Chapter 4: The Name on the Screen
639 Words
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. Seraphina's eyes stayed locked on the phone in Lucien's hand. Valeria. The name burned like acid.
For a brief moment, nobody moved or spoke. Lucien's jaw tightened. Then, without a word, he silenced the call.
A strange feeling settled in Seraphina's chest. Not relief. Not satisfaction. Just pain. Because if she hadn't overheard them earlier, she would have seen his action as proof that she mattered. But now? Now she wondered how many times he had answered. How many times he had chosen Valeria over her.
Lucien slipped the phone back into his pocket. "Is that why you're upset?"
His question caught her off guard. Seraphina looked away. "Why would I be upset?"
A muscle ticked in his jaw. "Valeria."
The name alone made her stomach twist. She forced herself to stay calm. "What about her?"
Lucien studied her carefully. "She came back unexpectedly."
Unexpectedly. As if that explained everything. As if that erased the conversation she'd overheard. As if that erased years of lies.
"I heard."
His eyes narrowed. "Heard what?"
For a dangerous second, Seraphina almost told him. Almost demanded answers. Almost asked why he had stolen three years of her life. But she swallowed the questions. The answers wouldn't change anything. Not anymore.
Instead, she forced a small smile. "The entire pack is talking about her return."
The tension in Lucien's shoulders eased slightly. "I see."
Another lie. Another secret. The mate bond between them suddenly felt suffocating.
Lucien moved toward her. "Valeria's return changes nothing."
The words should have comforted her. Instead, they only deepened the wound. Because actions spoke louder than words. And his actions had already told her everything she needed to know.
She lowered her gaze. "Of course."
For some reason, her response seemed to irritate him. His frown deepened. "Seraphina."
"What?"
"Look at me."
Reluctantly, she raised her eyes. The concern she found there nearly broke her. Because it felt real. And that was the problem. Lucien had always been kind to her—attentive, protective. Yet somehow, despite all of that, he had still managed to destroy her.
"You've been crying," he said quietly.
"I'm tired."
"You're lying."
The words landed between them. For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Lucien sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. He looked suddenly exhausted. "I have a meeting early tomorrow."
Seraphina almost laughed. A meeting. That was how he planned to end this conversation. After everything. But she simply nodded. "Then you should get some rest."
His gaze lingered on her face, as if searching for something. As if he knew she was slipping away but couldn't understand why. Finally, he turned toward the door.
Relief washed through her. She needed him gone. Needed space to breathe. Needed space to leave.
Just as he reached the doorway, he stopped. Without turning around, he said, "I love you, Seraphina."
Her heart cracked. Because once upon a time, those words had meant everything. Now they felt like another lie.
She waited until the door closed behind him. Until his footsteps faded down the hallway. Only then did she collapse onto the bed. Tears streamed down her face.
A few minutes later, she stood and wiped them away. Enough. She couldn't stay here—not another day, not another hour.
Crossing the room, she grabbed her suitcases. Then she opened the drawer beside her bed. Inside sat a small velvet box. Her fingers trembled as she picked it up. The Luna necklace—the symbol of her position, the symbol of her bond to Lucien.
Slowly, she placed it on the bed. She wasn't taking it with her.
By dawn, she would be gone. And Lucien would wake up to find his Luna missing. Unaware that she had taken something far more precious than a title. His child.
- Writer
