Seraphina had declared it without stuttering and blinking!
If they truly wanted her in their lives, then they couldn’t keep pretending lissa was their lovely sister, they doted on the most.
She knew it was sudden and abrupt. It might even make her look cruel.
But none of it mattered anymore.
She wouldn’t please anyone anymore. She had decided to change her fate and not suffer.
She had spent too many years paying for mistakes she didn’t make and trying to win the love of people who had only used her pain to elevate their own peace.
This ti, she wasn’t going to watch her life rot quietly in soone else’s hands.
The past was over. It had already buried her once. She wasn’t going to let it do it again.
It was ti to take a step forward and stand tall! And she ant it!
"Sera!" lissa’s voice trembled. She wasn’t feeling hurt by her words; instead, it was fury that was crawling beneath the surface.
Still, she wore that innocent mask like a second face, trying her best not to let it slip.
"Are you seriously asking them to choose between you and ?" she asked, breathlessly.
There was disbelief in her tone. But underneath, sothing much uglier twisted inside her.
Her fingers twitched by her side as she tried not to grit her teeth in front of them.
If it had been before, she would’ve laughed this off and would’ve called Seraphina pathetic and brushed past her without another thought.
But now? There was a panic in her heart.
Because deep down, she knew... that things are now the sa anymore. And if asked, the Lancaster brothers would choose Sera with a thought.
And if they did... everything she had built would co crashing down.
"Sera, let’s talk later... Should we—" Asher stepped in. He didn’t want to escalate the matter right now.
If their mother found out that Seraphina had made such a demand... openly... She would go crazy if her little princess misbehaved.
Mrs. Lancaster didn’t tolerate disobedience. And lissa, being a snitch she would run to her with this.
Sera’s life was already hard under the roof of Lancaster mansion, and Asher knew exactly what their mother would do if lissa played the perfect daughter again.
But before he could finish his sentence, Alistair’s voice cut in.
"There is no need to ask, darling," Alistair said. His tone was calm... but laced with certainty.
He stepped in front of Seraphina, placing himself between her and the rest of the two, shielding her from their harsh words and eyes.
He didn’t even spare lissa a glance. His eyes locked directly onto Asher’s, and the coldness in them was undeniable.
"I ca back only for her."
His words struck the ground like thunder for lissa, but for Sera, it was the warst words she had heard.
"I had long abandoned this family," he continued, his voice now turning sharper. "The na, the legacy, the house... all of it ant nothing. If it weren’t for her..." he glanced at Seraphina, his gaze softened "...I wouldn’t have stepped foot here again."
He looked back at Asher firmly.
"So don’t try to save a rotten one! If you can’t protect my sister, if you can’t choose her, then don’t you dare appear in front of her ever again!" Alistair stated firmly and took Sera’s hand in his. "Let’s go, baby! It’s late."
"Hm," Sera nodded and walked away from there. She was a little disappointed in Asher, but having Alistair had filled that void.
That night, Sera had slept soundly. She got to talk with Lucien, and even Alistair took her side, while Asher still had a long way to go, but he hadn’t chosen lissa, and that was her win.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It had been a week since that night.
lissa had barely been eating and spent most of her ti locked inside her room. She refused to co out unless Mrs. Lancaster personally ca to beg her, and even then, she’d act as if she wasn’t in the mood.
anwhile, Seraphina had returned to the Lancaster mansion only because Alistair had insisted.
He wanted to spend ti with her, make up for the years he had not been there for her. Though she kept herself occupied with studies during the day, the nights were different.
They’d spend ti together, talk for hours, sotis watch a movie, and often fall asleep like that. They were just enjoying each other’s company.
For the first ti in a long while, Seraphina felt happy and peaceful.
But not everyone was happy. Two people were burning with jealousy.
lissa couldn’t digest the fact that Alistair had openly chosen Seraphina. And Asher... He couldn’t understand why Sera wouldn’t even look at him, let alone give him the chance to explain himself.
"Sera, what’s your relationship with Lucien?" Alistair asked, his voice low but firm.
He had been holding that question back since the night he saw her with Lucien, but now, with just the two of them under the quiet rooftop sky, he couldn’t wait any longer.
Seraphina didn’t answer right away.
She rubbed her sweaty palms together, her gaze fixed on the stars above, looking for the right words, but couldn’t find them.
"I..." she began, her voice barely a whisper. "I think I like him... a lot."
The silence fell between them.
Alistair blinked. "What?" He wasn’t ready for that.
His expression shifted in disbelief as his eyes widened in shock. "What do you even like about that emotionless bastard?"
She looked at him from the side, not trying to argue or convince him, but telling him what she had in her heart.
"He... he spared from my nightmares," she whispered. "When no one was there for , he was."
Alistair didn’t say anything right away. His throat tightened. He could see it now... The look in her eyes when she spoke about Lucien wasn’t only infatuation.
But there was sothing else in them.
Reviews
All reviews (0)