Ex-Mate Wants Me Back (Seraphina and Mortimer) novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Seraphina’s POV

Mortimer’s face went dark instantly. That predatory, cold energy of his started crawling through the air, heavy and thick.

I didn’t need a map to know he was pissed.

I took a beat, then tried to give him an out. “Look, if this is just about Rolf, we can talk at home. There’s no point in keeping a reservation. I can have my colleagues in the ICU send over the latest charts, and I’ll—”

“I’m hungry. We’ll talk while we eat,” he barked, cutting me off. Every word sounded like it had been dragged through broken glass.

Since he was digging his heels in, I didn’t waste any more breath.

Honestly, trying to figure out if he was actually ‘hurt’ or just throwing an Alpha tantrum felt like too much work.

I reached over and flicked my phone to silent, then went back to replying to Caldwell.

The guy had this tic where he’d break a single thought into five different texts, sending them in rapid-fire bursts.

Even with the ringer off, the steady, rhythmic buzz-buzz of the vibrator was loud as a heartbeat in the quiet of the sports car.

I saw Mortimer’s knuckles turn white on the steering wheel. The veins on the back of his hands were popping.

The air in the car started to smell like sharp, aggressive pine-the scent he leaked whenever he was struggling to keep his temper on a leash.

A few days ago, I would’ve felt the urge to soothe him. Now? I just pulled my mental shields tighter, cutting off the last shred of

our bond’s resonance.

“Three years together, and I never knew you had a ‘friend’ with so much to say,” he snapped. The jealousy was dripping off him

like acid.

My thumb paused over the screen for a second. I didn’t look at him. “Everyone has a life outside their marriage, Mortimer. I don’t need to give you a background check on every person I know.”

The silence that followed was lethal.

Mortimer cut me a look through the rearview mirror that could’ve drawn blood.

Through the fraying cord of our bond, I could feel his stability fracturing.

But he didn’t say a word. He just slammed his foot onto the gas, the engine’s roar exploding through the mountain pass like a gunshot.

The restaurant was a classic French private kitchen-the kind of place where ‘romance’ is a mandatory part of the decor. The second we stepped inside, the vibe hit me like a wall.

Soft lights, expensive flowers, intimate corners. It was a textbook date spot.

If this had happened a year ago, I probably wouldn’t have slept for a week from the excitement.

But now? Watching the host in his crisp tuxedo bow and greet Mortimer in fluent French, I just felt like a ghost haunting someone else’s dinner. I was bored.

The waiter led us to a private booth–a plush, vintage space with cream-colored walls and warm, honey-toned lighting.

It was dripping with LA high-society luxury.

This wasn’t a business meeting about a patient; it was a high-gloss, expensive date.

1/2

Chapter.

+15 Bonus

I fell nothing but a dull, heavy fatigue. I picked up the Inenu, saw a wall of French text, and realized I couldn’t read a single word.

I set it down and looked across the table at him. “I don’t speak French. You order”

Mortimer looked up from his own menu.

The warm light caught his golden eyes, softening the usual Alpha edge and giving him this temporary, fake look of gentleness.

He arched a brow, his lips twitching into a stiff, practiced smile, before he rattled off an order to the waiter in perfect French.

The waiter took the menus and vanished with a polite bow.

It was almost funny. In three years of being ‘mated,’ this was our first formal dinner together.

Back when I still had a pulse for this mating, I used to beg him for even ten minutes of his time.

I remembered one night we’d gone to a burger joint. The food hadn’t even hit the table before Vivian called, and he was out the door before I could blink.

I still remembered sitting there on a cheap plastic chair, surrounded by happy families, staring at two trays of cold fries.

I felt like the most disposable person on the planet.

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