Seraphina’s Pov;
The past doesn’t always come roaring back.
Sometimes it just… stands there.
Waiting to see if you’ll flinch.
I realized that the morning my grandmother asked me to come with her to the old house.
Not asked, really.
Informed.
“We need to inventory what remains,” she said over breakfast, voice steady, almost casual. “Julian’s lawyer has requested documentation. Not access. Just confirmation.”
My stomach dropped anyway.
“The house?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I stared down at my coffee, watching the surface ripple slightly from my shaking hand. I hadn’t been there since the day I left. Since I walked out with Lina half-asleep on my shoulder and my heart lodged in my throat.
“I don’t know if I’m ready,” I admitted.
My grandmother studied me carefully. “You don’t have to be r
