Chapter 3
For a moment there was some background noise on the other end, as if Camila had quickly moved somewhere quieter.
Then her voice came through again, brighter now.
“Sophia? What a pleasant surprise!” Camila exclaimed warmly. “I’m doing well. How are you?”
Her tone softened with fondness.
“It’s been so long since we last spoke.”
“I’m fine, Mrs. Graves. Thank you,” Sophia replied with a small smile. “I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well too.”
She hesitated briefly before continuing.
“I was just wondering… how things have been recently.”
“Oh, everything is good,” Camila said cheerfully.
Then she let out a dramatic sigh.
“But you know, Magnus hasn’t been himself for a long time. Did you hear about the accident he had two years ago?”
Sophia’s fingers tightened slightly around the phone.
“He… that stubborn fool doesn’t remember you anymore,” Camila said bluntly.
Emma’s eyes widened beside her, clearly overhearing the conversation.
“But I swear,” Camila continued passionately, “I can see it on his face. He misses you so much. He just doesn’t realize what he’s missing yet.”
Sophia lowered her gaze slightly.
“That’s alright, Mrs. Graves,” she said quietly, forcing a small smile that Camila couldn’t see. “Everything happened the way it was supposed to. We weren’t meant to last. What happened… just happened.”
On the other end of the line, Camila protested immediately.
“That’s what you decided! It’s not like—” she began, her voice rising defensively. “Sophia, it wasn’t supposed to end like that.”
“Actually, Mrs. Graves…” Sophia gently interrupted, quickly trying to redirect the conversation. “Mrs. Graves, I called because I wanted to ask if you could—”
“Oh wait!”
Camila suddenly cut her off.
Sophia blinked.
“I’m going to call Magnus right now!”
“What?” Sophia’s eyes widened. “Mrs. Graves, that’s not necessary—”
“He should hear your voice. Maybe it will help his memory recover.” Camila’s excitement only grew. “And even if it doesn’t, it’s not like you two can’t start over. Just date each other again!”
Sophia’s eyes widened, horrified. “Mrs. Graves, that’s not necessary—”
“Wait! Let me call him,” Camila insisted.
Before Sophia could stop her, the line went dead. Sophia stared at her phone.
Emma leaned closer. “What happened?”
Sophia exhaled slowly. “She… hung up.”
Emma frowned.
Before Sophia could explain further, her phone lit up again.
Camila was calling again.
Sophia stiffened when she saw the name on the screen. After a brief pause, she answered and slowly raised the phone to her ear, her movements cautious.
Through the phone, she could hear the faint ringing sound of another call connecting.
Realization dawned on her immediately.
Camila had already dialed Magnus.
A few seconds later, the ringing stopped.
The call connected.
“Magnus?” Camila’s voice instantly brightened. “Where are you right now? I need to talk to you.”
On the other end, Magnus sounded slightly surprised.
“Mom?”
There was a brief pause before he continued. “I’m in an important meeting right now. What happened?”
“There’s something I need to tell you,” Camila said quickly. “Where are you? Can you come home? I have a surprise for you.”
Camila was already growing excited, thinking about calling Sophia back to the house so they could talk face-to-face.
But just then, a voice sounded from Magnus’s side of the call.
“Mr. Graves. They’re ready.”
The call went silent for a few moments.
“Hello? Magnus?” Camila called out into the phone.
Magnus seemed to turn his attention to the person in front of him. For a few seconds, she could hear him speaking faintly in the background. Then he came back on the line.
“Mom, I have to go,” he said quickly. “There’s something important I need to take care of. I’ll talk to you later, alright? I can’t come home right now.”
Before Camila could say another word, the line went dead.
Camila stared at her phone, her brows pulling together with annoyance. Without wasting a second, she dialed his number again.
No answer.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
The call rang through, but Magnus never picked up.
Camila’s expression darkened. Frustration flashed across her face as she let out an exasperated sigh.
A moment later, she returned to the call with Sophia.
“Sophia,” Camila said, her voice lower now, slightly tense. “I’m sorry. Magnus wasn’t able to stay on the call. I tried, but he is busy with work.”
“It’s fine, Mrs. Graves. I understand,” Sophia replied politely, her voice soft. “It’s not a big deal.”
She hesitated before continuing, “Actually… I wanted to ask—”
Just then, another voice sounded in the background.
“Mrs. Graves, it’s alright. Please don’t stress yourself like this. Your health hasn’t been very good lately. Getting upset like this will only make things worse.”
Sophia immediately recognized the voice.
Thomas.
“I’m fine,” Camila muttered, clearly brushing Thomas off. Though she tried to sound calm, the stress in her voice was obvious.
There was a brief rustling sound before she spoke again.
“Sophia, what were you saying?”
Sophia took a slow breath.
For a moment, she hesitated.
Then she shook her head slightly, even though Camila couldn’t see her.
“It’s nothing, Mrs. Graves. I… I was just missing you, so I thought I’d call. I’m glad to know you’re doing all right.”
Camila’s tone softened a little. “I’m fine. It would be nice if you came to see me sometime. We could talk properly.”
Sophia gave a faint smile, even though Camila couldn’t see it. “Yes, that would be nice. I’ll come over as soon as I can. For now, I have something important to take care of, so I should hang up. I’ll call you again later.”
“That’s all right,” Camila replied warmly. “You can call me anytime. I’ll always pick up your call.”
A moment later, the line disconnected.
Silence followed.
***
Magnus was sitting in the back seat of his car while the driver navigated through the traffic. His expression was tight as he looked down at his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and dialed Isabel’s number.
She answered immediately, as if she had been waiting.
“Magnus! Are you here already?” Isabel’s voice came through quickly, slightly breathless. “I’ll come get you if you’re here. Are you in the car? I’m running down right now—”
Her hurried footsteps echoed faintly through the phone.
Magnus cut her off.
“No. I’m on the way,” he said calmly. “How is your mother? Is she all right? What did the doctor say?”
There was a brief pause on the other end.
“The doctor?” Isabel repeated, sounding slightly caught off guard.
Magnus frowned.
“You did call the doctor, didn’t you?”
His voice sharpened slightly as he spoke.
“You said your mom fainted and wasn’t waking up… and you still haven’t called a doctor?”
Magnus’s voice sharpened as the words left his mouth. His brows pulled together, a line forming between them.
He lifted his wrist and glanced at his watch, impatience flashing across his face.
“I left my office the moment you told me,” he continued, his tone tightening with irritation. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
His jaw clenched slightly.
“So what exactly were you doing all this time?”
“No, that’s not it,” Isabel said quickly. “I was just about to call him, actually.”
Her voice faltered slightly, though she tried to keep it light.
“But you’re already on your way? That’s so kind of you, Magnus. You always take such good care of me.”
“Isabel.”
Magnus’s voice turned cold and hard.
“Where is your mother? How is she?”
“She’s fine, don’t worry,” Isabel replied quickly. “When you get here, we’ll make sure she’s taken care of properly. You and I always handle things so well together, don’t we?”
“Isabel, is that Magnus? How is he doing?”
Another voice sounded from behind her.
The moment Magnus heard it, he stiffened.
On the other end, Isabel froze in panic, nearly dropping the phone from her hand.
Magnus’s expression turned dark instantly.
“Was that your mom?” he asked sharply.
Silence filled the line for a moment.
His voice dropped to a dangerously cold tone.
“You lied to me?” The anger in his voice was unmistakable now.
His jaw tightened as anger rose in his voice.
“How could you lie about something like that?”
Isabel swallowed nervously, her fingers trembling slightly.
Magnus continued, his voice growing sharper.
“Gregory is overseas right now. Because he can’t be here for the next few months, that’s why he asked me to take care of you and your family. And this is what you do?”
His voice dropped lower, but the anger only grew heavier.
“Do you even realize what you just did? I was about to call Gregory. He would have dropped everything and come back immediately if he heard something this serious.”
Magnus exhaled sharply.
“You know how much he loves your mom. His family means everything to him.”
His voice hardened again.
“And yet you lied about something like this. How could you do that?”
“No—that’s not what happened!” Isabel said hurriedly.
Her voice trembled as panic filled her chest.
“She just woke up a moment ago,” she explained quickly. “I wasn’t lying. She really fainted earlier. I think it was just low blood pressure or something.”
Magnus remained silent for a moment.
Though he was still angry, he didn’t argue further.
Instead, he let out a slow breath of relief.
“Alright,” he said finally. “If she’s fine, then that’s good.”
There was a brief pause before he added,
“I’m not coming over anymore. If you need anything, call Brent. He’ll handle it.”
Isabel’s eyes widened.
“What? You’re not coming over?” she blurted out quickly.
“Why not? You’re already on your way, aren’t you? Why don’t you just come over anyway? You can see Mom, and maybe we can have dinner together.”
“No,” Magnus replied flatly. “I have important things to take care of.”
His voice remained distant and controlled.
“I’m hanging up now. Take care of yourself and your parents. If you need anything, call Brent. He’ll handle it.”