The knock came mid-morning, firm and deliberate, and before Seraphina could even rise from her seat by the window, Marcelline was already striding across the hall to answer. Seraphina half-hoped it would be no one at all, that the sound had only been her restless imagination. But when Marcelline returned, her face was pale with fury.
"He's here," she said tightly.
Seraphina's heart lurched. She didn't need to ask who.
Lucian filled the doorway before she could speak, tall and immaculate as ever, though his coat was unbuttoned and his tie knotted hastily, as if he had dressed in a hurry. His eyes, green as summer fields, locked onto her with desperate hunger.
"Sera," he breathed, and for a moment she almost forgot how to breathe herself.
Marcelline hovered close, lips pressed thin. "You have no right to be here."
"I came for her," Lucian replied, never breaking Seraphina's gaze. "Please, Marcelline. Just let me speak to her. To my bride."
Seraphina flinched at the word. Bride. She was not his bride, not anymore, not ever. And yet some part of her heart ached at the sound, recalling the years she had believed herself to be exactly that.
"Five minutes," Marcelline said flatly, retreating only to the edge of the room, arms folded, watchful as a hawk.
Lucian stepped inside, removing his gloves with trembling hands. "You look pale," he murmured. "Are you eating? Sleeping? You shouldn't suffer because of my—" He swallowed hard. "Because of my mistake."
Seraphina stood rigid, her fingers gripping the fabric of her gown until her knuckles ached. "Mistake?" she repeated softly, her voice breaking on the word.
Lucian closed the space between them, dropping to one knee before her like a penitent knight. "It was nothing, Sera. Nothing compared to you. I lost my head, I—" His words tumbled fast, urgent. "But you are my life, my future. You've always been. I see it now, clearer than ever. Children, a home, everything we dreamed—"
"Stop." Her voice cut sharp, but her chest ached as his words conjured visions she had once clung to. Their children. Their home. Dreams she had nurtured like fragile seedlings.
He reached for her hand, and for a split second, she let him. His palm was warm, familiar, the kind of touch that had once soothed every fear. But now it felt wrong, heavy, a lie pressed against her skin. She jerked back as if stung.
Lucian's smile faltered, desperation flashing in his eyes. "Don't do this. Don't shut me out."
"You shut me out," she whispered, voice trembling with fury. "The moment you let her touch you. The moment you let her kiss you." The image of Isolde's lips against his throat surged before her eyes, hot and sickening.
Lucian rose swiftly, his composure cracking. "It was meaningless! Do you hear me? Meaningless!"
"Meaningless doesn't leave scars," she spat.
Their voices rose, filling the room with jagged edges. Marcelline shifted uneasily but did not interfere. Seraphina's tears burned her cheeks as Lucian reached for her again, this time trying to pull her into an embrace. She shoved against his chest, but his arms only tightened, frantic.
Then a voice, smooth as silk, cut through the chaos.
"Well. Isn't this cozy?"
Both turned sharply.
Kaelen Armand stood at the threshold, dark coat draped carelessly over his shoulders, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of amusement and something more dangerous. He looked perfectly composed, as though the tension in the room were merely another performance staged for his pleasure.
Seraphina's breath caught. Of all the moments for him to appear—
Lucian's face darkened. "You have no business here."
Kaelen smiled, stepping into the room unhurriedly, each movement deliberate. "On the contrary. I came earlier with something for Vivienne, your boss at the firm. I lingered." His gaze slid to Seraphina, lingered a fraction too long, enough to make her skin heat.
Lucian stiffened. "Get out."
Kaelen ignored him. "You see, I find it curious," he drawled, "a man so devoted, so in love, finding comfort in hotel rooms with another woman." He tilted his head, watching Lucian with predator's ease. "Strange definition of love."
Lucian lunged forward, fury blazing. "Watch your tongue."
Kaelen didn't flinch. His smile only widened, wicked and lazy. "Or what? You'll betray her twice in one week?"
The air snapped with tension, thick enough to choke on. Seraphina stood frozen between them, her pulse hammering, her body betraying her with a tremor that wasn't only fear.
"Don't you dare speak about us," Lucian snarled, his voice raw.
"Oh, but everyone's speaking," Kaelen purred, eyes flicking toward Seraphina again, sharper this time, cutting through her like a blade. "And she deserves better than whispers and lies."
Seraphina's breath hitched, her throat tight. His words seared into her, truth tangled with temptation. She hated the way her heart responded, hated the shiver that ran through her under his gaze.
"Enough!" Marcelline's voice cracked like a whip, finally stepping between them. Her eyes blazed at Kaelen first, then at Lucian. "Both of you — out. Now. Before you tear her apart in your pissing contest."
Neither man moved at first, their stares locked like swords. But finally, Lucian wrenched himself back, seething. "This isn't over, Seraphina." His voice was softer as he looked at her, pleading again. "It will never be over." Then he stormed out, the door slamming behind him.
Kaelen lingered a moment longer, his smirk curling, eyes glinting with something unspoken. He bowed slightly, mocking. "Until next time, darling." His gaze lingered, heavy, before he too vanished into the hall.
The silence that followed rang louder than any shouting.
Marcelline turned to Seraphina, her face drawn with both fury and fear. "He'll ruin you, Sera. Both of them, in different ways. And I— I can't watch it happen."
Seraphina said nothing. Her body moved stiffly, almost without thought, as she walked to the door and leaned her back against it. Her chest rose and fell in shallow gasps, her mind replaying Lucian's pleading eyes, his arms around her, and then Kaelen's voice curling around her like smoke.
Her lips still remembered Lucian's kiss that had once belonged only to her. But her skin… her skin still burned under the weight of Kaelen's gaze.
She pressed her palms against her face, whispering into the silence, "What am I becoming?"