Chapter 6

Seraphina’s POV

I came to with the sound of shouting just beyond the door.

“—she’s my best friend, Kael!” That was Lila. Furious. “And the girl you practically watched growing up. Why the hell would you think she’d be the one to push Vivienne into the fountain?”

Kael’s voice shot back, “Because they were the only two out there! And Vivienne can’t swim! If I hadn’t come when I did—who knows what would’ve happened?”

“Okay, and what?” Lila’s voice rose. “You think Seraphina was trying to kill your Vivienne by pushing her into a fountain?”

There was a pause.

“If I were her,” Lila hissed, “I’d have put a damn bullet in your fiancée’s skull. That would’ve been quicker than pushing her into a fountain.”

“I can’t reason with you,” Kael snapped. “You, Seraphina—you’re all the same. Overdramatic. No wonder her best friend is you.”

The door opened abruptly. A doctor stepped in. Kael and Lila followed.

“Miss, you nearly twisted your ankle,” the doctor said gently. “But I’ve given you something for the pain. You should be walking normally in a couple of days.”

I nodded, wordless.

Lila rushed to my side, sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes scanning me with full-blown worry.

Kael stood on the other side of the room. He didn’t meet my eyes. Not once.

When the doctor left, I turned to Lila. “Can you give us a moment?”

She hesitated, then gave my hand a gentle squeeze and stood.

When it was just the two of us, I opened my mouth— “Kael, I—”

He didn’t let me finish.

“Seraphina,” he said, voice low but firm, “I really thought you were better than this.”

Each word landed like a slap.

“I never expected you to pull something so… vile. On Vivienne, of all people. You—” he scoffed, shaking his head. “You used to hate bullies. And now look at you.”

He looked at me then. Colder and distant than ever. “To think I ever stood up for you when you were being bullied. What a joke.”

He couldn’t even wait to hear my side.

The old me might’ve felt sad or misjudged.

But today I only looked at him calmly, “Kael, I’ll only say this once. I didn’t push Vivienne. I was out for air. She came up to me. And she—”

“Don’t,” he cut me off again. His tone was all steel and disbelief. “Don’t tell me she pushed you into the fountain. This isn’t a TV drama, Seraphina. Why the hell would she do that?”

Right. Why would she?

And why would I? It’s not like pushing her would’ve magically made you love me, Kael.

I turned my face away, laying back on the hospital pillow.

“Alright,” I said, quiet and flat. “If that’s what you believe… you can leave now. I need rest.”

Kael was silent for a few seconds, then, “You’ve disappointed me more than I thought possible.”

He slammed the door shut, hard.

…

Tomorrow, I’d be leaving the States.

And never—not in a hundred exit strategies—did I imagine I’d spend my last day here in a hospital bed.

Lila offered to stay the night. She insisted, actually. But I convinced her to go home—to celebrate the engagement I missed.

Yes, her boyfriend did propose to her on her birthday party.

After taking my meds, a nurse asked if I wanted to stretch my legs. “It’ll help with recovery,” she said with a warm smile. “Just don’t go far—stay on this floor.”

So I did.

My mood—tentatively, cautiously—was better than it had been in days.

Until I turned a corner and saw Vivienne.

Apparently, she was staying here too.

Since Lila’s party, I’d made a silent vow to pretend she didn’t exist. She was a ghost. A shadow I no longer acknowledged.

But Vivienne apparently thought otherwise. She approached me the second she saw me.

I tried to turn. But with my ankle still healing, I was too slow.

She reached out and caught my wrist.

“Seraphina,” she said, voice sweet with fake regret, “I didn’t think things would end up like that between us.”

I looked at her. “I have nothing to say to you. You shoved me into a fountain and made it look like I was the villain.”

Her expression didn’t even flicker. Not even a twitch of guilt. Instead, she blinked innocently. “I pushed you? It was you pushed me.”

Her hand dropped. To her stomach. “Actually I should thank you. If it hadn’t been the fountain accident, Kael and I might not have found out this news so early. So… really, Seraphina. Thank you.”

I stared at her belly.

So Kael and Vivienne had been hooking up for that long? Was it even back when he and I were still dating?

My fingers tightened around my phone until my knuckles turned white.

That absolute asshole.

But I didn’t waste another second. I took a step back, putting more distance between me and Vivienne.

Considering she’d already painted me as the villain in the fountain incident, the farther away I stayed, the better.

Vivienne chuckled at the gesture, her voice silk-wrapped poison. “What? Afraid you’re going to hurt me again?”

Then she dropped her tone, eyes narrowing.

“Now’s your chance, Seraphina. Kael’s talking with my doctor. Push me. Come on. Just a little shove…” She glanced toward the stairs. “If I lose the baby, then maybe you and Kael can still be together.”