My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 390

Chapter 390: Chapter 390 PLAYING GAMES

SERAPHINA’S POV

For a moment, I simply stared at Catherine, certain I had misheard her.

The ocean roared behind us, waves breaking against unseen cliffs beyond the grassland, but the sound seemed distant and unreal compared to the sudden pounding of my heart.

“What did you just say?” I asked.

Catherine’s smile deepened, the expression almost indulgent now that she had finally provoked the reaction she wanted.

“Edward,” she repeated.

My father’s name hung between us like a ghost.

Catherine tilted her head as though considering how much to reveal. She studied my face with open curiosity, clearly enjoying the tension she had created.

“I know,” she said at last, “that there were...complications between you and Edward.”

The understatement almost made me laugh.

Complications.

Years of cold silence, harsh expectations, and a lifetime of being treated as an afterthought were apparently summarized by that single inept word.

“There are many regrets between the two of you,” Catherine continued, watching my expression closely.

My jaw tightened. “You don’t know anything about my family and me.”

“I’m merely observing,” she replied smoothly. “Regret has a way of lingering long after people are gone.”

I hated it, how on the nose she was.

“Imagine, Seraphina,” she went on, “being given an opportunity to resolve those regrets.”

A surge of anger rushed through me.

“My father is dead,” I snarled. “There are no more opportunities.”

“That,” she said calmly, “is a very simplistic understanding of events.”

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?”

“You are,” I hissed. “I saw him die—right before my very eyes. I watched his coffin go into the fucking ground.”

Her tone carried the soft patience of someone entertaining a child’s objections.

“There are certain...possibilities available to those who understand the deeper mechanisms of life and death.”

My stomach tightened, Aaron’s face flashing in my mind.

My fists clenched at my side. “What are you implying?”

Catherine’s eyes gleamed. “I’m saying that the past is not always as permanently out of reach as people assume.”

My heart began to pound harder. “You’re playing games.”

She shook her head. “Not at all.”

She took a slow step closer, her movements unhurried.

“I happen to know of a way,” she said, “that you might be able to make amends with Edward.”

The words struck somewhere deep inside my chest before I could stop them.

For years, I had carried a complicated weight regarding my father. Anger had come easily. Resentment had come naturally. Yearning was a constant.

Yet somewhere beneath all of that lay a quieter emotion that I had never fully confronted, stronger since his death and recent revelations of truth.

Regret.

Catherine saw the moment the idea touched me.

Her smile widened.

“Of course,” she added, “such an opportunity would require your full cooperation.”

There it was.

The price.

I forced myself to take a slow breath.

“You expect me to believe any of the bullshit you’re spewing?”

“I expect you to be curious.”

I shook my head. “I’m not.”

“Really?”

Her tone dripped with condescension now, as though she could see straight through the lie.

“You’re not even slightly interested in the possibility of closure?”

I said nothing.

In my mind, however, the question echoed louder than I would have liked.

Closure.

The word carried a dangerous pull.

Catherine continued speaking in the same calm, coaxing tone.

“You were always a promising child. Even when the others overlooked you, I could see the potential in you.”

The compliment felt strange coming from her.

“And when your power first began to manifest,” she continued, “I understood immediately how dangerous the situation was.”

My eyes narrowed. “You’re referring to the sealing ritual.”

“Yes.” A sigh escaped her. “An unpleasant necessity.”

My chest heated with anger.

“You advocated for that ritual.”

Her lips twitched. “Honey, I designed it.”

The admission came without apology.

“And it protected you,” she added.

“Protected me?” I asked incredulously.

“Of course.”

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