Chapter 16. When the Past Doesn't Stay Past
She blocked the number, got up & left the room , to drink a glass of water to calm herself . The phone slipped slightly from her hand, when she reached the living room.
Her mother looked up briefly. "Everything alright?"
Seraphina nodded automatically.
"Yes."
But inside, something was unraveling.
It wasn't jealousy.
It wasn't even suspicion of betrayal.
It was something worse.
Uncertainty.
Was Dominic changing because he loved her?
Or because he hated losing control?
And if Natalia had truly meant nothing...
Why hadn't he mentioned seeing her, when he had called in the morning?
The question sat heavy in her chest.
Small.
Sharp.
Persistent.
And doubt, once invited, does not knock politely.
It settles in
—————-
Yesterday night
The Imperial Crest lobby carried its usual restrained authority — executives in tailored suits, low conversations layered over polished marble floors, efficiency disguised as elegance.
Dominic stepped out of a private conference room beside John, his new assistant. The meeting had gone precisely as expected.
"Send the revised draft by evening," Dominic said as they walked toward the elevators.
"Yes sir" John replied .
He moved toward reception to coordinate the follow-ups.
Dominic paused near the entrance to return a call.
"Dominic."
He recognized the voice immediately.
He ended the call before turning.
Natlia stood a few feet away — composed, deliberate, dressed as if she still belonged at his side professionally.
His expression hardened.
"What are you doing here ?"
"I'm not here to cause a scene," she replied smoothly. "I just want to talk about my job."
"Let me make it very clear to you. There is no job for you in my company ." Be thankful that, I haven't initiated a case against you."
She inhaled slowly, trying not to show that she was scared . "I was valuable to you once. Please give me another chance. This time I will be strictly professional."
"I don't believe in giving second chances to manipulative people."he said, calm and final.
"You're letting personal matters interfere with business."
"The moment you crossed boundaries," he replied evenly. "Your job ended."
A crack appeared in her composure. "I misjudged things. That shouldn't cost me my career."
"You won't work under me ever again," he said clearly. "And you won't work on any of my projects in this city."
The finality in his tone stripped away her last confidence.
Natlia straightened slightly, recalibrating.
Then, almost casually: said,
"I assume you'll tell Seraphina I came to see you."
Dominic didn't hesitate.
"There's nothing to discuss."
Her gaze sharpened.
"Transparency matters."
His voice remained calm.
"It is none of your business. This was a professional interruption. It ended as one."
"And if you contact her again — directly or indirectly — I won't handle it privately. I'll make sure you don't work in this city at all."
The warning wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
Natlia felt the weight of it.
"You're overreacting."
"I'm setting boundaries."
Final.
He stepped past her without another word.
He didn't look back.
And standing alone in the polished lobby, Natlia understood something clearly:
If he believed there was nothing to discuss...
She would create something worth discussing
————-
Seraphina stood by the window of her bedroom that evening, phone still in her hand. Natlia's last message lingered on the screen.
He said there's nothing to discuss.
That line replayed in her head.
Nothing to discuss.
So it meant nothing?
Or it meant he had already decided what counted — and what didn't?
Her chest tightened.
Dominic called.
She watched it ring once.
Twice.
On the third ring, she answered.
"Hi," he said. His voice was steady. Warm. "How's Isla?"
"She's fine."
A pause.
"Did she eat properly?"
"Yes."
Another pause.
He sensed it immediately.
"You sound distant."
"I'm just tired."
Silence.
"...is something wrong?"
There it was.
The opening.
She could ask him.
She could say:
Did you meet her?
But pride held her back.
If he wanted her to know, he would've told her.
"No," she said calmly. "Nothing's wrong."
He exhaled softly. "I'll come by tomorrow."
"That's not necessary."
The words slipped out before she could soften them.
"Not necessary?" he repeated quietly.
"My parents' are back . Everything's handled."
That stung more than she intended.
Handled.
Controlled.
Like he wasn't required.
"I wasn't coming because things aren't handled," he said. "I was coming to see both of you ."
She closed her eyes briefly.
Don't soften.
Not yet.
"We're fine," she replied.
Fine.
The most dangerous word in a relationship.
Another silence stretched.
"Did I do something wrong ?"he said finally.
"You didn't."
But she no longer sounded warm.
She sounded careful.
Measured.
Professional.
And Dominic heard it.
The shift.
Not anger.
Distance.
He lowered his voice. "If something's bothering you, tell me."
Her grip tightened on the phone.
Tell me.
But he hadn't told her.
"I need to go, its Isla's bedtime"Good night. "she said & ended the call.
The room felt colder afterwards .
Not because she was certain he had done something wrong.
But because doubt had created space.
And space, in their history, had always been where damage began.
Downstairs, Isla laughed again.
Life was normal.
Safe.
Stable.
But inside her chest, the wall had gone back up.
And Dominic...
Didn't even know why.
——————-
2 days later
Claire & Seraphina were seated in the corner most seat of a quiet cafe .
Claire waited until Seraphina declined Dominic's call for the second time before speaking.
"You don't usually let it ring out, before picking up,past few days ,"she said quietly.
Seraphina kept her eyes on the street ahead. "I'll call him later."
"That's not what I meant."
Claire turned slightly in her seat.
"What exactly did she message you ?"
Seraphina unlocked her phone and handed it over.
Claire read the messages slowly.
Her expression didn't change.
When she finished, she handed the phone back.
"She's baiting you."
"She knew about the hotel."
"That's not classified information," Claire replied. "He has meetings there all the time."
Seraphina's jaw tightened. "He didn't tell me he met her."
Claire leaned back.
"Okay. Two possibilities."
Seraphina waited.
"Either he hid something... or he didn't think it was important."
"And which is worse?" Seraphina asked quietly.
Claire's voice softened.
"You don't doubt him because of her. You doubt him because of what happened earlier ."
That landed.
Because it was true.
The loneliness.
The emotional absence.
The feeling of being secondary in her own marriage.
Claire continued, "If you punish him for something you haven't even asked about, you're recreating the same silence that broke you the first time."
Seraphina swallowed.
"I don't want to look insecure."
"Then don't," Claire said calmly. "Look honest."
A pause.
"If you trust him — talk to him."
"Don't let another woman narrate your relationship ."
That one hit hardest
————-
Dominic noticed patterns.
Seraphina started answering his calls on the second or third ring.
Not immediately.
She used to send longer voice notes.
Now she texted.
Short replies
He sat in his study that night, phone in hand, replaying their last call in his head.
"We're fine."
Fine.
She never said fine.
He called Adrian.
"You look like you lost a contract," Adrian said over speaker.
"I didn't."
"Then what?"
Dominic hesitated.
"Sera's distant."
Adrian snorted lightly. "That's a headline. Be specific."
"She's measured. Guarded. Like she's decided something without telling me."
A pause.
"When did it start?" Adrian asked.
Dominic thought.
"I think, the day after the Imperial Crest meeting."
There was silence on the other end.
"And who approached you that day?" Adrian asked.
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"Natlia."
Another pause.
"Did you tell Seraphina about it?"
"It wasn't significant," Dominic replied.
"That's not what I asked."
Dominic leaned back slowly.
"No."
Adrian exhaled.
"If she finds out you met your former assistant — who crossed boundaries — from someone else, don't you think that would create a doubt in her mind?. Especially after whatever has happened between you two."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"She wouldn't believe Natlia over me."
"Maybe not," Adrian said calmly. "But doubt doesn't need belief. It needs silence."
The realization hit slowly.
If Natlia had contacted Seraphina...
And Seraphina hadn't asked him about it...
That meant she was sitting with it alone.
Which meant she was spiraling privately.
His voice lowered. "If Natlia has interfered—"
"Then fix it properly," Adrian cut in. "Not defensively. Transparently."
Dominic ended the call and stared at his phone.
Not angry.
Not yet.
But certain of one thing.
This wasn't random distance.
Someone had placed it there.
And if Natlia thought she could destabilize his marriage quietly—
She had underestimated how far he was willing to go to protect it.
He picked up his phone.
This time, he wasn't calling to check in.
He was calling to confront the silence
Her phone lit up.
His name filled the screen.
Seraphina stared at it...
and let it ring.
————-
Should she answer — or make him come to her?