Seraphina
Lucia froze completely, her lips wobbling, her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. I pressed my hands against his, feeling the warmth of his skin against my own before darting my eyes back to her with a dangerous smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “You seem shocked, is there a problem?” A mischievous smile graced my lips and at that moment, her hands flew over my mouth as she took a step back, then another until she almost lost balance. But before she could fall completely to the floor, Mason was quick to catch her. The shocked expression did not leave his face as he glanced back and forth at Lucia and me. At that moment, I leaned into Rowan’s embrace while Lucia swallowed, removing herself from Mason’s grasp, her eyes blinking continuously as she fixed her gaze on me. Every time that her lips parted to speak, no words came out—She looked lost. Mason finally broke the long silence between us, taking a step forward, not sparing me a single glance as he stared daggers at Rowan. His eyes reddened, and a growl rumbled from his throat. “Is this a joke? How can you introduce the woman who killed my sister as your wife?” He almost yelled. Rowan’s hands left my wrist, taking a step forward, almost closing the space between them, speaking calmly. “The last time I checked, she was vindicated! Shouldn’t you be sympathetic and apologetic towards the woman you accused falsely?” The longer I locked eyes with Mason, the more fury surged through my veins. All I craved was to repay him tenfold for everything he had done. If he had only taken responsibility as Chloe’s father, she would never have gone missing in the first place! But because of him, Chloe wasn’t here! All that mattered to me was Mason and Lucia going through all the same pain that they put me through. Mason ran his hands through his hair frustrated, moving away from Rowan as he laughed bitterly. “That is what you think, and I can’t blame you for thinking she is innocent but this woman—” He threw a glare at me, a muscle in his jaw ticking while I smiled. That smile pissed him off as he darted his eyes back to Rowan. “—you don’t know what she is capable of. I am sure that she made the housekeeper go back on her word. Look at me Rowan, this woman is out on a mission to destroy you, plus she is my ex-wife!” Rowan scoffed. “So you could marry her twin sister, but I can’t marry your ex-wife?” Mason opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He lowered his head slightly, raising it before he shook his head gently. “No matter how you try to justify this, it doesn’t change the fact that I would do everything to throw this woman back in jail!” He pointed his fingers aggressively at me. Rowan laughed calmly before it escalated into full-blown laughter and slowly the smile on his face died, his expression darkening and the aura that swirled around him at that moment sent shivers down my spine. Rowan rolled up his sleeves. “You intend to send Seraphina back to jail in my city?” His voice was so cold that even Lucia shuddered, and it made me wonder what he meant by his words. Mason shook his head. “Bro, what are you talking about? Sophia fucking died because of her! Do you even know how she got out of jail?” Rowan scoffed, staring deep into Mason’s eyes. “Tell me what I don’t know? Are you this clueless?” Those words caused Mason to flare up, and before a fight could break out between the two of them, Lucia rushed into their midst, fear in her eyes as she pushed Mason away from Rowan. “Guys enough!” She almost yelled. “You guys are not only relatives, but you treat each other like brothers. Can’t you see what Seraphina is trying to do to you? She is trying to tear you two apart—” Her words trailed while she shot me a glare. “—and a cunning woman like her shouldn’t be given the chance and…” Before she could complete her words, and before I could retort at her, Rowan cut in bursting into a peal of hysterical laughter. “If the word cunning should be used with anyone here, it should be for you two, who made her adopt the child that was as a result of your affairs!” Tears welled in Lucia’s eyes as her bottom lip shook. “This isn’t you, Rowan. You don’t even know the full story but anyway, I would let you know how it happened if you give me the chance. But what you need to know right now is that she is using you” Rowan shrugged nonchalantly. “I would be glad to let her use me any way she wants” Mason and Lucia’s shockful expression couldn’t compare to mine. My lips parted in shock, squinting my eyes at Rowan suspiciously. As much as the way he defended me delighted me, I knew Rowan. He was like the devil, who wouldn’t give without demanding more than what he gave in return. I knew he talked about having a score with Mason and that was why he wanted to help me—Bullshit. Deep down, I knew he had something he wanted to get from me, and knowing how cunning he was, I would be ready to match up his energy when he removes his pretentious mask and comes up with his absurd demand. For now, I would play along and let him find my daughter. So low-key, Lucia was right. I was using Rowan the same way he was using me. I exhaled sharply, strutting towards where they stood. “Wait, I thought you all were excited to meet Rowan’s wife, and isn’t that a gift for me?” My eyes darted over to the gift box that Lucia soon hid behind her. I rolled my eyes, teasing Mason with a mischievous smile, and he looked more like he could almost tear me apart. “I guess not. Anyway, enough with the argument. The government already set me free and if anyone is pressed to send me back to jail, I am here to let them know that I am here to stay” I glared hard at the two of them. “While you try to bring me down, I will be taking back everything that was taken from me. You get what I mean?” I smirked, staring daggers at Lucia. Since I came from a conglomerate family, my family-owned Henderson Pharma— One of the biggest pharma companies in the world. Before I went to jail, I took over the pharmaceutical company when my grandfather fell ill. When I became the CEO, I took the company to a whole new high, producing medicines and creating vaccines for deadly illnesses around the world. But when I was sentenced to jail, I was canceled everywhere, and apart from claiming my ex-husband, Lucia took over my position, living off my achievements and glory, using my research to further her career, and taking awards that were supposed to be mine! Plus, I swear that Mason would pay back all the huge sums he loaned from me to boost his own company while we were still married. He would pay back everything with his blood, sweat, and tears! I will also prove how she made me take the fall for her crime. Soon. Lucia glanced at Mason, trying to put on a bold font. “Are you trying to declare a war on me?” I shrugged. “If the shoe fits!” She clenched her fist in anger, and she was about to respond when her phone rang. I exchanged fleeting glances with Rowan, giving him a thumbs-up while he stared at me blankly. I sneered. What did I expect from the devil himself? Lucia, who answered the call, screamed while Mason rushed towards her. “What happened?” Lucia’s eyes widened. “Grandfather…” Her bottom lip shook and with the glint of fear in her eyes, fear clawed at the back of my neck. However, I was soon taken aback by the glint of fear in her eyes after hearing the words that came next. She was supposed to be excited, so what was that reaction? Mason gripped her gently as he shook her violently by the shoulders. “Don’t tell me that the worst has happened?” “No, he has woken up from his vegetative state after so many months.” She said with dread.Dear Readers, I can’t wait to begin this journey with you guys. Thank you for reading.
Rowan’s POVI leaned against the car, hands tucked in the pocket, staring at the butler who gave his report, and I was about to respond to him when all of a sudden, my heart turned cold in my chest as soon as I caught sight of a movement in the corner. The butler’s words faded in the background while I fixed my eyes on the woman who descended the low steps, swinging her purse in her hands. Seraphina. The more my gaze lingered on her face, the more my heart pounded hard against my chest. She was stunning.The way her ponytail bounced lightly. She was effortlessly grateful. At that moment, my mind drifted back to everything that Mason had put her through, and most importantly, he had broken the promise that he made to me.Something that I will never forgive him for. Before I left New York City, I made him make a promise to me since he was getting married to Seraphina—A promise that he would never hurt her or even make her cry—but that bastard broke that promise!For every tear, pain
Lucia’s POVSeraphina’s sob broke through the silence as almost everyone scampered towards Grandpa. Dad had hung his head low in despair, leaving the room with Mum while my uncle Richard, began calling all the other cousins to inform them about Grandpa’s death. While the whole commotion happened, I heaved a sigh of relief—Not because I cared that after Grandpa went through so much pain, he finally found rest. I heaved a sigh of relief because I was happy that he was now dead. Finally! A smile threatened to creep through my face but suppressed it as the memories from where he had pointed to me flooded through my mind. When he was still in a vegetative state, I had said so many horrible things to him and even confessed thousands of things because I was sure that he was never going to wake up. Now, imagine my fear when I received the call that he had regained consciousness. Excitement bubbled deep within me because not only did his death delight me, but his death was going to open m
Seraphina’s POVOne thing I would never understand was my family’s hastiness to share my late grandpa’s inheritance. His funeral was only a few days ago, and if it hadn’t been for Rowan, I wouldn’t have come at all. He helped me see that, even with my family keeping their distance, my grandfather would have wanted me here.I heaved an exasperated sigh, adjusting my sunglasses while trying to hold back my tears on seeing the cheerful mood that my family was in. The more I stared at every one of them, the more unease rose to choke me. It was more like they never cared about my late grandfather. My fingers trembled as I fisted my dress and my eyes kept scanning everyone around. Lucia stood around the dining table with Mason, feeding him dessert while my cousins, Ava and Kira kept predicting what share of the inheritance would be allocated to them. Ava squealed in excitement. “What if Grandpa gives me his vacation house?”“And he gives me the yacht” Kira screamed before she threw a gl
Rowan’s POVSeraphina crouched before Grandpa Martin’s grave, burying her head between her knees, before she raised her head and made a tiny sniffle. “Your favorite flower, Grandpa” She dropped a rose petal on his grave while I clenched my fist, resisting every urge to place my hands on her shoulder. Slowly, she turned and when my eyes met hers, the tears that shone in her eyes shattered my heart into pieces. She forced out a smile, opening her arms wide. “Do you want to hug?”“Do you?” She pursed her lips slightly, bobbing her head up and down. “I think I can use one”Without thinking twice, I stepped forward and wrapped my hands around her, while she pressed her head so hard against my chest that the fear of her hearing my heartbeat clawed at me. Plus, why was my heart racing so hard in my chest?I could feel her warmth seep into my chest in an electrifying way while she sobbed gently. “I can’t still believe everything that happened. I can’t believe that he would leave such an
Lucia’s POVThis was a nightmare!If it was a nightmare, then why wasn’t I waking up from it?All my life, I had been jumping from one traumatic experience to the other, but this was different. I knew that wretched old man never liked me, but how could he be so cruel to give almost all his properties to Seraphina? How could he make her the boss of me?Why was I so unlucky with my life? My life, my plans, and my dreams were all crumbling before my very eyes and there was nothing that I could do to stop it. Mason snapped me out of my reverie, squeezing me gently on the shoulder as my children, Jason and Henry followed him. While Jason was focused on his video game, Henry rushed up to meet me. “Mummy, are you okay now? You won’t be returning to the hospital right?”I forced out a smile. “I wouldn’t be returning to the hospital…”Before I could complete my words, Mason interrupted. “Henry, can you please not stress your mum? She needs all the rest that she could get”“Okay Daddy” He lef
Mason’s POV Opening the door to our luxurious home, a sense of fulfillment and relief washed over me. As much as I despised Seraphina, I couldn’t help but be glad that she made such a decision by throwing us out of the house. The family house was stifling, filled with endless drama. It was clear they never truly liked Lucia, and her presence often felt as though she was forcing her way into their world. Yet, despite everything, I couldn’t understand her deep attachment to them. Because she exposed my sister’s murderer, I felt obligated to grant every one of her wishes, even the ones that unsettled me. Finally, we could have the perfect nuclear family that I had envisioned in mind. Just me, Lucia, Jason, and our adopted son, Henry. While the children ran around the house in excitement, Lucia seemed displeased as she had a frown on her face and was acting nonchalantly about everything that I showed her. “I think that you would love this Piano. I can’t wait to play the piano for
Seraphina Rowan sat across from me, his eyes fixed on the tablet that he scrolled through as the maid dished out his plate of omelets. I bit on my sandwich, staring at him suspiciously while he ignored my total existence. Rowan and I might act close in public, but inside the house, we were total strangers. We hardly talked to each other unless it was critical—I mean, how were we supposed to talk to each other when we hardly saw each other? We were both workaholics. I took a spoonful, chewing, and I was about to speak when all of a sudden, my heart lurched when Rowan raised his head, his eyes meeting mine as he shot a glare at me. “Can you stop staring at me because I am trying to get work done here, and can you stop chewing loudly?”I smiled at him before the smile on my face died. “Is that how you say good morning? Mr. Rowan?”“There is nothing good about the morning for me to exchange pleasantries with you and—” He paused, removing his glasses, placing them on the table before h
Seraphina’s POV**The Day**Standing outside the auditorium, my mind drifted back to the confrontation that happened between Rowan and me. The more I thought about it, the more anger coursed through me. No matter how much I tried to process the reason behind his actions, I just couldn’t. There was no explanation to justify everything he said to me.What if he had been pretending all along? What if his actions were part of some elaborate plan to get back at me for rejecting the proposal for an arranged marriage between us? Or worse, what if he had been conspiring with Mason and Lucia, playing me for a fool from the very beginning?I mean, that had to be it because there was no reasonable explanation why he would tell me to go to the spa and pretend as if my life weren’t crashing down.The more I stood rooted in the same spot, the more it hit me that I was lonely. At that moment, fear slowly crept through my mind—The fear of losing the contract. My mind replayed the conversation I ha
Seraphina’s P.O.VDread washed over me as I sat in the café, the walls closing in on me with every second that passed by. It was crazy how Rowan was the cause of my sadness. I wasn't supposed to be sad. Yet, I couldn't stop my mind from replaying the words that Ava had said. She had mentioned that she had spotted Rowan this morning. She saw him in a shopping mall yet…My heart sank my stomach and my eyes darted over to the text that dug a hole in my chest, causing my heart to twist in pain. My gaze lingered on the text that he had sent me. “The trip has been postponed for another two days…he will be seeing me soon…” My voice was barely above a whisper. I leaned forward, not being able to take my eyes away from the text as I deliberated confronting him or just ignoring him. And at the same time, I couldn't understand why his personal life bothered me this much. I missed the times when I wasn't concerned about Rowan or anything that he was involved in. I missed the times when he
Seraphina’s P.O.VSince that day at the park when I broke down, things haven't been the same anymore., I had been thrown into this void that seemed to be sucking the life out of me. Everyone may have moved on and going on with their lives but I seemed to have been stuck in that time. I couldn't grasp the extent of Lucia’s hatred for me and most importantly, I couldn't understand why Rowan did the things that he did for me. Why was he willing to risk everything for someone like me and most importantly, when he mentioned that I meant nothing to him? Do people go that far for someone that means nothing to them?It has been a week since I had last set eyes on Rowan and despite everything Lucia told me about him orchestrating the attacks because of me, I had never confronted him and we didn't even speak about what Lucia told me about. Everyone minded their business since that day because hearing all that he was doing for me was still so hard to believe. It would have been more believab
Lucia’s P.O.VHow did he figure it out? How did he discover that I had hired a camera crew to record a video that I would use in doing damage control on the media later? My plan had failed and as if that wasn't worse, I had ended up with a broken ankle that was just starting to heal. Rowan’s threat still sent a shiver down my spine and for a second, I had to stop dead in my tracks as the memories of what he had said kept popping up in my mind. That man wasn't a human. He was a demon and I didn't know why it took me so long to figure out how dangerous he was. He shot Leo. Almost killed me and Mason because of her…Seraphina. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to quash the thoughts that were starting to overwhelm me. I shouldn't allow Rowan’s threat to get to me that much instead, I needed to focus on the issue that was at hand. A groan escaped me and the fact that Mason’s family had been trying to reach me for the past few days and I had ditched Mason by not visiting him kind of sca
Rowan’s P.O.VI had orchestrated a plan—A plan that would make Seraphina follow me to the ice cream stand and that was why I had to leave my wallet to her because I knew that in the end, she would have no option but to bring it but with the way things were going now, it seemed more like my plans had failed because if it didn't, then why wasn't she here now?“What is taking her so long?” I muttered under my breath, frustration seeping through my chest. I glanced at my wrist watch and when I noticed that she had no plans of coming here, I left the line. Could it be that she hadn't noticed the wallet in the car?Or what if there was a high chance that she had used the opportunity to stroll around the pack?A frustrated groan escaped me as I walked back to the spot where I had left her. There she was and I was about to call her name when I noticed the presence of someone around her. At that moment, a chilling wave of intensity surged through me—not born of fear, but of something far da
Seraphina’s P.O.VThose horrible words that Rowan uttered left a bitter taste in my mouth. They echoed in my mind, cutting deeper and deeper with every second that the words flashed through my mind. He claimed that I had meant nothing to him. Considering our history, it wasn’t supposed to hurt but yet it had hurt me so badly that pain exploded in my chest and anger simmered beneath the surface of my skin. “Rowan Whitmore” I muttered through gritted teeth and it was funny how I wasn’t even bothered about what Lucia had done to me anymore. What bothered my mind were the words that Rowan had spilled without any remorse. I knew that we were always on each other’s tail almost all the time but how could he say that I meant nothing to him?I mean, it was so devastating for him to say something like that to me without thinking twice. And, most importantly, why do I care what Rowan thinks about me?Before, I wouldn’t have given a fuck but now I just couldn’t seem to get my mind off that c
Rowan’s P.O.VI hadn’t gotten one car but three—an Audi A6, a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and the last one, a sleek Ferrari 488 Spider.For someone who wasn't a car freak, her eyes had shown this tiny bit of excitement and shock at the same time before they were replaced with this darkness. At the same time, this excitement surged inside of me, knowing that I had already fulfilled all that I had planned and most importantly, the promise that I had made to Seraphina. She might not understand things because she was still shocked because of the gravity of evil that her twin sister was capable of doing to her. However, she would soon understand the extent to which I was willing to go for her to trample evil people like Lucia underneath her feet. I removed the cuff-links, rolling up my sleeves, swerving onto the highway. I pressed a button and the roof of the car began to open. The wind rushed in, and I darted my eyes to Seraphina who sat on the passenger seat next to mine, her legs curled b
Seraphina’s P.O.VI could feel the muscles in my body tense and my blood turned cold in my chest. The phone that pressed against my ear slid to the ground as I stared blankly at the television and the reporter whose voice echoed down my ears. “Lucia Thompson, the CEO of the Henderson Pharmaceutical Company and the twin sister of Seraphina Whitmore, the CEO of a growing pharmaceutical company has finally…”Her words faded to the background and my gaze dropped to the headline below the screen. ‘Lucia Thompson, issued a public apology through a press conference early this morning, admitting to her past as a stripper and trying to tarnish her sister’s reputation by using the help of her husband, Mason Thompson”My heart lurched forward and dread settled on my shoulders and before I knew what was happening, tears welled in my eyes, spilling down my cheeks. I knew that things were pretty bad between us but never in my wildest imagination would I have ever imagined that they would do somet
Mason I had been calling Lucia incessantly when the news about the bomb blast flooded the media. The mere thoughts of what she could be going through were like a dagger that twisted through my heart. But despite the number of times that I had called her, she had never answered the call. And to worsen things, she hasn't been here since I regained consciousness. Something was wrong and no matter how much I tried to wrap my head around things, I just couldn't understand what was wrong and where she was. My family claimed that they had called her several times, and she promised to come and never came. And right now, I couldn’t make sense of the news flooding the media. Reports were buzzing about a press conference she had supposedly held earlier in the morning, and it was just after the bomb blast. When I sent people to the bomb blast site to look for her, she was nowhere to be found. Instead, they reported that she had been going around searching for reporters for the press conferen
Lucia’s P.O.V I sucked in a deep breath and another, placing my hand on my chest, feeling the way my heart pulsated beneath my palm. I heaved an exasperated sigh, glancing at my assistant who stood next to me. “How many hours do I have left?” my voice was barely above a whisper. He responded. “According to the time frame that you asked me to monitor, you have just thirty minutes left…” Her words faded in the background and the sound of the blast resounded through my head, causing me to shudder. I was beyond traumatized because of all the hell that Rowan had put me in the past few days. I had made the worst mistake of my life and what remained was suffering for the consequences of my action. This was my karma. The news about the bomb blast that rocked through the entire city made the news. Everyone quivered in fear, thinking that it was a terrorist attack and some made up conspiracy theories of Mason and I working together to cause mayhem in the city. According to them