Chapter4

Seraphina’s POV 

Rain slammed against the windows, a furious rhythm that echoed the pounding in my chest.

I stood frozen in the entryway, fingers still curled around the doorknob, breath shallow.

Calliope stood on the porch, her face ghostly pale against the storm, like a demon pulled straight from my nightmares.

Then she moved.

She reached out and pushed the door open.

Her golden dress shimmered under each flash of white lightning, clinging to her figure like a second skin. The neckline plunged. The hem barely reached her thighs, a high slit revealing even more. 

Her cold blue eyes—empty, unblinking—locked onto mine, chilling me to the core. It was as if she were seeing right through me.

I almost didn’t recognize her.

Three years.

Three years since Calliope disappeared.

Three years ago, my sister abandoned us all and plunged our lives into chaos. And now, here she was, standing before me looking like a stranger.

“Calliope, what are you—”

I didn’t even get to finish. She barged in, sweeping past me like a storm in human form, her movements big and exaggerated like she owned the place. Her shoulder slammed into mine while passing, sending me stumbling backward.

“What? Not happy to see me?” she said coldly, not even sparing me a glance.

Everett was fast, grabbing me before I could fall. I felt the tension vibrating through him. He was never this tense—not with me.

“You okay?” he murmured, his eyes never leaving Calliope. His jaw was tight, shoulders rigid.

I nodded, placing a hand over his. “I’m fine.” Then I turned back to Calliope, forcing my racing heart to settle. “Of course I’m happy to see you, Calliope.”

Calliope let out a sharp laugh. “Really?” Her brows lifted in a tight smirk.

I frowned. “Where have you been all these years? Mom and Dad nearly lost their minds looking for you. You ran off with your lover and vanished. What happened?”

Her gaze slid past me like I didn’t matter. “Nothing.” Her voice was flat, dead.

She slowly stepped into the light, and for a moment, I felt like I was staring into a mirror. Her face—so much like mine—twisted into something unreadable.

“Let’s talk about you, Seraphina. Three years apart, and look at you. Never imagined you’d turn out like this. Tell me, does it feel good—stealing my husband?”

The accusation knocked the breath from my lungs.

Everett immediately stepped in front of me, blocking her view, his voice tight with anger. “Calliope, what the hell are you talking about? That’s not what happened. Seraphina was only trying to help you—trying to save your whole family from the Laurents’ wrath after your mysterious disappearance.”

Calliope folded her arms, her lips curling with mockery.

“Help? Right. You’re always on her side.”

She didn’t even look at him. Just kept staring at me like I was something filthy. Everett had only been here to help me move. I couldn’t let her drag him into this mess. None of it was his fault.

“Calliope,” I said carefully, “the week before your wedding, you disappeared. If the Laurents found out you had a lover, their backlash would have destroyed us. I did what I had to do. I talked to Mom and Dad, and we kept it quiet—to protect you. That’s all.”

I took a deep breath. “Noe of that matters now. You’re here. Mom and Dad will be overjoyed—I’ll call them right now.”

I hurriedly pulled out my phone, my fingers shaking slightly. But before I could dial, Calliope forcefully slapped it from my hand, sending it to the floor with a crack, the screen shattering. Everett and I stared at her in shock. Anger simmered beneath Everett’s usually calm exterior.

Calliope laughed, bitter and sharp.

“Mom and Dad? Don’t play dumb, Seraphina. You think I don’t know the truth? Our parents never loved me—not like they loved you. If anything, they always hated me. Even back then, they didn’t care whether I was dead or alive. And you—” she stepped closer, her voice rising— “you married Dante. My Dante. Our parents didn’t hesitate to replace me with you, did they? They couldn't wait to make their golden child the Laurents’ precious daughter-in-law.”

I stared at her, then at my shattered phone, my pulse roaring in my ears.

Was this really how she had always seen us? What right did she have to blame Mom and Dad when she was the one who eloped before her wedding?

“Calliope, you’ve got it all wrong,” I said, my voice low, my eyes burning with anger at her ridiculous accusations.

Calliope’s eyes darkened, her expression turning lethal.

"Which part of what I said was wrong, Seraphina? You stealing my husband, or taking everything that was supposed to be mine? Even when we were kids, Mom and Dad always spoiled you with the best of everything. And me? I was never good enough. In their eyes, I was nothing but trouble. They never even cared about what I had to say.”

“Mom and Dad never thought of you that way. Calliope, you’ve misunderstood them.” I stepped forward, my brows knitted in frustration.

I tried to offer a gentle pat on her shoulder, but she was too tense—too strung tight. The moment my fingers brushed her, she shoved me back, hard.

“Go away! Don’t touch me!” she snarled, dripping with pure hatred.

I stumbled as Everett caught me, his hands tightening around my arms. His voice was low, controlled, but edged with warning.

“Calliope, we were glad to have you back. But if you get aggressive with Seraphina again, I’ll need you to leave.”

Calliope’s wild, glassy eyes flicked between us. Then, a slow, crooked smile curved her lips.

“I’ll leave,” she murmured, voice like poison. “Eventually. But sister... don’t you think it’s time you return everything that belongs to me?”