Seraphina's POV
It was finally Thanksgiving break. A break from all of the school stress. A break from the long school session that would finally allow me to see my father.
A needed break.
The cab I took drove steady on the road, as if he was trying not to rush through his job. The driver hummed loudly as the soft jazz song played on the radio, his fingers were tapping the steering as he enjoyed the rhythm. I didn't mind the fact that he took his time, but the way he drove made me miss the house more.
I rested my face on the cool window and watched as the tall buildings and businesses went by. The streets were crowded with people, some holding suitcases like I earlier held on the street, others were either dragging grocery bags filled with ingredients for the thanksgiving dinner or we're in a hurry to get somewhere. Regardless, it felt like the whole city was preparing for something.
And I was preparing for the warm welcome at home.
I tightened the grip around the strap of my bag, a smile growing on my lips. No more lectures, no more assignments. Just a few quiet days with my father. It made me excited.
The driver took another slow turn, trying to avoid a pothole, and I looked up at the familiar sign ahead. We were getting close.
I began to wonder the look my father would have on his face, when he saw me arrive through the gates.
I began to wonder how he would feel when I told him I had good results, my GPA higher than anyone got last school session. A perfect score. The kind that would put respect on our family name.
I paid the cab driver and pulled my suitcase out of the car trunk. I turned and pulled the knob on the large door and, with a deep breath and a smile on my face, I pushed it open.
My father was sitting on the chair facing the door, as if he had been long expecting me. His hair, still graying at the temples, was slick back with his usual care. His eyes were sharp, just like mine. The lines on his face made him look even more stern than I remembered, and the way he sat with his tailored suit on, only added to his intimidating presence.
But there was a scowl on his face and a file in his hand.
Regardless of his expression, "Father…!" I tried greeting, my voice laced with forced excitement..
He lifted his hand up almost immediately, silencing me before I could even say another word.
He tossed the file he was holding at me, and I barely even caught it, the edge of the paper grazing my palm.
"I did a paternity test on my children, you know? Just to make sure," he started, his tone calm but laced with something cruel underneath.
"And it turns out you! You're not my daughter. You're a stranger."
I stared at him and then at the file in my hands, my fingers were visibly trembling. Words couldn't even form in my mouth. I wanted to scream, wanted to ask him questions, needed answers from him, but nothing came. My lips opened slightly, but yet, no sound followed. I just stood there, frozen, staring at the file, like everything would make sense.
"I want you out of my house immediately," he said coldly.
What?
"Sir?" I muttered, my voice barely loud enough for him to hear.
"I want you out of my house now!" His voice rose, sharp and final. "I can't keep a bastard under my roof."
Each word cut through me like a knife to my chest.
"Please, Father!" I began to plead, my voice shaking, tears already forming at the corners of my eyes. "I don't have anywhere to go!"
The tears now rolled faster than I could control them, dropping down my cheeks and soaking my top.
"Don't make me throw you out with force," he said sharply, turning his gaze away from me as if I now disgusted him.
I dropped to my knees almost immediately, seeing he had gotten serious. "Please, Father…
" My voice came out cracked.
But he didn't look at me. He didn't even move.
Instead, he called out coldly to no one in particular, "Take her out. She doesn't belong here."
Two guards stepped into the large room. Without hesitation, without even a single question as to why the man's own daughter was being thrown out, they followed the order like they were robots.
The next thing I knew, I was on the streets, my suitcase thrown beside me, the zipper almost completely opened and my underwear falling into the dirt ground like It was all a pathetic display of what my life had turned to, in mere minutes.
I couldn't begin to imagine if this was real.
I sat beside the sidewalk, my expression filled with confusion. My hands rested on my knees as my gaze focused on nothing but at the ground.
I didn't know where to start.
I had just been disowned.
I didn't know how to begin again. Where do I go? Who do I meet? What was I even supposed to do now?
After a while, after realizing no one was coming out to help me, no voice was calling me back like it was all a mistake. I slowly picked up my suitcase. My fingers gripped tightly around the handle, and with the tears blurring my eyes, I began pulling it down the street.
No destination. No direction.
I continued walking for minutes, lost in my thoughts, walking with no sense of direction. My legs continued moving on their own, clueless and tired, while my mind played everything again, over and over.
I just kept walking.
My gaze was too distant, to notice the car approaching me at full speed.
The sharp sound of its horn immediately brought me back to reality.
I gasped and jumped almost immediately, getting out of the way just in time as the car screeched to a stop. My suitcase also fell with me onto the sidewalk…..again.
A sharp pain shot through my elbow, but before I could even begin to process what had just happened, a voice called out to me.
"Seraphina?! Are you okay?"
I looked up at the person, my heart still beating fast and for the first time since I got, something almost made me smile.
It was my best friend…..Morgan Lewis.