Ex-Mate Wants Me Back (Seraphina and Mortimer) novel Chapter 275

Chapter 275

Third Person’s POV

Seraphina reached out and gently took his trembling hand. “I know you want to avoid Mortimer and Edwin. It’s okay that you didn’t come by. I don’t blame you.”

Caldwell stared down at her fingers wrapped around his. The truth was right there on the tip of his tongue, but he choked it back at the last second.

Instead, he looked back up at her with a self-deprecating smile. “I guess I’m the fragile one here, needing you to comfort me.”

Seraphina felt a rush of relief as he finally seemed to calm down.

She really couldn’t understand why he was so worked up over missing a few visits to the Healing Center. He was acting as if he had caused the crash himself.

Mortimer stood silently outside the hospital room.

With a wolf’s sharp senses, he easily picked up on the heavy sadness lingering inside.

Through the glass, he watched Seraphina reach out and take Caldwell’s hand. Even with her own injuries, she was trying so hard to cheer Caldwell up. The sight filled Mortimer with a quiet sorrow.

He forced a bitter smile and turned away. In his mind, his black wolf, Barton, let out a lonely whimper.

Caldwell didn’t stay long, sitting with her for just a short while before heading out.

Over the next few weeks, Seraphina healed enough to get out of bed and walk around.

Fortunately, Garfield had been transferred out of the ICU a few days earlier and was now recovering in a regular room. The news brought Seraphina a profound sense of relief.

It was then she remembered the mandatory waiting period required to break her mating bond with Mortimer. Her extended hospital stay meant they were already two weeks past the deadline.

Luckily, the application hadn’t expired yet.

Later that day, she called Mortimer.

He got there quickly. “Sera, you wanted to see me?”

It had been a long time since she’d reached out to him. Her rare invitation had left him genuinely surprised and` pleased.

Stepping into her room, he found her sitting on the couch, having swapped her hospital gown for everyday clothes.

“We’re two weeks past the waiting period to break our mating bond,” she told him. “I have some free time today, so we should go sign the papers. If we wait a full month, we’ll have to start the application all over again.”

Mortimer froze.

He hadn’t expected her to call him just to finalize the end of their bond.

He’d rushed over full of excitement, and his wolf, Barton, had desperately hoped they might reconcile. Now, Seraphina’s words crushed that hope completely. In the back of his mind, the black wolf whimpered mournfully.

“You asked me to come all the way here just to sign separation papers?”

Even as the car pulled through the gates of the Healing Center, Mortimer couldn’t find a single reason to break the silence.

Seraphina unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car. Before Mortimer could reach for his, she stopped him. “I’ve taken up way too much of your time lately. I can take it from here, so I won’t hold you up.”

Mortimer’s jaw tightened.

Just like that, his last excuse to stay by her side and protect her was gone.

He looked down, offering a stiff nod. “Right.”

“I’ll head back, then.”

To spare her any more awkwardness, he snapped his seatbelt back into place.

“Go on inside. It’s too cold to be standing out here.”

“I will. Bye.”

Seraphina gave a small wave, turned, and headed toward the main hospital building.

Walking back to her room, she stared down at the certificate in her hand. The silver foil lettering caught the light, “Mating Bond Dissolved.”

She felt a little dazed. It was hard to pin down exactly what she was feeling-relief and a sudden sense of freedom, all tangled up with a lingering emptiness.