Chapter 2 You Can't Leave Me
879 Words
"What's there to explain?"
Damien sounded impatient. Beside him, Celeste chuckled softly and said, "Seraphina, you've got it all wrong. Damien was just giving me a massage. I told him my shoulders have been sore from work lately, so he offered to help."
As she spoke, Celeste glanced at Damien, her eyes carrying a playful charm. Just that one look made Damien's throat go dry. He nodded. "Yeah, it was just a massage."
The way he said "massage" had a lingering tone, making Celeste's cheeks flush. She shot him a playful glare.
The two of them were openly flirting right in front of Seraphina, completely indifferent to her presence. It was disgusting. Laughable.
But Seraphina hadn't rushed home for this humiliating spectacle.
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she struggled to suppress the fury rising in her chest.
She fixed her gaze on Damien, her voice hoarse as she demanded, "Damien, why do Celeste's new jewelry designs look exactly like my sketches? You told me my designs were terrible. That they weren't even worth putting on the market."
Seraphina tried to hold herself together, to appear strong. But her tears betrayed her, slipping down her cheeks despite her efforts.
She couldn't stop herself from breaking down—because to her, Damien wasn't just her husband.
He was the only family she had left.
She had believed, no matter what, that he would at least feel a shred of guilt.
But she was wrong.
She searched his eyes, hoping for any trace of remorse.
"That's just your opinion." Damien's tone was indifferent, but his words made no effort to hide his admiration for Celeste. "Celeste is the most sought-after jewelry designer right now. Even trash would turn to gold with her name on it."
No.
Seraphina wanted to refute him.
Her designs weren't trash. On her way home, she had overheard countless people praising them.
People liked her work.
She had talent. Magnate Gems had seen it. That was why they offered her a chance.
"Seraphina, don't be mad at Damien. He did it for you," Celeste said with a bright smile. "If we released the design under your name, no one would buy it. That'd crush your confidence, wouldn't it? He only did this because he wants you to be happy."
Her words sounded comforting, but her tone dripped with mockery.
Clinging to Damien's arm, Celeste suddenly gasped. "Oh! Damien, I almost forgot! We have that gala tonight. I can't decide on a dress. Why don't you help me pick one?"
"Sounds good."
Damien nodded without hesitation, letting Celeste hold onto him as they brushed past Seraphina without a second glance.
Just as Damien was about to walk out the door, Seraphina's voice trembled as she spoke again.
"Damien, you know what that design meant to me."
That design was her tribute to her late mother. She had spent two whole years perfecting it.
Damien stopped in his tracks.
For a fleeting moment, hope flickered in Seraphina's chest.
She thought—maybe he would apologize.
But Damien only responded coldly, "So what? Seraphina, stop acting up. As long as you have me, your life will be fine. Don't forget, without me, you have nowhere to go."
With a loud slam, the door shut behind him.
Seraphina collapsed to the floor. Tears streamed down her face, dripping onto the back of her hands.
She couldn't understand it.
The Damien who had promised to love her forever when she was eighteen—how had he become like this?
She remembered their first meeting.
She was sixteen.
She would never forget that day.
It was the dead of winter, snow falling heavily around her as she fled from the clutches of a man she could only describe as a monster—her own father. She was desperate, searching for help for her mother.
But it was Christmas Eve. Every household had shut their doors.
Seraphina had no idea how long she had been walking in the snow.
Her bare feet, clad only in slippers, had long since gone numb.
She kept moving forward, relying on sheer willpower, her vision hazy. Blood still oozed from the wounds on her body.
"What happened to you?"
A voice came from above her.
For a moment, Seraphina thought she had met an angel.
She looked up and saw Damien standing in front of her, his face full of concern.
"Help her... please... help my mom..."
She didn't care that the boy in front of her was barely older than she was. She reached out, clutching his sleeve like it was her last lifeline.
And then—she blacked out.
When she woke up, she was in the hospital.
Damien had called the police. Her father—the man who had beaten her for as long as she could remember—was sent to prison.
And her mother—she had survived.
Though after that day, her mother lost her mind.
But to Seraphina, Damien had been her savior.
Snapping back to reality, she glanced down at her hand, her lips curling into a bitter smile.
The wedding ring on her finger gleamed under the light.
Just like the stars on the night Damien proposed.
Dazzling. Hanging in the sky. Shining down on her.
- Writer
