Without another glance at me, he rose from the chair and stepped into the corridor to take her call, the door clicking shut behind him with the soft finality of a man choosing, again, the same thing he always chose.
As soon as he left, my phone rang, the vibration loud against the metal tray in the quiet room.
Taking a deep breath, I answered the call.
Before I could say anything, the voice on the other end broke through, anxious and urgent, the sound of someone who had been pacing for days.
"Weren't you supposed to meet me? Seraphina, did you change your mind?"
"No... I didn't. Something just came up," I said, and my voice cracked on the last word in a way I couldn't control, the way a wall cracks before it falls.
"Something came up? What happened? No, this won't do. I'm coming back. I'm flying home myself!"
I cut off the person on the other end of the secure line, my voice barely above a whisper as I lowered my gaze and pressed my lips together.
"Just give me a few more days. That's all I ask."
When Dominic returned to the hospital ward, I had just ended the call.