Seraphina’s POV
The dungeon’s stone floor had pressed into my bones for what felt like eternity. My voice was nothing more than a whisper now, hoarse from the tears and screams that had torn through during the endless night. But the silence had given sothing precious. Clarity.
Six years. Six years since I had seen Julian, my mate, the man who owned every piece of my shattered heart. Our reunion had been nothing like the dreams that haunted my sleepless nights. I should have known better. I should have expected his cruelty, his stubborn refusal to hear the truth.
The accusation still burned in my chest like poison. Cheating. He believed I had betrayed him, betrayed our bond. The woman who had never looked at another man, who had loved him with every breath in her body. The injustice of it made my blood boil even as weakness consud .
Ironridge. The chains nearby drained my strength with every passing mont, leaving hollow and trembling. My wolf whimpered deep inside, barely able to surface through the toxic haze. The tallic taste of fear coated my tongue, mixing with the salt of unshed tears.
Footsteps echoed through the corridor, sharp and deliberate. Keys jangled against tal, and a thin beam of light cut through my prison. Morning, perhaps. Or maybe ti had lost all aning in this place.
The door groaned open, revealing a silhouette against the pale light. My heart, already broken, cracked a little more. Roxanne stepped into view, her usually gentle features twisted with cold hatred.
"Look what the cat dragged in," she said, venom dripping from every word. Her eyes were hard as winter ice, nothing like the soft woman who had once been my friend. "Why did you co back, Seraphina? Why can’t you just leave us alone?"
The silver’s weakness pulled at my limbs, but sothing fierce stirred in my chest. Her words, her tone, it was like being thrown back six years to all the whispers and accusations that had driven away. My body scread in protest, but I forced myself up, inch by agonizing inch.
"Get out," I managed, my voice raw but filled with defiance I didn’t know I still possessed. "I have nothing to say to you."
Roxanne’s laugh was sharp, mocking. "Nothing to say? After everything you’ve done? Julian and I have built sothing beautiful together. We have a life, a real life, and here you are trying to destroy it again."
Sothing bitter and hollow rose in my throat. "Beautiful?" The word tasted like ash. "You don’t know the aning of the word, Roxanne." My strength was returning with my anger, fueled by years of suppressed rage. "I used to feel sorry for you. Your whole world fell apart, and I pitied you. I let you get away with so much because I thought you were hurting."
Roxanne took a step back, her confidence wavering.
"But you never felt sorry for , did you?" I continued, my voice growing stronger with each word. "You took everything from . You slept with my mate, Roxanne. My mate. And now you want to talk to about destroying families?"
Her face went pale, shock replacing the arrogance in her eyes. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again like a fish gasping for air.
I leaned forward, despite the pain radiating through my body. "And if you really built sothing so beautiful," I said, my tone dripping with false sweetness, "where’s your mark? Where’s your wedding ring? I don’t see either, so tell again about this family you’ve built."
The words hit their target. Roxanne’s face flushed red, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "We have a daughter together!" she snapped, the words exploding from her lips like bullets.
The world tilted. My vision blurred, and for a mont I couldn’t breathe. A daughter. Julian had a daughter with Roxanne. The little girl I had spoken to, the sweet child with his eyes. My chest felt like it was caving in, my heart shattering into pieces so small they might never be found.
But I couldn’t let her see. I wouldn’t give her that satisfaction.
I forced my lips into a cruel smile, though it felt like swallowing glass. "A daughter. How wonderful for you both. Truly, I’m so very happy for your little family."
Roxanne’s frustration was palpable, radiating off her in waves. "Just leave, Seraphina! Disappear like you did before!"
I gestured around the damp stone cell, the movent sending fresh waves of pain through my weakened body. "That might be a problem," I said, sarcasm heavy in my voice. "Since your precious Julian locked in this charming little room. If you want gone so badly, you’ll have to convince him to let go."
Her jaw worked silently, rage and sothing else, maybe fear, warring in her expression. Without another word, she spun on her heel and stord out, slamming the door so hard the sound echoed through the dungeon like thunder.
Darkness swallowed again, along with the terrible silence. My fake smile crumbled, and my legs gave out. I hit the floor hard, the impact jarring through my bones. Tears ca then, hot and unstoppable, streaming down my cheeks.
A daughter. Julian had moved on completely. He had built a new life, a new family, while I had been struggling just to survive. The unfairness of it all crashed over like a tidal wave. He was the one who had betrayed our bond, yet I was the one suffering in this cell. He was the one who had chosen Roxanne, yet sohow I was the villain in his story.
And now I had to tell him about our son. The secret I had carried for years, the child he didn’t even know existed. How could I possibly make him believe when he refused to believe anything else? How could I trust him with the most precious thing in my life when he looked at with such hatred?
The answer was simple and terrifying.
I couldn’t.
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