Chapter 5

Seraphina’s POV

Pulling the soft fabric Cas had brought over my bare body, I walked over to the mirror and stared at my reflection.

My skin looked pale, almost translucent under the harsh light, and my eyes were hollowed out, rimmed in red.

Sighing, I turned on the tap, splashing cold water over my face and rinsing out my mouth. The bitter taste of alcohol still coated my tongue, heavy and toxic.

Drying my face and hands, I walked out of the washroom, my gaze dropping instantly to his silhouette standing near the window of the room. I sucked in a sharp, painful breath, forcing myself to look at him.

“Thanks for tonight,” I mumbled, my voice flat, dead. “I’ll be repaying it back.”

His brow shot up, a sharp crease forming between his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“The help you offered,” I scoffed bitterly, wrapping my arms tighter around myself. “It’s probably because you need my womb for your precious unborn child, right? So no problem. I’ll see you in the hospital when you’re ready.”

Becoming a surrogate for him. 

The final, degrading favor I would ever offer him, and then I would vanish completely from this toxic life.

“You’re not doing it, Phin,” he said, his voice dropping into a hard, unyielding tone.

I whipped my head back to face him, my brows crashing together. I searched his dark face for any hint of truth, only for a bitter, sickening realization to click into place.

Was this man really this two-faced?

“You’re pathetic,” I spat, the anger bubbling over the numbness. “You showed up with Valentina, acted like you’ve never laid eyes on me in your life, and now you’re standing here putting on this grand savior act?”

“Phin, I said it already. It isn't what you think,” he snapped, a muscle ticking in his jaw. He dragged in a heavy breath, stepping forward, and my feet immediately scrambled backward on instinct.

He stopped instantly, closing his mouth, his chest heaving.

“I don’t want any scandals. I don't want to be caught leaving a club with my own sister’s husband,” I said, turning away from him. “So I’m leaving. Thanks for your help.”

I marched over to the door, turned the knob, and yanked it open. I was halfway into the hallway when a heavy hand locked around my wrist, halting me dead in my tracks.

“What now?” I whirled around to face him, the fire in my chest threatening to burn me alive.

“Still as stubborn as ever, huh?” His voice echoed behind me.

I rolled my eyes so hard it ached, refusing to look back. But before I could take two more steps, a heavy hand gripped my arm, tightening around my wrist with force, and dragged me right back.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” I snapped, clawing at his fingers, trying to pry my hand away.

He didn't answer. He dragged me all the way outside to where a sleek car, wrenched the door open, and shoved me into the front seat.

I puffed out a furious breath, reaching over to pop the door open, but he clicked the central lock before my fingers even hit the handle.

He slid into the driver’s seat, slamming his door shut, and revved the engine.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I hissed, glaring sideways at him.

“What does it look like?” he retorted smoothly, pulling out onto the road.

I stared at him, completely dumbfounded, unable to comprehend a single thing about this man. “Are you seriously taking me straight back to the house? Won’t you be questioned on why you’re rolling up with me at this hour?” I raised a challenging brow.

“From who?” he scoffed, his eyes fixed on the dark road ahead.

A cold, humorless frown settled on my lips. “You have a wife, no?”

Was this monster actually serious?

Was he always this way? A master of masks, playing everyone around him like pieces on a board?

The car finally glided to a smooth halt inside the gates of the mansion. Without waiting a second, I unbuckled my seatbelt, shoved the door open, and stepped out into the cool night air.

My breath caught in my throat.

Standing right there on the paved driveway was Valentina. Her arms were crossed over her chest, eyes locked onto me with a venom so intense it felt physical. Then her gaze shifted past me, fixing dead on the car.

I turned back just in time to see Cas’s eyes lock onto hers through the windshield. Not a single word passed between them.

A second later, the car tires squealed against the asphalt, and he zoomed off into the dark.

“Where the fuck are you coming from with my man?” Valentina’s voice sliced through the silence, dripping with bitter, poisonous fury.

“You should ask him that,” I shot back coldly, trying to brush past her.

The cold morning breeze hit my skin as I reached the heavy front door, twisting the brass knob, walking in.

Stepping as quietly as I could manage, my heavy legs mounted the first step of the staircase.

“And where do you think you’re going? And why was Cassius with you?”

Mom’s sharp, annoyed voice cut through the quiet like a razor blade.

I swallowed hard, a cold claw of dread raking down my chest, and turned back slowly.

“He... sort of helped me out, so he brought me back,” I muttered, my eyes involuntarily dropping to Dad’s imposing frame sitting heavily on the sofa, his expression locked in stone.

“Dad, can you hear her?” Valentina’s voice suddenly shifted, dropping into an unnaturally low, trembling register that made my stomach churn.

What is this lying bitch trying to pull now?

“I asked her what she was doing with my man at this ungodly hour, and do you know what her response was?” she continued, her voice pitching up, purring with manufactured devastation as fat, glistening tears instantly streamed down her face.

“What did she say?” Mom’s voice dropped dangerously, her eyes darting between me and Valentina with a sharp, suspicious glare.

“She said... instead of going through the pain of a medical surrogacy process, she’d rather have my own man impregnate her naturally—so she went out to meet him,” Valentina sobbed out, her voice breaking into a pathetic wail as more tears spilled over her lashes.

My chest slammed shut. The air vanished from my lungs. I stared at Valentina in sheer, unadulterated horror.

When the fuck did I ever say that?!

“I’m not even pained because of that, trust me! I want to have his child so badly, but it just hurts... it hurts so much seeing my own sister fucking my husband behind my back!” she shrieked out, collapsing dramatically onto the floor.

Mom instantly rushed forward, dropping to her knees to pull the sobbing, wailing viper into her arms.

“I didn't do it,” I whispered, my heart slamming wildly against my ribs as I stared down at Dad’s dark silhouette standing up from the sofa, his face terrifyingly calm.

“Dad, I swear to God, I didn't do it,” I choked out.