The Billionaire's poisoned heart

“You’re still going through with this engagement?”

Seraphina paused, looking in the direction she had heard the voice.

The familiar voice belonged to her step-sister, Celeste.

Then she heard another calm voice,

It belonged to her fiancé, Adrian.

“I don’t have a choice!”

Beyond the half-open lounge door, her fiancé stood with Celeste, his hands resting possessively on her waist.

This sent chills through Seraphina’s heart.

“Then, what about me?” Celeste asked softly.

There was a brief moment of silence.

Seraphina walked closer to an angle where she could see them.

Adrian sighed, brushing his fingertips against Celeste’s face.

"You know why I have to do this. Marrying Seraphina gives me access to the St. Claire medical empire. Their hospitals are everywhere. One marriage secures deals that would take decades to build."

Seraphina clenched her fists; her eyes had turned cold

"Mother ensured I was well trained, but just a few surgeries from her, she earned a name" Celeste muttered bitterly.

“It has never been like that,” Adrian said.

“Really, it isn’t?” Celeste said, looking away from Adrian’s face.

Adrian held her face tenderly, making her look at him.

His next words dealt the greatest emotional blow to Seraphina.

“I care about Seraphina. But caring about her and being in love with her aren't the same thing; you're the one I truly ever wanted.” Adrian said.

He said, pulling her close to himself.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop spinning.

Years of medical training taught her to remain calm.

Yet her pulse still spiked.

Adrian’s words had cut her like a knife.

To him, she had never been the woman he loved. She had been the woman he needed.

In the grand ballroom, the crystal chandeliers shimmered like falling stars, their reflections dancing across polished marble floors and rows of glittering champagne glasses, with the imported roses and soft music playing in the background.

A loud applause echoed through the moment.

This was the engagement ceremony between her, Dr. Seraphina St. Claire, and Adrian Montclair, which was the most anticipated alliance among New York’s elite business families.

A loud applause echoed through the moment.

Inside the corridor, Adrian spoke again.

"She's brilliant, I'll give her that. But being with her feels like standing beside a wall. She's cold, distant, and impossible to reach."

Celeste laughed softly.

“And you’re still marrying her,” she said.

“It’s for the family’s business” Adrian said.

Celeste smiled bitterly.

“Then you'd better make this worth my sacrifice."

Celeste tiptoed and kissed Adrian; he held her waist, responding suggestively to her.

Seraphina remained calm, looking at them both.

She had loved Adrian for seven years. She had always believed he was the one person who would never leave. But he had pretended to love her for these seven years. Seraphina felt completely lost.

She forced herself to walk away from them before they could see her break.

She returned quietly to the private lounge that was prepared for her.

The moment she returned to the lounge, she stared at her own reflection in the mirror, and her engagement dress suddenly felt burdensome and uncomfortable.

Her gaze suddenly settled on the golden bracelet on her left wrist. She smiled bitterly; she felt humiliated.

Adrian had gifted it to her on her twentieth birthday; she considered it the most valued gift she received back then, with the belief that he was deeply in love with her.

She slowly removed it from her wrist and placed it on the table, picked up her purse, and walked out of the room.

By the time she stepped into the elevator, every trace of emotion had vanished from her face, leaving behind only cold indifference.

She made her way out of the building after calling for a private cab.

When she got out of the gate, the cab arrived in just ten minutes, and she headed back to the St. Claire’s estate that was just fifteen minutes’ drive from the Pierre’.

As the car returned to the estate, memories from the past kept coming to her mind.

Among all her memories, one stood out more vividly than the rest.

Her family left her in the garden where they had gone for a picnic.

She called them from home, but no one showed up.

It began to rain, unfortunately, and she was locked outside the garden. She called Adrian, and he came with his butler to pick her up.

He brought her to their estate because his parents were on a business trip, and took care of her through the night because she had a fever.

When she woke up, he made sure she ate and fed her, and from that day onward, Adrian became the one person she believed would never abandon her.

“Miss, we are here!” The chauffeur said, distracting her from her thoughts.

Seraphina paid and stepped out before the iron gates of St. Claire’s Estate.

The mansion was unusually quiet.

Nobody noticed she had returned from her own engagement ceremony.

Her phone rang as she stepped into her room,

“Excuse me, I need to pick this call,” Seraphina said, heading towards her room.

“Hello, am I speaking to Dr. Seraphina St. Claire?” A voice came through the phone.

“Yes, but this is my private number. How did you get it?” Seraphina asked.

"Dr. St. Claire, we exhausted every official channel trying to reach you. This was our last option."

"What exactly do you need from me?" Seraphina asked further.

“I am Cassian Cross, the director in charge of operations at Laurent Group. "A patient in California is suffering from a critical cardiac condition. None of the specialists we've hired has been able to help him. We need you." The man said.

“Oh..., so when do I come to California?” Seraphina said.

"A private jet is waiting at Teterboro. Departure is in one hour."

“Alright, I’ll be at the airport in forty-five minutes!” Seraphina said without having second thoughts.

“Thank you, Dr. St. Claire!”

Without hesitation, Seraphina packed her research files, medical licenses, and the few personal belongings she cared about, picked up some clothes and personal items, while her phone buzzed nonstop.

She walked out of the door with her bags, and she even told a driver to bring her to the airport.

Back in The Pierre, Adrian paced restlessly outside the ballroom, unease tightening his chest. He had been calling her, but she never picked up any of his calls. The guests were anxious, and he was too.

When he entered her lounge earlier, he found the golden wrist bracelet he gave her for her twentieth birthday, which she cherished so much, on the vanity table.

He placed it in his suit’s chest of pocket.

A terrifying thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Had Seraphina seen him with Celeste?

The possibility sent a cold chill down his spine.

“Adrian, we cannot afford to cancel this engagement ceremony; the guests cannot wait much longer, it’s been more than an hour!” His mother said.

“I’ve texted her!” Adrian said.

"The guests are beginning to talk. Go downstairs and keep the situation under control."

His mother said.

Just as they arrived in the ballroom again, his phone buzzed, and he froze on seeing the message,

“Adrian, seven years was more than enough. Don't look for me. (Seraphina)”

Adrian stared at the message in disbelief.

Anger came first, then confusion.

Then something far more unsettling, fear.

For the first time in seven years, Seraphina had walked away from him.

And he had no idea of how he would bring her back.