Chapter 162 Broken Heart
>>Azef
I shot my eyes open and sat up in a frenzy
“What happened!?!?” I asked as soon as I saw Xia-Lin sitting on the dressing puffy. She put the tube she was using down on the table and turned around to look at me.
“What happened?” She seemed annoyed, “Azef, you’re getting very hard to deal with.” She showed me her arm, “You even scratched me.” She was in her silk navy blue gown and the sleeve slid back on her skin when she raised her arm.
…
Shit,
Those were clearly claw marks and obviously they are mine.
“Uhhh,” I kept staring at them, “They’ll heal?” They weren’t deep. I must have taken them out without realizing. The upper layer on the skin was cut, so if taken care of properly, they won’t leave a scar either.
“Your wolf was out of control,” She asked, “I’ve never seen it like that.”
I let out a sigh, then buried my face in my palms, “It woke up… “
“It woke up?” She frowned, “Why? Because of your rut?”
“Maybe…” I rubbed my hands on my face, then brought them down, “But I can tell he was very irritated.”
“Whatever,” She rolled her eyes, “Someone was trying to call you desperately.” She started tending to her injury again, “You might want to call them back.”
I grabbed my phone from the sideable and looked at the caller ID
Hmmm?
It was Ces? The boy who works in a lab?
Why is he calling? I was still thinking about whether to call him back or not when my phone screen lit up again because of the incoming call from Ces.
“Hello?” I groggily answered the call.
“Beta! We got a problem!!” He was in a panic, but that’s not something odd considering it’s Ces. He panics easily.
“What problem?” I asked,
“Remember after we talked last time,”
“Hmm?”
“When I told you about the blood sample, you asked me to have someone spy on Somi Soma, remember?”
“Yea,” I got off the bed, “What about it?”
“Well, we might have a small problem.”
>>Seraphina
It felt like the weight of the world was bearing down on my shoulders, a sense of utter despair washed over me like a tidal wave, threatening to engulf me in its depths. It felt as though everything I had ever known and loved was slipping through my fingers, leaving me stranded in a sea of uncertainty and sorrow.
The realization that I wasn't the mate of the man I had fallen so deeply in love with was like a dagger to the heart, piercing me with a pain that cut deeper than any physical wound. I had allowed myself to believe in a future that could never be—a future filled with love and happiness, with him by my side. But now, that future lay shattered at my feet, nothing more than a cruel illusion.
I can’t believe I was stupid enough to think it could be me.
I read somewhere, if people aren’t given love on a silver spoon, they learn to lick it off knives. I scoffed as I held the tears in. Looks like that was the case with me.
To make matters worse, the discovery that the number I had used to send messages to my late mother had been taken by someone else only added salt to the wound. It felt like a betrayal, a cruel twist of fate that mocked me with the reminder of everything I had lost.
As I sat there in the bedroom, lost in my own thoughts, tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision as they spilled over onto my cheeks, I couldn’t stop them. The pain was overwhelming, a crushing weight that threatened to suffocate me with its intensity. My headache got worse as well but I didn’t feel sleepy.
I felt like closing my eyes and never waking up again, but I wasn’t sleepy.
I felt as though I was drowning in a sea of grief, unable to find my way to the surface. Every breath felt like a struggle, every heartbeat a reminder of the emptiness that now consumed me.
In that moment, all I wanted was to escape—to run away from the pain and the heartache, to find some semblance of peace in a world that seemed determined to crush me beneath its heel.
But as I sat there, enveloped in the suffocating embrace of despair, I knew that there was no escape. I was trapped. I glanced at Eris who was still asleep.
If she wasn’t there? Would things have been different for me? Would I have been able to live a better life? Would I have been able to run away sooner? Maybe I could have lived so much better than I am living right now.
Maybe I would have found love too.
I might have gone to college. Spent my days like a normal student.
I looked away,
What did I expect? That fate would be kind to me? It has never been kind to me.
…
I don’t think it ever will be…
I was in utter despair when I brought Eris to her kindergarten. It felt like it was suffocating to even breathe and my headache was getting worse by the hour. Runy drove us to school and I was thankful for that. If she didn’t I might have taken the wrong bus or something and we would have ended God knows where. I wasn’t in my right mind at the moment.
I let out a sigh as I stood at the gate where the teachers were welcoming the kids.
“Sera?” Eris tugged at my pants, “Are you okay?” She stared at me.
!!!
God. Her question made me realize something. I can’t even keep a straight face in front of a child.
I forced a smile on my lips, “I’m alright,”
“You look sad,” She frowned. A look of worry took over her face and that tugged at the strings of my heart.
I was surprised at how she caught onto that, “No,” I lied to her as I crouched down in front of her, “I'm not sad, I’m just tired.”
“...” She stared at me with suspicious eyes, “Are you lying to me?”
!!!
How did she know?
“Why would I lie to you?” I asked while still trying to smile, “I have no reason to lie to my sister, do I?”
“I don’t know,” She shrugged, “I’m just getting this feeling that you are.” Since the day Azef told her to trust her guts, she’s been doing that a little too much.
I patted her head, “I’m alright,” I kissed her forehead, “How about you trust my words?” I pinched her cheek.
“Hmmm,” She stared at me for a few more seconds, then nodded, “Okay, I’ll believe you,” The teacher saw us and called Eris in.
“Your teacher is calling, you should go now,” I stood up straight again.
“Bye bye, Sera,” She turned around and went running it while waving her hand to me,
“Hey, look ahead!” I yelled, “You’ll bang into something!!”
“Okaay!” She turned head face ahead, “I looovveee yoouuuuu,”
I let out a soft chuckle, “I love you too,” I whispered as I watched her go in.
My whole world is falling apart, but, at the very least, I have Eris with me.
She makes the world a little less gloomy. I can’t believe I thought about not having her in my life. She’s my sole sunflower in a world that has no sun.
I went to work. I cleaned up the club’s first floor with a few other staff members while I tried to keep my thoughts away from all the things depressing me. Not that it was working but keeping myself busy was the only way I could think of.
I wondered while I mopped the floor, why did Azef protect me so much? He even said he’d pay my debt since I belonged to him. Well, he said that because I was his collateral but-
No,
I shook my head
Don’t think about it! Don’t!
I started to mop even harder as I chanted the words in my brain.
Don’t think about it! Don’t think about it! Don’t think about it! Don’t think about it! Don’t think about it!
My phone rang out of nowhere, startling me
!!
I almost jumped at the sudden sound and vibration coming from my pocket.
Oh, Lord.
I got my phone as I placed the mop against the floor.
“Hello,” And then I answered the phone.
“Hi, Sera, it’s me, Eris’s teacher.”
“Yes?” I looked at the time. There’s still two hours left before I go pick Eris up.
“You didn’t tell me about Eris’s mother,” Her voice was full of concern.
What? Who?
“Her mother?” I was confused, “What’s there to tell about her?” I had no idea what was waiting for me.
“You said it was only the two of you,” She said, “That there was no other family of yours.”
“Yes,” I answered, “It’s just me and her.”
“Right!” She let out a sigh of relief, “That’s why I didn’t send Eris with her.”
“Wait, what did you say? Send Eris with whom?” I felt something ominous crawl up my chest.
“Well we’re having a problem here. There’s a woman here, claiming to be Eris’s mother and she’s trying to take Eris with her.”
A wave of shock washed over me, leaving me feeling numb and hollow inside. It felt as though the ground had been ripped out from beneath my feet, leaving me adrift in a sea of uncertainty and despair.
“H-her mother?” My mind raced, trying to process the reality of what was happening, “But her mother-” Her mother left five years ago. She abandoned Eris as a newborn on our doorsteps and she ran away, “Why would she- What?” I couldn’t even process it right.
“Eris is making a fuss, she’s fighting saying she doesn’t have a mom.” She sighed, “The officer is trying to calm her down.”
“Officer?” My heart skipped a beat.
“Yes. the police are here too, there are two officers who came with that lady.”
“What…?” Police officers are there? Why? Does she intend to prove she’s the mother? No, she can prove that easily, she must be there so she can get immediate custody. Right?
My hands began to tremble and the back of my neck started to get sweaty.
“It seems you’re as confused as I am,” The teacher said, “How about you come here, I’ll try and stall the situation.”