Seraphina’s POV
I drove ho on autopilot.
My hands gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles went white. But I barely felt it. Barely felt anything except that image burned into my brain.
Damien. Emma. Together.
*No. Stop. Don’t think about it.*
But I couldn’t stop. The image played on repeat. His arm around her. Her hand on his chest. Both of them peaceful. Comfortable.
Like they belonged together.
My phone buzzed. I ignored it.
It buzzed again. And again.
I finally glanced down at a red light. Text from Jessica asking about tomorrow’s training schedule.
The light turned green. I drove.
Gabriel’s words echoed in my head. *When you and Damien finally call it quits... you could co find .*
I wanted to laugh. Or scream. Or both.
The audacity. The absolute fucking audacity of that man to think I’d ever—
My phone rang. Unknown number.
I let it go to voicemail.
It rang again imdiately. Sa number.
I answered without thinking. "What?"
"Mrs. Nightshadow?" An unfamiliar voice. Female. Professional. "This is teacher from Elentary. We’re calling about Adrian and Lily."
My heart stopped. "What’s wrong? Are they okay?"
"They’re fine! I’m sorry, I didn’t an to worry you. I’m just calling to confirm pickup arrangents. We tried calling Mr. Nightshadow but couldn’t reach him."
Right. School pickup. Because life kept going even when everything was falling apart.
"I’ll send the nanny," I heard myself say. "She’ll be there in twenty minutes."
"Perfect. Thank you."
The call ended.
I sat there at another red light. Staring at nothing.
The nanny. Of course. I couldn’t face the kids right now. Couldn’t pretend everything was fine when nothing was fine.
I called our nanny. She answered on the second ring.
"Mrs. Nightshadow! Is everything okay?"
"Can you pick up the kids from school today?" My voice sounded strange. Too calm. "Sothing ca up."
"Of course! No problem at all. Should I bring them ho or—"
"Ho is fine. Just... can you stay with them for a few hours? I need to handle sothing."
"Absolutely. Don’t worry about a thing."
I hung up.
The light turned green again.
I kept driving.
---
The house was dark when I got there.
I didn’t bother turning on lights. Just walked through the entryway like a ghost. Through the kitchen. Into the living room.
And sat down on the couch.
The silence was deafening.
I pulled out my phone. Stared at the screen.
No ssages from Damien. No calls. Nothing since that text yesterday about being late.
*Sothing ca up.*
Yeah. Sothing ca up alright.
I scrolled through our ssage history. All those texts over the years. Normal couple stuff. Mundane and precious and gone.
My finger hovered over his contact.
I could call him. Demand an explanation. Ask what the fuck that picture was.
But what if he answered? What if he confird it?
What if everything Gabriel said was true?
My hand dropped. Phone falling onto the couch beside .
I sat there in the darkness. Ti passing without aning. Minutes or hours, I couldn’t tell.
The front door opened.
I didn’t move. Didn’t turn around.
Footsteps in the entryway. Hesitant. Slow.
"Sera?"
He walked into the living room. I felt him stop. Felt his eyes on .
"Thank God." Relief flooded his voice. "I tried calling but you didn’t—"
I turned my head slowly.
Looked at him.
Really looked at him.
His clothes were wrinkled. Hair ssy. Dark circles under his eyes like he hadn’t slept.
He stopped talking. Just stood there. Frozen.
The silence stretched between us like a living thing.
He cleared his throat. "Why aren’t the lights on?"
Such a stupid question. Such a normal, mundane, pointless question.
I didn’t answer.
He moved toward the lamp. His hand reaching for the switch.
He turned back to face . His expression doing sothing complicated. Guilt and fear and sothing else I couldn’t na.
"Where were you last night?"
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