Chapter 7

Seraphina’s POV

Was all of this even meant to make sense?

Yeah, maybe.

But it still sounded completely warped, twisted into a shape I refused to recognize.

Either way, I was going to say it. I won’t be spending mine nine months of my life fighting tooth and nail, only to crawl back into this exact same loophole and start over from scratch.

Definitely not.

"So that’s all the procedure entails. What do you want in return?" Valentina asked, sitting across from me with her legs crossed.

He was right beside her.

He didn’t even look like he was listening to us.

Sometimes, looking at him, I had to wonder—is he really the same person? Is he the same Caspian I knew years ago?

Apparently yes.

Only this time, he came back with a completely new name, wearing a new life like an expensive suit. I breathed out hard, turning my full attention to Valentina.

"What would she possibly request for? She can do it without asking for anything. Don’t bother with her," Mom chimed in, a sweet, sickly smile plastered on her face while her hand reached over, nudging me to talk.

A sharp scoff escaped my lips. I violently tore my hand away from her reach, letting it drop dead against my lap.

"Payment every month. And a lump sum once I’m done," I said, crossing my legs tight.

My gaze accidentally dropped to my bandaged toe, a fresh wave of agony shooting up my foot, and I hissed under my breath, quickly looking back up.

"Huh?" Mom’s voice chirped, absolute disbelief dripping from every syllable.

"And I’m moving into your house for the duration of the procedure," I added, staring straight at Valentina.

"No problem then. The monthly payment—are you deciding the figure, or are we?" Valentina replied, a slow, predatory smirk curling the corners of her lips.

"My lawyer will meet you for that. And I get a first-time bonus, as well. Once the contract is signed and the money clears in my account, we have a deal," I said, abruptly standing up.

My eyes flickered toward the man beside her—the one who was only just now raising his head from his phone for the very first time since this whole circus started.

"Don’t you think you’re being entirely selfish?" Mom snapped, her voice rising. "If you want to get paid for it, why shouldn't they just go to someone with actual experience?"

"Experienced? You’re experienced by the way. You could as well carry the baby for them yourself," I bit back, turning my back on them and walking out of the room.

As I walked, the toxic chatter erupted behind me, sharp and coordinated, like they had all rehearsed it.

"Look at her acting all high and mighty," Mom scoffed loudly. "Opening her legs whenever she wanted to fuck college kids, and now she can't even help her own sister for free with a simple surrogacy."

"Oh, let her be, Mom," Valentina chimed in, her voice dripping with a sickening, performative sweetness that made my skin crawl.

Valentina was technically 'defending' me, but it was done with a cruel, mocking edge that we both understood very well.

"She’s always been generous with her body anyway. At least this time, she’s getting paid legally instead of doing it behind dumpsters."

Even Dad chimed in from the corner, his voice heavy with disappointment. "Can’t you just help family, Seraphina? Is everything about money with you now? After the shame you brought to this house?"

They were all ganging up on me, targeting that exact raw nerve, tearing open wounds that had barely scabbed over.

Valentina watched it all with that quiet, superior smirk, while Mom and Dad played their parts. It was only when I physically turned my back, slammed my hands on the table, and stormed out that the voices finally faded behind me.

Reaching my room, I slammed the door shut and threw the deadbolt. I leaned my back heavily against the wood, my chest heaving, my heart hammering like a trapped bird against my ribs.

A dull, agonizing throb pulsed through my feet. I let out a low groan, limping awkwardly toward the washroom. I grabbed a handful of painkillers, swallowed them dry, and sank onto the edge of my bed.

Slowly, painfully, I peeled back the fabric of my trousers and began unwrapping the bandages on my left foot.

The cotton was stiff, stuck fast to the flesh by dried, dark blood. With a sharp gasp of pain, I ripped it free.

My gaze dropped to the battered, mutilated mess of my foot. The toes were gone, viciously removed.

A violent shudder wracked my frame, and hot tears prickled my eyes as the memory crashed over me.

Valentina had fabricated that disgusting story, pointing the finger at me to cover her own tracks, and because my parents swallowed every word she said like gospel, they had subjected me to this.

As punishment for the 'shame' I brought them, they had made sure I could never run, never escape.

The physical pain was blinding, a constant, burning reminder of the betrayal etched into my very bones.

Teeth gritted, I forced myself to clean the weeping wounds on both feet, the antiseptic stinging so fiercely I nearly blacked out.

Once I was done bandaging them back up, the stinging had settled into a dull, agonizing ache.

I pulled all the heavy curtains shut, plunging the room into darkness, and crawled onto the mattress.

I pulled the covers up, grabbed my phone, and blindly started scrolling through random notifications just to keep my mind from shattering.

My phone suddenly lit up and began to buzz violently against the mattress. I checked the caller ID, let out a harsh laugh, and hit the red button, rolling my eyes. 

Almost got gang-raped, barely escaped with my life, got mutilated by my own family, and now everyone wants a piece of me?

Fuck this life.

I tossed the phone aside, laying back in the dark, trying to lose myself in a movie playing on the screen.

The sharp sound cut through the quiet of the room.

Before I could even answer, a low, familiar voice drifted through the gap—the voice of Valentina's husband.

The same man I had hopelessly fallen for years ago, who had vanished, only to return now under a completely new name, playing the role of my sister's husband.

"Can we talk?" he asked from outside of the door knocking again.

And then, silence hung heavy in the air.