I couldn’t count how many times Aldric had canceled our plans—postponing outings, skipping dinners with his family, all because Seraphine had called for him. She was always in need of *something*, always requiring his attention.
I thought back to the night she called him, sobbing over a horror movie. *A horror movie,* of all things! My lupine hearing picked up her pitiful voice over the phone, begging Aldric to comfort her. She wasn’t even alone. Her staff was there around the clock.
But that hadn’t stopped him. He had changed out of his pajamas without hesitation, telling me, “Seraphine needs me, Selene. I have to go.”
I tried to argue with him that night, but he only sighed, his patience running thin. “I’ve told you before, there’s nothing between us,” he said. “You’re being unreasonable.”
I had pushed further, trying to make him see how much it hurt me, but his response had been cold. "If your mind is already made up," he had said, "then what’s the point of convincing you otherwise?"
He had left, every time. Taking his own car, dismissing the chauffeur, and driving straight to Seraphine.