Chapter 3

3

I turned and walked away immediately, leaving the helmet behind.

But that night, as I pulled into my apartment's underground garage, a dark shadow stepped out from behind a pillar.

Before I could react, a cold metal bar was pressed hard against my throat.

It was Lucian.

He smelled of heavy liquor. His eyes were bloodshot. He muttered an apology, but his grip was ruthless as he pinned me against the car door.

"Seraphina, just hand it over. That watch is useless to you. Why are you being so selfish?"

I grit my teeth. The steering wheel lock was crushing my windpipe. I struggled to breathe. "Never..."

He shoved the metal harder against my skin. The threat was clear.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is over there? If Giselle doesn't have something valuable to protect her, she'll be eaten alive! She's too innocent for that world!"

His voice was thick with desperation for Giselle and rage toward me.

"Do you want her dead that badly? Would that finally make you happy? Do you think I'd love you then? You're pathetic, Seraphina!"

I was turning red, my lungs screaming for air.

"Cough... are you... really going to kill me... for her? Lucian!" I gasped with the last of my strength.

A flash of panic crossed Lucian's eyes, and he suddenly let go.

"I'm sorry..." In the darkness, his face was a mask of regret and aggression.

I leaned against the car, coughing violently until tears streamed down my face. I pulled the velvet box from my bag and snapped it open, revealing the shimmering antique watch.

"Do you know this is the only thing my mother left me?"

"I know." Lucian's throat moved as he avoided my gaze, but his voice remained firm. "Seraphina, I'm not asking you to go in her place, but at least give her a fighting chance."

I stared into his bottomless eyes and suddenly started laughing. The sound echoed through the empty garage, eerie and hollow.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she gets her 'fighting chance.'"

Lucian didn't catch my drift, or maybe he didn't care. He lowered the lock and glanced at the watch one last time.

"Give it to her yourself."

He left without looking back.

I touched my neck and felt something warm. The metal had broken the skin. It wasn't deep, but it burned like hell.

Good.

Lucian, consider this my final payment for you taking that steel beam for me in the past life.

We're done. Let's stop torturing each other.

I'll give you exactly what you want.

...

The next day, I went to a high-end mall. As soon as I entered a boutique, I saw them.

Lucian was helping Giselle pick out a dress.

"Oh, look who it is!" Giselle's sweet smile hid a sharp edge of malice.

She was wearing a moon-white mermaid gown encrusted with diamonds. She looked like a princess under the spotlights.

"Sister, does this look good? Lucian said it suits my personality perfectly."

Lucian looked surprised to see me. His eyes locked onto the band-aid on my neck, and his pupils contracted sharply.

It had been too dark in the garage for him to realize he'd actually hurt me.

"I'm here to pick up my order." I ignored them and walked toward the manager.

The manager looked awkward, pointing at Giselle. "Miss Vance, this is the gown your mother custom-made for your debutante ball years ago... I don't know how the second Miss Vance ended up wearing it..."

My mother designed this for my eighteenth birthday. She said I should wear it on my wedding day.

Giselle did this on purpose.

"Take it off. Now. Giselle." I stared at her like she was a common thief.

Giselle's eyes welled up. She ducked behind Lucian, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was mom's... I just loved it so much..."

Lucian stepped in front of her, shielding her completely. He frowned at me, his voice full of reproach.

"It's just a dress, Seraphina. Is this really necessary? She didn't mean it."

I didn't waste words. I lunged forward and grabbed Giselle by her hair, pulling hard enough to make her scream.

"Can't you hear me? I said take it off!"

In the struggle, Giselle's hair came undone. She sobbed and apologized while I looked like the psychotic, abusive sister.

"Enough!"

Lucian snapped. He grabbed my wrist with a force that felt like it would shatter the bone.

"You're crossing the line, Seraphina! This isn't how a sister behaves!"

I barked at him, "Let go!"

He didn't budge. If anything, he squeezed harder. "Did you come here just to torment her?"

My wrist throbbed. One of the larger diamonds on the dress caught my palm during the struggle, sinking deep into my flesh.

Blood surged out, staining the white fabric.

Lucian didn't notice. He kept tightening his grip, his words cutting deeper than any diamond.

"Why do you have to fight her for everything?"

"She likes it. Can't you just let her have it? she's leaving soon! She won't be in your way anymore!"

I looked up, my eyes red and my brow furrowed in pain. "This is my mother's! Why should I give it up?"

The watch.

The dress.

Everything my mother left me had to be surrendered!

Why!

Lucian saw the hatred in my eyes and softened his tone, speaking to me like a petulant child.

"You can't even use it right now. Besides, I'm the one you're marrying."

"Just do it for me. Let her have this one. I'll buy you ten, a hundred better ones later. Trust me, Seraphina."

"Ha."

I laughed until tears came. With a burst of strength, I ripped my hand out of his grasp.

I didn't care that my palm was a bloody mess.

I pulled the Swiss Army knife from my bag. The blade flicked out with a sharp click. Before he could react, I slashed it past his cheek, leaving a thin red line.

"Who said I was marrying you?"