The phone rang once, twice, and then again. My thumb hovered over the screen, hovering between silence and an inevitable conversation that I knew would change everything.
Catherine.
My pulse quickened. The past few weeks had felt like a game of chess, moves calculated, every decision weighted with consequences. But the reality of it all was setting in. The moment I picked up that phone, I knew we were crossing into a new territory, a place where the stakes would be higher than they’d ever been before.
I glanced at Alexander, who was still standing close, his hand on my shoulder, offering the comfort I needed but couldn’t quite take in. His eyes were dark with an emotion I didn’t quite understand. Not fearnever fear with him. But something deeper, something almost like... resignation.
“Are you going to answer it?” he asked, his voice low, calm, yet filled with an undercurrent of tension. He was letting me take control of this moment. He always did.
I shook my head, the familiar lump fo
