Adrian’s POV
I didn’t even understand what just happened. Everything was fine when Asher arrived, but the next second, Asher’s voice shot through the room like he was about to lose his composure.
Even I flinched at that while Sera almost jumped out of her own skin.
She pushed herself up on her feet, but her legs were trembling so much that it looked like she could barely stand.
"What is she doing here?" Asher repeated even more sharply. "Shouldn’t she be at the party?"
He sucked in a breath and tried to pull himself together, rubbing his hand over his face. "Grandma is looking for you."
Sera’s mouth opened, but only a weak sound ca out.
"I... I don’t—" She couldn’t finish and form a proper sentence in front of Asher. She looked terrified.
"Leave her alone," I cut in. I sounded cold, though I didn’t intend to. "You shouldn’t talk to your sister like that."
Asher let out a hollow laugh, which was filled with rage and anger.
"Sister?" he repeated, like the word disgusted him. His eyes slid to Sera, cold enough to make her shrink back. "She’s nothing but an outsider we were told to accept."
He took a step toward her.
Sera flinched again and lowered her head as if she wanted to hide.
"She acts all weak and pitiful every ti soone looks at her," Asher muttered, his jaw tight. "But behind our backs? She acts heinously."
His words hit her like a slap. She didn’t even try to defend herself; she just stared at the floor, still shaking.
I couldn’t control any longer. "Asher." I stepped in front of him, my voice low. "Enough."
But he wasn’t looking at . He was still staring at Sera as if he wanted to drag her out of the room that very instant. And she stood there like she deserved it.
"How could you act this way?" I bit out, my teeth clenched so hard my jaw hurt. "Is this how you’ve been treating her all this ti?"
Asher’s eyes widened for a second, like he wasn’t expecting to snap. Then his face tightened again.
"What do you an?" he shot back, trying—failing—to keep his voice steady. His hands balled into fists at his sides. "She bullied lissa every chance she got. She disappeared on her 18th birthday when we planned everything just for her... and she didn’t even talk to us after that."
Sera flinched behind , her breath catching.
He didn’t notice. Or he didn’t care.
"Whenever I tried to talk to her," Asher continued, his voice rising with frustration, "she just lowered her head and stayed silent like I was so stranger. She never tried to talk to once."
I stared at him.
For a mont, I was honestly speechless.
He said all of that like it justified the way he looked at her... Had he not noticed the way he talked and the look on his face?
I let out a breath slowly, but still couldn’t control myself.
"With that attitude?" I said quietly, but every word weighed heavily. "You really think she’d even look at you?"
Asher’s jaw twitched.
Sera instinctively moved closer to the wall. Her hands were shaking so badly that she had them pressed against her sides to hide it.
Asher looked at her again, and for the first ti, uncertainty flickered in his eyes like he wasn’t sure anymore which part of his version was the truth and which part was just anger he’d been carrying for years.
But he didn’t say anything.
And the silence between us felt heavy... like all the things he never saw in her were finally starting to catch up.
"Bro... Brother..." A trembling voice interrupted us, causing all of us to turn.
lissa appeared in the doorway, holding a tray of food as if she had rehearsed this mont in her mind. Her eyes appeared wide and delicate, her hands trembling just enough to seem convincing.
For so reason, I could tell for the first ti how fake lissa was. Why did I not notice it earlier?
"Do... Do you think I lied?" she whispered.
I kept my face expressionless. "About what?" I asked flatly. "Go on. Explain."
lissa sniffed, then pointed directly at Seraphina. "I always believed Sera was the true daughter of the family," she said, her voice cracking dramatically. "And she... she tried to take everything, even my money and I never complained."
Sera looked up slightly, wide-eyed in shock, but said nothing. Of course, she didn’t.
lissa continued, voice trembling as if she were the one who’d been bullied all this ti. "She even ran away from the house. It was ... ... who brought her back for Grandma’s birthday. If I hadn’t gone after her, Sera would never have co back."
Her tears started rolling out of her eyes.
I stared at her, wondering what was wrong with this girl. Her lies were so obvious that it was almost embarrassing to listen. I didn’t need any special skill to see through it.
But still, in search of peace, I’d beco religious, and now I could judge people more accurately than before.
And lissa? Her lies weren’t subtle... She was openly cooking up a story with her sloppy lies and begging for attention.
But what I couldn’t believe was when Asher suddenly moved past . He approached lissa and gently wiped her tears, his face softening as if he wasn’t the one who just looked at Sera with disgust a mont ago.
"Liss..." Asher whispered, his voice suddenly warm. I never knew he could ever sound like that. "Don’t cry. Brother is here for you."
lissa leaned into his arms as her shoulders shook with fake sobs. "Let’s not talk about her, okay?" Asher murmured.
Her. Can’t he take her na properly? What’s wrong with the people in my family?
They were treating Sera ss if she weren’t part of this family at all.
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