3

Seraphina’s POV

It wasn’t happiness I felt after leaving Elias.

Not relief, either.

If anything, it was hollow. Heavy. Like peeling away a bandage only to find the wound hadn’t healed—it had just gone numb.

I guess I wasn’t as cold-hearted as I thought. But truthfully?

I didn’t miss him. I missed me.

The version of Seraphina who used to be so independent and fearless in this world. The Seraphina could fire a bullet without blinking twice. The one who believed in loyalty. Who didn’t brace every day wondering if the man she loved would someday abandon herself to a bunch of cops and choose someone else.

When did that start to change?

Was it the day I brought Elias home and introduced him to Mireille? My step-sister—syrupy sweet on the surface, but pure venom underneath?

My life’s always been… complicated.

After her divorce, my mother took me with her. She had money. Well—her parents had the money. Old-school gang blood.

Mother always wanted a man who'd stay quiet and behave.

Enter Michale. Mireille’s father. He looked polished. Said all the right things. Just like Mireille.

And for a while, I believed them. I welcomed them. I actually thought—God help me—they’d be family.

But little by little, the cracks showed.

Michale whispered poison into my mother’s ear. Mireille played the innocent little angel. Then came the setup—an “accidental” fall down the stairs, and suddenly I was branded the jealous, unstable daughter.

My mother snapped. Shipped me off to boarding school. Told me to behave.

I didn’t understand it then. I was just a kid.

But later? When I came home and saw Mireille playing princess while Michale smiled at the head of the table—I knew.

They had won. Because obedience mattered more to my mother than truth ever did.

So I became the ghost in my own house. Watching from the corners while my mother whispered sweet nothings to Mireille. Her words to me were always sharp. Measured. Cold.

Then came Elias.

For a while, he was the only light I had. The first person who made me feel like I was enough—just the way I was.

He wasn’t like the others from our world. He was gentler. Smarter. Kinder.

Or so I believed.

But now? Even that light had flickered out. Even the family I chose… ended up choosing her.

My phone buzzed. Again. And again.

I ignored it. Let it ring until I lost count.

Eventually—after maybe the hundredth try—I picked up.

Elias.

I didn’t speak.

“Seraphina? Are you there?” His voice cracked with urgency. “What happened? Did those cops hurt you? Say something. It’s been nearly a week. Where are you? Are you safe?”

I gave the smallest sound. “En.”

“Where are you? Please, we need to talk. You can’t just drop the divorce bomb and vanish.”

I let his desperation sit for a moment before answering. “I’m at the Grand Hotel.”

I freshened up, smoothed down my dress, and walked downstairs.

Elias showed up not long after—eyes wild, hair a mess, face drawn tight with panic.

“Here,” I said, standing.

He spotted me instantly and came running. “Seraphina.”

For a second—just a flicker—I thought I saw something like love in his eyes.

But I knew better. If he truly loved me, he wouldn’t have done what he did.

He wasn’t missing me. He was missing control. He was missing having someone to clean up his mess.

He wrapped his arms around me, breath shaky. “I missed you, Sera.”

I slipped out of his grasp. “Let’s talk.”

He hesitated. Took a step back, confused by the wall he’d never seen in me before. “Are you mad at me, Sera? You knew I had a record, I cannot be caught in our casino.”

Mad? No. I’d simply stopped believing the version of him I once loved.

“I’m not mad, Elias,” I said, voice low, steady. “Why would I be mad at you? I love you too much to be mad at you, right? You said it yourself.”

His face lost all color. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Oh, you meant it exactly like that.” I smiled without humor. “And I should’ve seen you for what you were a long time ago. But it’s fine. I see you now.”

His composure cracked. “I told you—I didn’t mean it that way. Can you just stop? Do you always have to be so condescending? Mireille is your family too. Funny how she didn’t turn out this spoiled and arrogant.”

There it was. The mask dropped.

Elias’s eyes narrowed, voice low. “I only took care of her because she’s your family. That was me being considerate. That doesn’t give you the right to lash out at me.”

“Really?” I said coolly. “You knew exactly what Mireille and her father did to me. You know how I feel about her. And still, you chose her—You took her and left me a mess to deal with. Have you worried about me for a second? What if I got thrown into the prison.”

“You won’t…” he faltered. “You have your mother and all those connections.”

“Stop lying. To me or to yourself.” I stepped back. “You chose to abandon me the second things got hard. You didn’t accidentally choose Mireille over me. That wasn’t a ‘nice gesture,’ Elias. That was betrayal dressed up in politeness.”

His mouth opened, a half-formed excuse on his lips.

I didn’t let him finish.

“I’ve already filed for divorce,” I said, calm as glass. “From now on, I won’t meet with you in private. If you want to talk, you’ll go through my lawyer.”

“Sera, come on. Do you really want to end our marriage over something this small?”

I didn’t answer. I turned. And walked away.

I wasn’t expecting him to apologize. He never did. Not really.

But I didn’t expect him to show up like nothing happened, like I was the one being unreasonable, like I was some dramatic inconvenience in his otherwise perfect life.

Enough was enough.