Chapter 2

2.

My hands clenched into fists at my sides as I watched Clementine walk toward us.

Caspian's playful, arrogant expression vanished instantly.

He shifted his weight, instinctively stepping between me and Clementine.

"Cleo, it's freezing out here. Why did you come out?"

His voice was dripping with concern, completely ignoring the fact that his actual girlfriend was standing right there.

"I'm fine, really. It's not that cold."

Her voice was soft and delicate. Caspian's expression darkened with worry.

"How can you say that? Your nose is already turning red."

He quickly unwrapped the expensive cashmere scarf from his own neck and bundled it around her.

After fussing over her for a moment, Clementine was left peering at me with nothing but her big, watery eyes visible.

"Don't mind him, Sera. I've always been a bit fragile, so Caspian tends to overreact."

I squeezed my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.

Caspian had been arguing with me in the middle of a freezing street for ten minutes.

He hadn't noticed that my voice was heavy with a cold or that I was shivering.

But the moment Clementine's nose got a little pink, he gave her the only scarf he had.

It was blindingly obvious who actually mattered to him.

"Sera, don't get the wrong idea. Cleo is just..."

Caspian finally noticed my silence and tried to offer an explanation.

I didn't want to hear another lie. "Caspian, you told me you were working late at the office tonight."

"Clementine isn't your coworker, and this alley certainly isn't your office. Don't you have anything real to say to me?"

Clementine's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Sera, please don't be mad. It's all my fault. I'll leave right now."

She covered her face and ran back into the shadows of the alley.

Caspian's brow furrowed in anger.

He was clearly desperate to chase after her, but he stopped to bark at me first. "Seraphina Sterling, you look absolutely hideous when you're being this unreasonable!"

Right. I was the unreasonable one.

In front of Clementine, his pet name for me had already vanished. I was no longer Sera; I was just Seraphina.

The line between who he loved and who he was using was drawn in the sand.

I got back to our apartment in the early hours of the morning.

A text from Caspian popped up: "Cleo has a fever. I'm staying with her for a while. I'll be back late."

I deleted it with a cold laugh.

I grabbed a stack of industrial trash bags and began packing every single thing in the house that I had paid for.

As I worked, the realization hit me like a physical blow.

In our entire year together, every piece of furniture and every luxury item was bought by me. He hadn't given me a single gift.

Meanwhile, Clementine's social media was a gallery of his affection. Eight out of ten posts were photos of the thoughtful gifts he bought her daily.

I sat on the sofa, staring at the increasingly empty apartment.

I didn't need a week to move on. I was already halfway out the door.

But since we had shared a life, I decided I would at least give him a proper goodbye.