With the cellphone clutched in my hands against my chest, I looked into the eyes of the man who had declared his rejection of me. At that moment, I still wasn't entirely aware of what that meant, and although I could get an idea of what it implied after what Sonnia had explained to me, it was something I didn't fully feel the magnitude of. So, despite the sadness I still couldn't completely overcome, I could confront him with dignity.
"Ivania," he said, almost in a sigh, in which I seemed to glimpse some contained joy at seeing me again. "I didn't expect to find you here."
His surprise seemed genuine, and while I had already seen him in the lobby, I was also impacted by seeing him there, in the private dining room where we awaited the arrival of my uncle, King Lycan Mordecai. Could he, A
