Elowen's POV
Mrs. Edwin's voice floated from behind the counter, gentle yet edged with urgency.
"Elowen, can you help me with this order before your shift ends?"
I didn't hesitate. I never did. My steps were quick, light—like always. People said I moved like I carried no weight, though I knew better. Punctual, polite, dependable... but never too close.
"Of course, Sarah," I answered with a smile that I knew was graceful enough, the kind that reassured without inviting more. I took the package, cradling it carefully as I stepped outside into the soft amber hush of the fading day.
Behind me, I heard her murmur, "She's such a good child," her words warm with affection I wasn't sure I deserved.
Everyone seemed to adore me. They always had. They said there was something in me, they said, that stilled tempests, that soothed without words. I had become that for them: a balm, a quiet river that knew its way, a breeze too soft to stir the dust.
I listened more than I spoke. I respected my elders, offered kindness to friends, and even strangers seemed to find comfort in my presence.
But what they didn't see—what no one saw—was the ache beneath it all. The hollowness pressed deep into my ribs. The constant sense of never being enough, no matter how tightly I smiled, how perfectly I behaved. How much of a facade it was.
At the end of my shift, when the lights dimmed and silence filled the shop, I let myself sigh. "Finally done." The words slipped from my lips, heavy with fatigue. My cheer, the mask they knew, had dimmed into something smaller, quieter.
I wasn't one of the privileged few. I was the girl who worked until her body ached, who counted every coin, who carried more weight than most my age would ever imagine. I worked to survive. To support my mother. To save for a future that often felt too far away to touch.
But I couldn't stop. Not now. With the school break almost over, the final stretch of my last year awaited me. Projects, deadlines, the long climb to graduation. I needed the money. Needed it for the work, the supplies, the chance to finish well.
Still, the thought of graduating tugged a tired smile from me. A real one. If I could endure this, there would be more than just survival waiting for me. A degree. A decent job, maybe even a car. Freedom enough to carry the weight that had crushed my mother's shoulders for too long.
I thought of Hayley then. My only true friend. Not just a friend—something deeper, steadier. A soul-sister. Where I was calm, she was laughter and chaos, always pulling me back when I drifted too far into silence. She had been there since high school, her voice the constant thread weaving me back together.
This next half of my final year wasn't just about school. It was a promise—to her, to my mother, to myself. A vow to begin again. To grow. To live. Maybe, if I was brave enough, to be happy, even if it felt impossible.
By the time I finally walked home, the streets had emptied, shadows stretched long, and the clock whispered past eleven. Each step felt heavier than the last, but I kept moving, bracing myself for the sound I knew I'd hear the moment I stepped through the door.
"El, you're late again!" My mother's voice came sharp from the kitchen, worry masked in scolding. "Can't you care more about your health than money for once?"
I forced a smile and slipped into her arms, resting my head against her shoulder. Her warmth was weary but familiar, like the last ember of a fire you couldn't let go out.
"I also need money to take care of my health, Mum," I murmured, too tired to argue, too worn out to explain what she already knew. "Don't worry. I'm okay."
But the truth lingered in the silence between us. Neither of us was okay—not really. We had been surviving ever since my father died, balancing on the thin edge of necessity.
People thought losing him had been a tragedy too heavy to bear, but the truth was quieter, more tangled. His absence didn't leave behind good memories, not for me. Only shadows. Only the ache of things I wished I could forget, and the heavier guilt of feeling... relief.
And deeper still, the sharp sting of knowing there was something I could have stopped, maybe even should have stopped—but I hadn't. That silence was mine to carry, and I never spoke of it. Not even to Mum. It haunted me.
So I only held her tighter, as if my arms could shield her from the weight we both carried. One day, I promised myself, she wouldn't have to worry anymore. One day, I'd make sure of it.
♣️♠️♣️
Seraphina's POV
I floated in the stillness of my pool lounge, the water smooth as liquid glass beneath me. It reflected me back—statuesque, untouchable, but alone. The air was colder than it should have been, a chill that clung to my skin no matter how warm the water was. It always felt that way now.
"Boss, everything's ready."
Her voice cut through the quiet, soft but disciplined. I turned my head. A woman in a sleek black suit stood at the entrance, posture immaculate, eyes lowered. Respect—bordering on reverence.
I rose from the water in one slow, deliberate motion. Droplets traced me like an artist's hand lingering over the final stroke. My tattoos glistened under the low light, each mark a story, each curve of ink a reminder.
Eyes followed me often—feared me often—but I had learned to weaponize both., they said I was, Untouchable. But I was no angel—angels didn't carve their thrones out of blood.
She stepped forward, robe in hand. I could hear her breath hitch the moment my eyes found hers. Fox-like eyes, they called them. Sharp enough to cut through steel, sharp enough to cut through her.
I let my lips curve. Just enough to unsettle. "A newbie?" My English rolled smooth, the edges still softened by the velvet weight of my accent.
"Yes, Boss." Her reply was too quick. Her body too stiff.
I tilted my head, amusement tugging at me. "Do I scare you?"
She stiffened. "No... I just respect you, Boss."
"Respect." I stepped closer, enjoying the way her composure faltered. "So you're not scared of me?"
Her panic bled through as she stumbled back, nearly falling. Clumsy. I caught her with a steady hand at her back, saving her from her own imbalance. For a heartbeat she looked at me like I was something more than mortal.
I released her just as quickly, distaste brushing over me. "Clumsy," I muttered, the word sharper than any blade.
"I—I'm sorry, Boss."
I ignored her. The robe slid across my skin, erasing the water, erasing softness. My back was already to her when I spoke again. "Boring. Tell your commander to clear the basement. I want nothing left."
By the time I was dressed, evening had draped itself across the estate. Tonight, I was leaving.
Seraphina Esposito. The name alone had become a weapon. The one they feared, the one they whispered about.
The woman who had inherited a Mafia empire at nineteen, when bullets cut my parents out of the world and left me bleeding into the throne. The girl who once laughed had been buried that same year.
Now, at twenty-four, I was something else entirely. Cold. Efficient. A predator shaped by fire and shadow. Every love I had clung to was gone—some ripped from me, others I had ended myself. Loss had sharpened me until there was nothing left to soften.
Since then, I had fought wars, buried rivals, and rebuilt the kingdom in my own way. And now, for the first time in years, the storm had quieted. The enemies were dead or obedient, the businesses thriving, the foundations secure.
I could afford a break.
Not an abdication, not an escape. No one ever truly ruled in my absence—I ruled from everywhere. But I could leave the day-to-day in their hands for a while. They would sweat beneath the weight of responsibility, but they would manage. And if they didn't, I would know.
I was leaving for London. Not forever. Just long enough. I had pushed college aside for years, but now I would finish the remaining few months of it—far from here, in London.
Not for redemption. Not for hope.
No. I knew better than that.
{Steph🥀: Hiiii lovelies, firstly I want to say thank you for giving my novel a try and I hope you find it worth your time, the first two chapters are mainly an insight into the the two characters personalities and their contrast so you can get to know them better and understand the character development in later chapters so please don't find it boring the rest chapters gets even better! Thanks for reading :)}