Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 210 210: She's upset

Electra's POV

I sat on my bed, staring at my phone for what felt like forever, my fingers hovering over Seraphina's contact. I had been avoiding this and avoiding her.

The last time she called, I had lied. I had pretended I didn't remember anything about our lives switching—pretended I didn't know about everything we went through together, including the fact that she had lost her father.

It wasn't that I wanted to ignore it.

It was that I had to.

Because if I acknowledged what happened, then I'd have to deal with her meddling and a lot of other things I didn't want to deal with. It sounded like a lame excuse, honestly, but for now, I told myself I was doing what was best for both of us by pretending.

But despite all of that, I still found myself staring at her name, feeling the nagging urge to check on her. Because, regardless of everything, Seraphina was someone I cared about.

More than I wanted to admit.

I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair before finally making my decision and pressing the call button.

The phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

For a second, I thought she wouldn't answer. Then—

"Hello?"

I blinked at the sound of her voice, immediately noting the surprise in her tone.

Of course, she was surprised. The poor girl probably thought I was never going to call.

I cleared my throat, masking my emotions with a nonchalant tone.

"Hey, little dove," I said simply. "I know it's a little sudden that I'm calling, but I figured I'd call to check in. See how you were doing."

There was a pause.

Then—

"You're calling to check on me?" she asked, skepticism lacing her voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't sound so shocked."

"Well, forgive me for being surprised," she said, a hint of amusement in her voice now. "It's just—last time I called, you acted like you had no idea who I was."

I gritted my teeth, forcing out a light chuckle. "Yeah, well," I said, dodging that statement entirely. "I just figured it would only be right to see how you were holding up, given the circumstances and your father being sick. Is he doing better?"

I made sure to be careful with my wording since I couldn't let her know that I already knew her father was dead.

That was something I had only learned after our lives switched, and since I was pretending that none of that ever happened… I had to make sure I didn't slip up.

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then, in a much quieter voice, she said, "I'm doing okay."

I frowned at Seraphina's response, instantly detecting the edge in her voice. I wasn't sure if I believed that she was really okay.

"Are you sure you're doing okay?" I asked, narrowing my eyes even though she couldn't see me. "Because you don't sound like someone who's okay."

She let out a sharp scoff. "I'm fine," she muttered. Then, in a slightly colder tone, she added, "And even though I'm sure you're not exactly worried about me, you can rest assured that I'm doing just fine."

I heard the bitterness beneath her words, and it hit me. She was angry; in fact, she sounded furious. More furious than I liked.

It was clear that she wasn't upset because of my concern, but because she probably now believed that she was really the only one who remembered our experience of switching lives, and it clearly didn't sit well with her.

I didn't even want to imagine how she would react when she came back to Elmeria, but there was no point dwelling on that now.

Pushing the thought aside, I sighed. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright," I said, keeping my voice as neutral as possible.

Then, after a slight pause, I added, "Is your father getting any better?"

I immediately heard her exhale on the other end, her breath slow and heavy, almost like she was mentally preparing herself to answer.

Then, in a voice completely void of emotion, she simply said—

"He's dead."

I forced myself to gasp in shock, trying to sound genuinely surprised. "Oh…" I muttered, gripping the phone tighter. "I—I'm sorry, Seraphina. My condolences."

I attempted to sound sympathetic, but even I could tell I was failing miserably.

Seraphina, however, didn't acknowledge my condolences, and she didn't even react to them at all.

Instead, she cut straight to the point. "Do you have any other questions?" she asked flatly. "Because if you don't, I'd like to end this call now."

I felt my lips press into a thin line. She was really mad at me, and she had every right to be, but this was exactly why I had to keep pretending. She was too emotional, and I couldn't have an emotional mess like her become a constant in my life. She'd hold me back.

I let out a slow, controlled sigh, gripping my phone a little tighter. "Sorry for calling," I muttered, trying to sound unbothered. "It seems I caught you at a bad time."

Seraphina didn't respond immediately, so I continued. "But don't take the situation too hard. Just… take care of yourself."

I wasn't sure what I expected her response to be. Maybe a simple okay, or maybe a halfhearted thanks.

What I didn't expect was for her to say, "You must think I'm an idiot."

And then—Click.

The call ended.

I blinked, staring at my phone; I felt an odd shock settle over me. What the hell did she mean by that?

I had to have misheard her. Right? But no—I replayed the words in my head, again and again, and each time, they were the same.

"You must think I'm an idiot."

And then she hung up.

My stomach twisted.

Did she know?

No, she couldn't. There was no way she could have guessed that I remembered everything. I had been careful. I had made sure not to say anything that could slip up.

So why—?

Ding.

It was a text, and surprisingly, it was from her.

I clicked it open immediately, my pulse hammering.

"You and I are going to talk when I'm back."

I froze.

A heavy feeling settled in my chest, a strange mix of nervousness and confusion. She was probably going to confront me about the situation to see if I was being honest or not, and suddenly, I wasn't sure if I was ready for it.

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