---- 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. lignored it. Let it ring until I lost count. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!