Chapter 6: The Lion’s Den
1518 Words
Seraphina’s POV
The morning air was crisp as I stood in the driveway of the Valerius villa, and behind me stood three massive moving trucks and a team of fifteen men in uniform who were just waiting for my signal to begin. I didn't feel any sadness as I looked at the front door because this house had never been a home to me, and as the front door swung open, Julian stepped out with a coffee mug in his hand and a look of pure confusion that quickly turned into anger when he saw the workers.
"What the hell is going on here, Seraphina, and why are there trucks blocking my driveway when I have a board meeting to prepare for?" Julian shouted, and he didn't even notice Marcus standing next to me with a clipboard that contained a list of every single item we were about to take.
"I’m moving out, Julian, and since the divorce papers I signed yesterday officially ended our living arrangement, I am here to collect my property," I said calmly, and I motioned for the movers to enter the house, "And you might want to move your car because we are going to be moving some very large pieces of furniture and I would hate for your expensive paint job to get scratched."
Lydia came rushing out behind him, her face twisted in a sneer as she pointed at the men entering the foyer, and she screamed, "You can't just take things from this house, because everything in there belongs to the Valerius family and you are nothing but a common thief who is trying to strip us of our heritage."
"Actually, Lydia, I have the receipts for everything I am taking, and if you look at the records you will see that I bought the Italian marble dining table, the entire collection of paintings in the gallery, and even the rugs you are standing on with my personal salary from the years I worked at the firm," I replied, and I watched as two men began to carefully wrap the expensive vase that Julian’s father had always claimed was a family heirloom.
"That vase has been in this family for generations!" Julian yelled, stepping in front of the movers to block their path.
"Check the date on the certificate of authenticity, Julian, because I bought that at an auction three years ago to replace the one you broke when you were drunk, and I used my own bank account to pay for it, so it is coming with me," I said, and Marcus stepped forward to hand Julian a copy of the bill of sale which shut him up for a few seconds.
Just as the movers began carrying out the first load, a small red sports car pulled up and Julian’s younger sister, Clara, jumped out with a worried look on her face, and she ran over to me and tried to grab my hands in a friendly way.
"Seraphina, please, let’s just calm down and talk about this because we are still family and there is no need to be so aggressive, so why don't we go inside and have some tea while we figure out a better way to do this?" Clara asked, her voice sounding sweet but I could see her eyes darting toward my phone and the files Marcus was holding.
"We aren't family anymore, Clara, and I know Julian sent you here to see if you could talk me into leaving the furniture so he doesn't have to spend money refurnishing the house, but it isn't going to work," I said, pulling my hands away and checking an item off the list as a sofa went past us.
"That's not true, I just want what's best for everyone, and I’m sure Gabriel wouldn't want you acting so petty over some chairs and tables," Clara argued, trying to sound reasonable while she moved closer to the moving truck to see where the boxes were being labeled.
"Gabriel doesn't mind at all, in fact, he’s the one who suggested I take everything that belongs to me so I don't leave any part of my life in this toxic place," I told her, and I turned back to the movers and told them to make sure they didn't forget the bedroom set from the guest wing.
Julian was pacing back and forth on the lawn, shouting into his phone at his lawyer, while Lydia was busy trying to physically grab a painting out of a mover's hands until Marcus stepped in and reminded her that interfering with the process was a legal violation of the settlement.
The move took nearly six hours, and by the time we were finished, the Valerius villa looked like a hollowed-out shell with nothing left but the built-in cabinets and the dust on the floor, and I didn't feel a single ounce of guilt as I climbed into my car to head to Gabriel’s estate.
When I arrived at Gabriel’s mansion, the gates opened automatically and the driveway was lined with trees that looked much more welcoming than the cold stone of my old life, and Gabriel was waiting at the top of the stairs with a quiet smile that made me feel like I was finally in a place where I was respected.
"I see you were thorough," Gabriel said as he walked down to meet me, looking at the long line of trucks behind my car, "I hope Julian enjoyed watching his house turn into a warehouse."
"He hated every second of it, and his mother actually tried to tackle one of the movers over a side table," I laughed, feeling the tension in my shoulders finally start to fade away as we walked into his foyer.
"I have prepared the East Wing for you, and I had my staff look into your previous preferences so I hope the colors and the layout are to your liking, but you are free to change anything you want because this is your home now, not just a place where you are staying," he said, leading me up a wide staircase to a set of double doors.
When he opened them, I saw a suite that was larger than the entire first floor of the villa, and it was filled with books I liked and a workspace that was better than my old office, and I looked at him with surprise because I hadn't expected him to go to this much trouble for a contract arrangement.
"You don't have to do all this, Gabriel, because we agreed this was for business and I don't want to be a burden on your household," I said, walking over to the window that looked out over a private garden.
Gabriel walked up behind me but stayed at a respectful distance, and his voice was low and serious as he said, "In this house, you are the boss and you are my wife, which means you are never a burden, and I want you to get used to the idea that you don't have to ask for permission to exist or to be comfortable anymore."
We went down to dinner an hour later, and the table was set for two in a small, cozy dining room instead of the massive, cold hall I was used to, and as the staff served us, Gabriel watched me with an intensity that made me feel like he was waiting for me to say something specific.
"I heard Clara showed up to try and play the peacemaker," he said, cutting into his steak with precision, "She’s the smartest one in that branch of the family, so you should be careful because she isn't as innocent as she looks and she will definitely be reporting back to Julian about everything she saw today."
"I know she is a spy, but there isn't much she can tell him that will help him now, because his company is bleeding money and he is desperate for the Apex merger," I replied, taking a sip of wine and feeling the weight of the day finally catching up to me.
"He called me ten times while you were moving, begging me to talk sense into you, and he even suggested that you were having a mental breakdown," Gabriel chuckled, and then he looked me in the eye and said, "I told him that you've never been more sane in your entire life."
I smiled and was about to respond when my phone buzzed on the table with a notification from the security system I had installed at the Valerius villa before I left, and when I swiped the screen to see the live feed, my heart stopped because I saw Julian and a man I didn't recognize standing in my old office, and they were holding a crowbar while they pointed at a floorboard that I thought nobody knew was loose.
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