Seeing Seraphina, Stella froze.
A flicker of panic darted across her eyes, followed by a barely perceptible flash of hostility. Yet she forced herself to keep it together, her voice trembling slightly. "Dr. Somerset, is... is Caspian inside?"
She was visibly tense, her red eyes a clear giveaway that she had been sobbing.
"I need to ask him a few questions to clear things up, but..." Stella bit her lip, turning her head as tears immediately spilled over. "Dr. Somerset, are you two together? Can I ask when it started? I don't mean anything by it, I just need to know what I did wrong..."
Looking at her broken expression, the lingering ache in Seraphina's chest flared again.
She saw an echo of her three-years-ago self. Desperately, pathetically clawing for an answer, searching for an impossible truth, only to be met with deafening silence that drove her into a spiral of agonizing self-doubt.
She used to be so confident and bright, but day by day she was whittled down into someone insecure, hyper-sensitive, and paranoid—until she finally hardened into the cold, ruthless woman she was today.
As someone who had survived the fire, Seraphina knew full well that some things simply couldn't be dodged.
Rather than letting Stella torture herself on the porch, it was better to bring her inside and lay everything bare.
Stepping aside, she gestured for Stella to come in. Her tone was even and gentle, entirely void of hostility. "Come inside first. He's in here."
Stella hesitated for a second before lowering her head and stepping into the villa.
"Thank you. I'll just ask my questions and leave. I won't take up too much of your time."
Hearing the voices, Caspian looked up from the living room. "Who is it at this hour?"
The moment his eyes landed on Stella, his expression froze over. The familiar annoyance and hostility surged back into his eyes, this time sharper than before.



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