Chapter 29 Two Troubled Minds
“Oh no, I can’t take this anymore,” Seraphina muttered tiredly to herself. She had paced the length of her room until her legs ached thoroughly. Dried tears clung to her face, her throat croaky.
The clip Joye had shown her earlier had rendered her entire body system messy. The guards had been successful in stopping her from going out. One had even threatened to tie her down if she proved to be stubborn. Her strength was nothing against the two of them, so she retired shamefully to her room. She had learnt that Julian, who had her phone, wasn’t around.
If only she’d memorized Sheila or Maris’s numbers, she could have used Joye’s phone to call them and be sure her son was safe. She’d told Joye to leave earlier — she didn’t want anyone seeing her like this. Curiosity was the last thing she needed.
Only if Julian hadn’t taken her phone away…
Every sound outside made her jerk her head toward the door, hoping it was Julian.
She had steeled her mind and decided to open up to Julian. She couldn’t keep it from him any longer. She was going to tell him— she had a son. She needed his help. He had her phone with him.
But one decision remained constant. She wouldn’t tell him Phoenix was his.
“Where is he?” The question came out of her mouth, directed at no one in particular. If Julian was back then he would have come to check on her. Just then, the door to her room opened, forcing her attention towards it immediately.
Julian stepped in quietly, shutting the door behind him. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, his sleeves rolled high, and his expression was hard. He looked like he’d been through a storm but had come out without a single leaf sticking to him.
Seraphina blinked fast, trying to read his face. “You were gone for hours,” she said, her voice cracking midway. “Where did you go?”
Julian didn’t answer right away. He stood still, letting his gaze take her in — the trembling lips, the scattered hair, dried tears on her beautiful face, the worry that clouded her features. His throat felt tight.
“Sit down,” he said quietly.
“I can’t.” Her words tumbled out fast and shaky. Julian raised a brow up. He was in no mood to be disobeyed, but something about how unsettled she looked made him pause.
“What’s it?”
Seraphina swallowed, then took a few steps towards him and stopped. “I have a son,” she blurted before she could change her mind. Julian’s expression didn’t change. His gaze narrowed at her, as if giving her room to say more.
“He’s…he’s the reason why I wanted to leave for Seattle. It’s a long story, but he’s currently in the news and he’s not meant to be there. Julian, he’s trending for being a genius …he shouldn’t be. It’s dangerous if anyone knows he’s my son.” A tear dropped from her eye. Julian couldn’t look away.
He was waiting—waiting for the part where she talks about him as his son too. His chest rose and fell in high expectations.
“Do you believe me? I swear, I’m not lying. I just want to call his nanny and be sure he’s okay. And maybe appeal to the blogs to take the videos down.”
Yet, Julian said nothing.
“Say something! I’m going insane here. My son is not safe out there!” She was shouting now.
Julian kept watching. He said nothing. Seraphina suddenly got frustrated and pushed at his chest fiercely, but he didn’t even move an inch. It felt like pushing a rock.
“Give me my phone or I will burn this entire building to the ground!”
At that moment, Julian’s expression almost softened at the intensity of her emotions. He was angry, livid even. But knowing Seraphina would go to any length to protect their son, and didn’t even mind disrespecting him, when she truly knew how dangerous he was, almost made him let his entire guard down.
When he didn’t say anything still, she grabbed his shirt, crying and sank to the floor. “Julian, please.” Her voice came out faint and tired. Her face was now downcast, hands holding on to his trousers.
“He’s safe.”
Seraphina froze for a second. She wasn’t sure she heard right. Her head jerked up at him. “What?”
Every instinct in him screamed to tell her the truth, to pull her into his arms and say ‘he’s safe, he’s in my bed, he’s breathing’. But his logic stopped him cold.
“I said, he is safe.”
She rushed up. “I don’t understand. You didn’t even know I had a baby so what…how do you know he’s safe?” She asked, confusion painting her face.
Julian’s voice stayed leveled. He couldn’t tell her about Maris’ death or that he had spent all night saving him from an old friend who wanted to use their son’s brain for an artificial intelligence project. The information would be too much on her. She didn’t need to process all that this morning.
Instead, he chose the easy talk. A lie. “I picked your friend’s call- your nanny’s too. He’s with them both. He’s safe.”
When doubts filled Seraphina’s eyes, he added, “Your nanny’s name, she’s Maris right? And your best friend is Sheila? I’ve spoken to them.”
A heavy breath that Seraphina hadn’t realize she was keeping escaped her lips. “Thank God.” Her hand went to her chest to feel herself again. She slowly rose to her feet, but staggered and was going to fall but Julian caught her by her arms. Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Though she was roughened up, Julian couldn’t find it easy to release her from his hold. Whenever their faces were this close, it always felt magnetic. No other woman had ever had such an effect on him.
But he eventually let go. He looked down at her fingers still clutching him, then lifted his gaze to her eyes.
“You should rest now, you must have had a restless night.”
But she shook her head. “Can you please…give me my phone? I want to speak to my boy.”
Julian’s jaw clenched.
“Just because I didn’t punish you for keeping such secret from me doesn’t mean you get to make demands. You don’t get to hold your phone until I decide it.”
His tone came out cold and detached, and gently, he removed her hands from his arms. Seraphina blinked away. She had almost forgotten that Julian was mostly heartless than kind. She thought in her head- she couldn’t wait to be done with this contract marriage thing.
She had an idea in mind. When she finally gets the journal from him, and avenge her parents’ death, she would run away, and this time around, they wouldn’t be able to find her.
“It’s fine.” She wiped roughly at her tears.
“Don’t worry about his trending video. Before the end of today, there will be no trace of it on the internet.” Julian assured, voice detached.
Before a surprised Seraphina could ask how he would do that, he was out of the door.