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.”
Before Isabel could say anything else, the call ended.
Magnus leaned back against the seat and glanced at the driver through the rearview mirror for a brief second. His expression was calm, but his eyes looked tired.
“Drive to the meeting.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver replied, adjusting the route on the navigation system before steering the car toward the new location.
By the time Magnus finished all his meetings, evening had already fallen. The city lights glowed against the dark sky as his car finally pulled up in front of his office building.
Magnus stepped out of the car, loosening his tie slightly as he walked toward the entrance. As he climbed the steps, he pulled out his phone and dialed Camila’s number.
“What?!” Camila’s sharp, irritated voice snapped through the phone the moment she answered.
Magnus paused mid-step, slightly frowning as he pulled the phone closer to his ear.
“You called in the afternoon,” he said calmly. “What’s going on? Was it something important?”
“Important?!” Camila scoffed loudly.
“What does it have to do with you anyway? All you do is hang up on me instead of listening to what I have to say and then disappear. You are such a disappointment!”
Magnus pressed his lips together, his free hand sliding into his pocket as he stood near the entrance.
“You don’t even think about me. Every time I call you, you disappear. On one hand I’m worried sick about you, trying to fix your life, and on the other you keep running away from me as if I’m some terrible burden. You couldn’t even spare ten minutes to listen to your own mother?!”
“Mom, it was something important,” Magnus said, rubbing his forehead tiredly as he tried to explain. “I was about to call you back. I just had—”
“Work, work, work, work, work!” Camila cut him off sharply. “That’s all you ever care about! Why did I even give birth to you? I might as well have brought home a machine instead of a son!”
Her voice dripped with frustration.
