Adeline’s POV
The phone buzzed just as I was sorting through patient files. When I saw his name flash across the screen, my fingers hesitated.
Vincent.
We hadn’t spoken since that night outside the university parking lot. I told myself it was for the best, that space was safer for everyone but even then, part of me kept waiting for the silence to break.
I pressed the answer key. “Hello?”
His voice came low, careful. “Doctor Lean.”
I froze. He called my professional name but it was in the most casual way possible.
“I wanted to apologize,” he said after a short pause. “For my mother’s behavior. She… overstepped. Myra’s been upset about it.”
I leaned back in the chair, heart thudding. “There’s nothing to apologize for, Your Majesty. I understand.”
He ignored the title, tone gentler n
