Watching You Burn In Regret novel Chapter 91

Zena lost all composure, her fury erupting. "Seren! Do you even hear yourself right now?"

"And what if I do? Am I wrong?"

Seren's gaze was unwavering as she lifted her chin, meeting Zena's glare with cool defiance. There was no wavering, no trace of fear.

"You accuse me of being ungrateful, of never following your rules. But maybe you should take a moment to really think—ask yourself: did you ever actually raise me?

Oh, right, you did. From on high, you'd snap, 'This child is hopeless,' or mutter how you never should have had me at all, and then walk away without looking back."

Seren drew a steadying breath.

She remembered those early days.

Old Mr. Rutledge and Old Mrs. Rutledge had spoiled her, yes, but a child's parents are irreplaceable in their heart.

When she first came back to the Bradley family, she'd been so eager, yearning to get close to Zena, to finally belong. But all she ever saw in Zena's eyes was thinly veiled contempt and disgust.

Eventually, Seren became cautious, always tiptoeing around, forcing herself to please Zena—desperate for some sign of acceptance. But no matter how she tried, that look of disdain never disappeared.

She stopped trying to please. She just wanted to be herself. And in Zena's eyes, that made her unruly—rebellious.

Truthfully, most of Seren's memories of Zena were a blur. The only things that stood out, clear as day, were the words Zena had hurled at her—words that cut so deep.

Susan and Hollis exchanged a shocked glance.

They'd never imagined that Zena's idea of "discipline" amounted to this.

As parents themselves, they knew just how damaging it was to tell a child, "You're hopeless," or, "I never should have had you." Words like that could shatter a child's spirit.

If she was honest, Zena had never truly raised Seren—she'd just resigned herself to indifference, letting Seren drift.

"All this time, I thought you were just harsh on the outside but soft-hearted underneath. I kept telling myself, what parent doesn't love their own child?" Seren's lips curled into a bitter smile. "But I was wrong. Most people who are sharp-tongued still have hearts, but yours… yours is sharp through and through. You never loved me."

There were so many things she hadn't understood before, but now it all made sense.

If Zena had cared for her even a little, the rumors about her in Seaside City wouldn't have spiraled out of control these past few years. Zena had always turned a blind eye, never said a word in her defense—not once had she stepped up for her.

The rest of the Bradleys were no different.

So those three years she spent in Riverbend City—they were the years she finally gave up on the whole family. Every last hope, every longing, was worn away, day by day.

"Mrs. Bradley, you were born in the wrong era. You should've been a queen back in the Dark Ages—then no one would ever dare defy you."