LOGINSEREIAI was still in the floor when Valerian found me, he crouched down so his face would be at the same level with mine, his steady hands reaching for my shoulders as he whispered. "Sereia. Look at me." I looked up at him— into his calm eyes, I took in his controlled demeanor, his acted like nothing had happened here and like that last hour was just another thing that occurred in passing. "We need to go to the hospital," he said and my throat immediately closed, I shook my head frantically. "I can't." I whispered and his grip tightened in my shoulders not to hurt me but to let me know that this was non negotiable."You can and you will." He ordered as he stood up and pulled me up with him, my legs felt like water but I stood up non the less. "I'll drive us.” "Liyana." My voice cracked as soon as I remembered my baby. "She saw—""She's fine, Gracie has her." He reassured me as he held my face, forcing me to look at him. "This was not your fault. Do you hear me? You didn't know."
SEREIAToday was a new day and I woke up with this sudden surge of happiness, I had decided that I wasn't going to let Aurora and Annabelle win.The sun was shining and peeping through my window, birds were chirping and for the first time in days, my chest didn't feel heavy.At this point I was already tired of being angry and sad, I was tired of hiding in my room and letting Annabelle make me feel small.So I decided to be nice.I got dressed quickly and headed downstairs before anyone else woke up. The kitchen was quiet this morning, as the chefs moved around quietly prepping for the morning.They did this everyday and I low key felt bad even tho they were getting paid."You can take the morning off," I suddenly said causing all of them to look up at me. "I'm making breakfast." I added and they exchanged worries glances."Ma'am, are you sure? Mr. Ashford expects—""I'm sure." I cut her off as I reached for an apron, tying it around my waist. "I've got this." I murmured.They hesitat
SEREIAI sprinted across the parking garage— heels clicking against the concrete and all, as my bag bounced against my hips.The car was already pulling away, how the fuck did they forget me here."Wait!" I called out as I ram towards the already moving car like my life depended on it. “Stop the car!! I’m still here.” I yelled hoping they heard me and thank goodness they did because the car suddenly pulled to a stop. Immediately I reached the car, I pulled the door open and entered inside, still breathless from my sprint. Annabelle’s face twisted into something that mirrored annoyance immediately I entered, she was already sitting in the middle sit with Valerian beside her, and as for Valerian he just stared at me with a perplexed look on his face."Oh, sorry." Annabelle's voice was sweet. "We almost left you! I didn't even notice you weren't there." She added with a smile and I just ignored her, buckling my seatbelt.She tilted her head, studying me. "You must have been running.
The car ride was pure torture, Annabell sat between I and Valerian which meant she was closer to him than I was and every bump in the road she made sure to lean into him and every turn the car made she brushed his shoulders."Oh, Valerian, is that the building where you have those meetings? The one with the glass facade?" She pointed out the window, leaning across him to see.He nodded. "Yes.""Beautiful. Everything you own is so beautiful." She settled back, her hand landing on his forearm like it belonged there.I stared out the window as I watched the city blur past us, Valerian didn’t move away, he just sat there in silence letting her touch him.I wondered if he felt her touch the way I did, like it was a brand.---We pulled into the Nethrix and immediately we walked in, I felt it, eyes, everywhere. People stopped walking, talking and they turned around to look at Annabelle like she was a movie star that had wandered into the office.She walked besides Valerian, chin high as a s
SEREIAI couldn’t sleep not for a minute, not even for a second. I just laid in bed staring at the ceiling as i replayed last night’s dinner over and over again, their words, their insults and the way they picked apart my life, like they were vultures fighting over scraps.The homewrecker. The gold digger. The one who kidnapped her own sister.That was me.My head ached with every thought fleeting through it, and I pressed my palms against my eyes but the tears still came out.Everything hurt, their insult, their words and the fact that Valerian had defended me but it wasn’t enough. They kept cutting and in the end I was the one that had to walk away.My eyes burned, my head ached and my chest felt hollow but morning came with that I wanted it or not.The sunlight peeped through the curtain painting an ugly brightness I didn’t want across my room. I looked at myself in my mirror and I immediately winced, puffy eyes, red nose and pale skin. I looked horrible, like I’ve been crying for
SEREIA"Hello, Valerian." Her voice was like honey. "It's been a long time."Valerian stared at her and as the second passed his eyes never left her.I stood there frozen as I watched his face waiting for any reaction that would give me a glimpse on how he felt about her and then it happened.A smile appeared on his face, it was barely there but it was real and that was more than enough reason for my stomach to drop. Annabelle’s face lit up with a smile at the sight of Valerian smiling.“Hello Annabelle.” Valerian finally said and Annabelle immediately let out a pout. "Oh, stop with the formalities!" She laughed as she ran toward him and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight.He hugged her back.It wasn’t one of Valerian’s stiff, awkward hugs this one was natural like he had done it a thousand times and as I watched them I felt something crack in my chest.Who was she? If course I knew the answer. She was the girl in the photo but knowing and seeing were different things
SEREIAI was finally halfway through the fuel cost when I felt a shadow loom over my desk. I looked up to find Valerian holding a report that I had worked on yesterday."The alignment on this file is wrong— the lines don’t. overlap," he said, as he rubbed the corner of a page between his thumb and
SEREIA"What are you doing?"The voice was like a whip crack. I jumped, nearly dropping the photo. Valerian was standing in the doorway, his face pale and his eyes flashing with a fury I hadn't seen before.My breath hitched as I stared at his imposing figure my mind racing with a million thoughts,
SEREIABy the time I was finally done with the last box in the basement, my nose was already itchy with the amount of dust I had inhaled.I had spent hours down here making sure to cross-reference every receipt, stack all three hundred boxes by height and re-label all the files and right now my fin
SEREIA The huge doors of Nethrix felt like the entrance to a high security prison or maybe it was just my nervousness speaking.I smoothed down my skirt for the tenth time and at the same time I clutched the handle of my bag so tight it began to wrinkle, I was scared or maybe nervous and the execu







