main menu. Messages available. Tap twice to open.”
Blind-assist mode.
My fingers trembled as I dragged across the glass, counting every vibration, praying I would land on Rowan’s name.
I didn’t.
A recording played on its own.
“Julian, she said ‘Mama’ today,” a woman’s voice laughed softly. “You should’ve been here to hear it. Next time I’ll teach her to call for you.”
Seraphine.
My throat closed. This wasn’t my phone.
Another tap.
“Do you think it’s okay if she starts calling you Dad now?” A man replied, his voice thick with happiness I hadn’t heard in years. “I’ll tuck Elara in and head over soon.”
Him.
I remembered the night before everything fell apart. I’d woken thirsty and gone looking for him, assuming he was still buried in paperwork. He wasn’t working at all. He was with her.
Our wedding night replayed in my head.
I had whispered, half-joking, “If you ever fall out of love with me, just take the ring back. I’ll disappear from your life.”
He’d kissed my temple and promised, “If I ever hurt you, I deserve to die forgotten.”
Footsteps approached from the kitchen. I slid the phone back exactly where I’d found it.
Julian came in carrying a bowl, sitting close enough that I could feel warmth radiating from him. “Careful, it’s hot,” he said, guiding the spoon like I was something precious.
His phone rang.
He paused, then picked up.
“Yes?” His voice shifted instantly.
“Sir, the paperwork’s ready. We just need your signature,” came a familiar woman’s voice.
Not paperwork. An invitation.
I heard a baby cry faintly in the background.
His tone softened completely. “I’m coming now.”
He placed the bowl in my hands. “Something urgent came up. Eat while it’s warm.”
I forced a small smile. “Go. I’ll manage.”
He studied me, puzzled that I wasn’t clinging to him. Then the pull of the child won. “You’re alright,” he said, patting my head before leaving.
When the door closed, I picked up my own phone.