Author’s POV
"Bro... Brother Alistair, and Brother Asher!?" Sera’s eyes nearly popped out of her head upon seeing the two handso n standing outside the car and peering inside, where Lucien was leaning dangerously close to her.
Asher knocked on the car and signaled for Sera to get out. Reluctantly, she stepped out, looking like soone caught red-handed.
Her only intention was to talk with Lucien and then quietly go ho, hoping that when the dorm office called her guardian, she wouldn’t have to lie.
But now that she was caught, she was at a loss for words. Seraphina glanced at Lucien, with sothing flickering in her eyes, and then stepped out of the car.
"I..." Seraphina started, but the words barely left her mouth before the car door opened.
Lucien stepped out with an unreadable expression.
"I think you should continue this conversation at ho," he said in his usual cold and firm tone.
Lucien wasn’t like that a mont ago when he was talking to Sera in the car.
"Oh really?" Asher’s jaw clenched, eyes narrowed. "Then maybe you can explain why you’re with my sister this late at night?"
Lucien offered a slow, deliberate smile with no warmth in his eyes.
"It’s simple." He pronounced and gazed at Sera. "I suppose her brothers are so useless she couldn’t trust them... so she ca to . There was sothing she needed, and I gave it."
Seraphina’s eyes turned to him as she glared at him sharply.
He was doing it on purpose and provoking them by saying things he knew would hurt. And the worst part was... he wasn’t completely wrong.
Her brothers had made mistakes. They hadn’t always been there when she needed them. But no matter what, she still loved them, and it was her choice; Lucien was no one to judge her.
Still, she stayed quiet.
Because deep down, she knew, trusting Asher too soon would only end up hurting her, and she trusted Alistair without question.
But Asher? She wasn’t there yet.
"What exactly did she need from you, Mr. De Rossi?" Alistair asked through gritted teeth, extending a hand toward him. "It’s been a long ti... mind telling how you even know my sister?"
Lucien turned to Asher, a faint smirk playing at his lips. "You didn’t tell him?"
He shifted his eyes back to Alistair and took the handshake firmly and coldly, full of buried resentnt.
"I was the one who saved her," Lucien said flatly. "When she was getting dragged to that ntal hospital... I’m the one who pulled her out."
He let out a quiet sigh. He was ntally exhausted after having a conversation with Sera.
She was getting mysterious day by day. The more he wanted to know about her, the deeper her secret beca, and he ended up getting nothing from her.
"And your brother here?" His voice dipped in a sharp and accusing tone. "He didn’t just not believe her...he hauled her to the police station while she was exhausted, injured... and her soul was heavily wounded and even scolded her for hitting the man who was trying to molest..."
Lucien was still speaking when Seraphina interjected, her voice slicing through the tension like a calm lody
"How do you know my brother?" she asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Ah..." Alistair, who had just been shooting cold glares in Lucien’s direction, suddenly softened. His entire deanor shifted as he took her hand gently in his own.
"You see, my baby... this man here is the second-largest shareholder in my entertainnt company. So, you could say... we’re acquaintances. Business partners, in a way."
"Oh..." Seraphina blinked, her eyes widening just a little.
It made sense. She rembered soone like that, who helped Alistair after he walked away from the family, who supported him when no one else did.
But then again...
Why don’t I rember seeing him?Or... did I? And I’ve just forgotten, like all the other pieces I’ve lost?
Her thoughts swirled, and questions slowly piled up in her head, but this was not the ti to think about those things.
She needed to send Lucien back before he stirred up more trouble.
Alistair’s warmth vanished. He returned to that cold, calculating version of himself as he turned to Lucien.
"I’m truly grateful you saved my sister from Asher and from the others who tried to hurt her," he said, voice sharp but controlled.
He wasn’t the best actor in the na after all...
"Even I don’t trust people easily when it cos to her. So... please, stay away from my sister. Don’t get close to her."
He shot a pointed glance at Asher.
"I won’t let anyone hurt my family. And by family... I an Sera, only." His voice dropped as he clenched his teeth.
Asher stood frozen and was speechless.
He thought things had settled between them, and Alistair would side with him.
But it was clear now, his brother hadn’t forgiven him.
And if Alistair hadn’t... Would Sera ever forgive him, either?
They were still mid-conversation when Seraphina’s eyes locked onto a familiar figure rolling out from the porch, slowly making her way toward them.
It was lissa.
Her stomach twisted at the sight.
What is she doing here? The question rang in her head like an alarm. Without thinking, she turned sharply to Lucien.
"Mr. Lucien... please leave," she said, her voice cold but filled with urgency. Her fists clenched tightly at her sides, nails cutting into her palms until it stung.
She couldn’t let lissa see him.
lissa had a cruel habit—she always found a way to ruin the things Seraphina held dear, claiming everything Sera ever loved.
If she found out about Lucien, it wouldn’t end well for her.
Lucien’s brows pulled together in confusion. Just monts ago, she’d been soft with him. Now her tone had suddenly turned cold?
But then... his eyes dropped to her hand. It was shaking, and he followed her gaze toward the woman approaching them.
His expression darkened. He understood now.
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