Seraphine smiled like she couldn’t believe she was even having this conversation, then she leaned back slightly in her chair and started explaining in a calm voice that made Ravyn’s blood boil even faster.
"Well, I never asked Daisy for that video, and since she went ahead and sent it to me on her own, I figured it was only fair that if I got to watch it, then other people could too."
Ravyn looked like he might explode right there in the room. His fists clenched at his sides, his jaw locked so tight it probably hurt, and his breathing was sharp and uneven, like he was holding back either a scream or tears or both.
Voren noticed it all, but instead of reacting the way Ravyn expected, he found himself studying Seraphine. There was just something about her that amused him in a strange, frustrating way, even while everything around them was spiraling out of control.
He didn’t know exactly what it was. Maybe it was because part of him was just as angry at Ravyn for being careless enough to let something like this happen in the first place, or maybe it was because Daisy had been stupid enough to send the video at all.
Either way, Voren was beyond ready to hear what Seraphine was really planning, and she didn’t waste time dancing around it.
"In the normal world," she said evenly, folding her arms, "accepting a job to make a video go viral costs a whole lot of money. So you’re gonna have to pay me for spreading it, and you’re also gonna have to pay me for taking it down."
Ravyn snapped. "What the fuck?" he snarled, his voice breaking like he was hanging by a thread. "No way in hell are you getting another dime from me."
Seraphine just shrugged, completely unfazed by his outburst, like she’d seen tantrums far worse than this.
"Alright," she replied casually. "Then don’t stand in my way. I’ve got places to be." She started to rise from her seat, but Ravyn immediately stepped forward.
"No, no, no," he said, shaking his head hard. "Daisy sent that video by accident."
Seraphine chuckled softly, almost sadly. "Oh, Ravyn," she said, tilting her head. "You’ll always believe whatever she tells you."
"That’s because Daisy doesn’t lie," Ravyn fired back, his voice thick with rage. "Unlike you." Nothing about his reaction surprised Seraphine anymore.
She had grown used to this version of Ravyn, the blind loyalty, the stubborn refusal to see truth even when it was shoved right in his face. She had lived with it for years, swallowed it down for years, made excuses for him for years.
"What if I had proof?" she asked quietly, Ravyn pressed his lips together before answering. "I’d like to see it."
Without another word, Seraphine pulled out her phone, opened her chat with Daisy, and handed it to him with the video still sitting right there in the thread.
She watched him closely as his eyes scanned the messages. For a moment, surprise flickered across his face.
Just a moment. Then his expression hardened again, settling back into stubborn denial. "Daisy sent it by mistake," he said flatly. "You’re doing all this just to set her up."
That was when it hit.


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