Between Love and Revenge

"SERAPHINA, LOOK AT ME"

(Seraphina Parker)

Pain from the incident of that cold night seven years ago twisted my stomach. My heart was out of control, thumping wildly in my chest. My face solidified, and every sound around me became muffled.

Ryan Carter?

The man who betrayed me when I needed him the most?

I struggled to get a better look at the person whose features were strikingly similar to his. I tried to block out the sharp, piercing sound that ran from my ears to my head as bitter memories filled my mind.

Stretching from my seat, my focus completely off Elian and the stage, I craned my neck to see the man’s face.

Everyone in my section of the hall was seated quietly, focused on the unfolding event.

The small crowd around the man I was trying to see was rowdy, arguing about something. Worse still, they kept shifting, hiding him even more from my view.

He began to walk away.

As I watched his back retreat behind the stage, my teeth clenched. My breathing grew loud. I don’t know what held me back from standing and going after him, maybe it was the crowded room.

Standing would’ve drawn attention. Faces would turn. Eyes would scan me from head to toe. It would be rude to stand now and distract the audience.

"Go, dear. Get up and go," the aged woman with the mean expression, one of the guests at our table beckoned. I turned to see her watching the same direction I had turned from. Then she looked back at me and smiled.

Confidently, I stood up that instant, my legs wanting to run, but I held myself back.

As I walked through the crowd, the many pairs of eyes that dug into my skin were the least of my worries. I moved quickly toward the stage.

I made it to the front of the audience, but just as I turned toward that side of the stage, a hand grabbed my wrist.

I jerked hard, the muffled sounds around me returning with more force, amplified and sharp. Turning, I saw him staring into my eyes with that familiar smile stretching across his face.

Elian?

When did he get off the stage?

"Are you having fun?" he asked, patting my hair lightly with the same hand he’d used to grab me before slipping his fingers into mine.

I swallowed the words that formed in my head. There weren’t the right ones to answer his question.

He continued, "I’m sorry I left you sitting there all by yourself. Duty called."

My breathing hitched. I glanced back to that side of the stage.

"It isn’t there," Elian said, pointing a finger in the direction. Then, he started leading me away.

What was he talking about? Did he see him?

I searched my mind for any memory of telling Elian about Ryan Carter. I didn’t think I had. We’d only ever talked about April.

Clueless, I followed him to a less crowded area of the hall, near the buffet where servers in aprons moved about and men in smart suits poured wine into tall glasses. A few guests helped themselves.

"That was some noise. A much-needed one," Elian said again, letting go of my hand to grab two glasses of wine from a passing server.

"Thank you," he called after the server.

"Enjoy, sir," the server replied, walking off.

I glanced back at the stage, but I could barely make out the figures still lingering there. I sighed, my shoulders slumping.

"You don’t like things like this?" he asked, concern twisting his face as he handed me one of the glasses.

"No... I enjoy dinner parties," I replied, worried he might misread the situation.

"Okay, then." He relaxed his stance, taking a sip of the wine.

"You are unbelievable," he bellowed, breaking into laughter.

What is happening now? I thought, watching him laugh his heart out, stomping his feet lightly and throwing his head back without a care for who was watching.

My eyes itched from confusion as I tried to lighten my expression just to avoid making the situation awkward.

"You keep looking that way. The stairs that lead up to the stage aren’t even in that direction," he blurted out, slightly choking on his own laughter.

He was talking about the stairs and the stage?

My eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait... would you really have come up the stage because I was taking so much time being away?" His expression turned solemn.

His chest rose and fell slowly from the laughter. His gaze dropped slightly, locking on my face. Then he pulled me into a hug.

"I’m sorry I left you all by yourself all these years." His voice was low and comforting.

Elian was right. I had missed his presence beside me after he went off the stage. But going up the stage for that? That would’ve been dramatic.

I stifled a laugh at the thought, allowing myself to bask in his warm hug. If there was anything I needed right now, it was that hug.

The moment I raised my face after he released me, our eyes met.

Ryan Carter.

Same suit color. Same hairstyle.

It was truly him.

I froze.

Elian turned.

And what?

Beckoned him to come over?

He knows Ryan Carter?

I watched Ryan walk slowly toward us. The closer he got, the more his image blurred into something else.

I saw him like it was that day, standing tall with a cold expression. I saw him pull me to himself, securing me with his huge arms. I saw myself wriggle in vain, tears in my eyes.

I remembered the drive to the danger… with him at the steering wheel.

I remembered the wedding, how the same eyes that ignored my pleas for help looked at me with love as my groom.

"Are you okay?"

I heard a faint, familiar voice in the background.

My eyes became too heavy to focus. My breathing slowed. I felt someone grab my shoulders.

"Seraphina!"

That voice again, fainter now, like it came from miles away.

I gagged, trying to breathe. My chest tightened. With one hand, I grabbed the arm of the person holding my shoulders for support. My fingers trembled. My legs suddenly felt too weak to carry me.

I scratched at my chest, desperate for air.

Nothing.

I felt myself slipping away.

"Seraphina, look at me!"

That voice again, for the third time, the last thing I heard before everything faded to black.