Seraphina
“You have been sentenced to twenty years imprisonment” My heart dropped to my toes, bitter laughter slowly escaping my lips as tears slowly filled up my eyes. Twenty years imprisonment for a murder that I didn’t commit. But that evidence was damning! When Sophia died, I was in the garden, watering the plants but somehow, new footage was released of me entering the house secretly. According to the investigation, it turned out that Sophia didn’t commit suicide as claimed. She was forced into consuming poison and the suicide letter was my handwriting. The housekeeper who was also in the vacation house told lies about how she witnessed me forcing Sophia to consume poison and she was scared to speak. All of this didn’t just make sense and it all proved that the one behind all of this was no one other than Lucia, my twin sister. Clenching my fist, I turned to look at her while she was in Mason’s arms, crying. “I can’t believe that she did that” She choked out between sobs. The more I stared at her, the more anger pulsed through my veins but it wasn’t her fault, the fault was mine. If I had never made my grandfather grant that wish of adopting her from the orphanage, then all of this would have never happened in the first place. Lucia and I grew up in the orphanage and she was my best friend then because she always tried to protect me when all the other kids tried picking on me. But things took a different turn when the Henderson family came to the orphanage house for a charity event and my parents picked interest in me after a presentation that made them adopt me. I never wanted to leave without my twin sister but after being convinced by the orphanage administrator and my now parents, I agreed on the condition that Lucia would also be adopted. Lucia was excited that the Henderson family would be coming back for her as soon as they put things in place like they promised. They changed my name from Lily to Seraphina while I patiently waited for when my sister would come in. However, my parents went back on their word and seven years became thirteen years. When it became obvious that they had no plans of taking Lucia in, I pleaded with my grandfather to please bring her into the house before my thirteenth birthday which he did much to the displeasure of my parents. Lucia got adopted just like I had wanted and we had celebrated our thirteenth birthday together but what I didn’t know was that it was the beginning of my misery. Lucia wasn’t the same seven-year-old that I knew because when she came into the Henderson house, she would do horrible things and lie against me. She would cause trouble in school by using my name. She would steal from our parents and make me get grounded in her stead and no matter, how much I tried to exonerate myself, it never worked! It was scary that everything that happened then was happening over and over again. Maybe I was the fool who believed that she had changed when in a real sense, a leopard never changes its spots. Regret coiled in my heart and slowly, the reality of the dilemma that I had found myself in began to dawn on me as my head hung low in despair. “20 years for a crime that I didn’t commit… Tears cascaded down my cheeks as my body trembled in fear. My parents had disowned me because to them I was a disappointment that tried to sever the ties that they had with the Thompson family. “No, I didn’t kill Sophia” My lips wobbled and a scream rippled from my chest. “I didn’t kill Sophia so why should I go to jail for something that I didn’t do” Everyone was appalled by my outbursts while they made snide remarks, calling me a shameless murderer who deserved to spend the rest of her life in jail. The murderer who was supposed to spend the rest of her life behind bars was in their midst so why… Sniffling, I wiped off my tears with the back of my hands when it soon hit me that I never told Mason something important since he never honored my request to see him when I was held in detention. My lips wobbled as my words came out as stutters. “M-Mason…” Mason never responded as I was being led away by the officers. I couldn’t let this be the end even though we were now divorced. He deserved to know this When it was evident that he had no plans of listening to me, I broke free from the officer’s grip, shouting. “Mason, I have something to tell you” Lucia raised her head while Mason fixed his gaze on me, his eyes burning with nothing but hate for me as he raised a brow. “What does the murderer have to say?” His horrible remark didn’t bother me. “I have been wanting to tell you this. I am pregnant” Mason had a blank expression on his face before he laughed hysterically. “So why are you telling me? It is not like I am the father…” “What?” I was dazed for a second, my voice trembling. How could he say that he wasn’t the father? The officers tightened their grip around my arm, pulling me away. “I swear that you are the father…” Mason huffed. “Bullshit!” Before I could respond, the officers dragged me away and that was when it hit me that my life had surely ended. Or was it the beginning? Five years passed and it seemed more like God was on my side. The housekeeper who testified against me suddenly went back on her words about how she was forced to tell a lie against me. Although she never mentioned who it was, she had recorded a video, apologizing to me before she killed herself. Like that, I was released from prison and all that mattered right now was searching for my daughter, Chloe, and taking her to a faraway place where we would be starting life afresh. Since no one claimed responsibility for her when I was in jail, Chloe stayed in a government-funded orphanage but things worsened when they went on a trip to the beach. A storm happened, some kids were found dead and the remaining were rescued but out of this, my baby’s body was never found. So I believed that she was still alive somewhere, waiting for me to come pick her up. I was going to find my baby no matter what it takes. The heavy door creaked open while I stepped into the blinding lights as fresh air brushed through my skin, slowly blowing my hair to the back. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I tossed my head to the back. “I thought I was going to spend forever here” Families stood outside the gate ready to receive their loved ones but in my case, no one was there. Maybe I was expecting too much from the people who had abandoned me. Putting on my sunglasses, I was about to take a step when I caught sight of someone leaning against a black car, his eyes boring holes into my face. There was this aura that he exuded. An aura that left me speechless. My mouth parted in shock, goosebumps spilling over me as cold shivers ran down my spine. The man dressed in a black shirt and black pleated pants stared at me so much that it felt like he could read the depths of my soul. I froze, watching as he ran his hands through his dark tousled hair. Why did he remind me of a devil that I knew? Slowly, the more I stared at him, the more it hit me that I knew this man! I knew him. Rowan Whitmore. Mason’s distant relative, my high school bully, and most importantly, the man whom I was supposed to get married to before Mason swayed my heart away.Seraphina’s P.O.VRowan Whitmore— The black sheep of the Whitmore Family. My hands flew to my mouth as I ducked my head. He couldn’t have seen me, right? Why would he even be here? To taunt me? No, he might have forgotten about me by now. Knowing how cruel he could be, maybe he was just here to pick up a friend who was also getting released.So he wasn’t here for me. I took a deep breath, mustering the courage to walk past him while reassuring myself that all I needed to do was find Chloe and leave New York City. When I walked past him, my heart kept beating hard in my chest and…I froze, dread settling at the pit of my stomach, my fingers curling into fists when his voice echoed down my ears. “Flamingo!”That bastard! How many times would I tell him to stop addressing me as Flamingo? Biting my lower lip in anger, I removed my sunglasses, turned towards Rowan, and lashed out at him. “My name is Seraphina. Stop calling me flamingo, Seraphina isn’t that hard to pronounce…” My ha
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 s
Seraphina’s P.O.VA golden hue bathed the dimly lit room as the shadow of the flickering candlelight was cast on the wall while I dropped the freshly plucked roses into the vase. “Roasted vegetables, grilled Turkey, and the lobster risotto that you made. I can’t wait to dig into it. Thank you so much for helping me to set up my dinner date with Mason” A small smile played on my lips as I gazed at my reflection in the mirror across the other room. I was dressed in a lacy red lingerie that barely skimmed above my thighs, with a sheer peignoir draped over it. My black obsidian hair cascading down my back in soft waves.I was sexy enough—Enough to rekindle the dying love between Mason and me since he was ready to give us another chance. Lucia, my identical twin sister chuckled over the phone. “You need to learn the art of seduction, Seraphina. Do you need help with anything, if you do, should I come downstairs?”A smile spread across my face, glancing at the wall clock that ticked slo
Seraphina’s P.O.VPain twisted in my heart, my legs turning jelly as I almost stumbled backward. Tears rushed into my eyes, blurring my vision while I clenched my fist, anger slowly seeping through my veins.Jason was Mason and Lucia’s real son and these two have been playing me for years? A tear tracked down my face, then another and another till my shoulders sagged and sobs racked through my body. How could my twin sister who had the same face as mine, how could she do this to me? Mason as well… The memory of her playing peacemaker between Mason and me set off alarms in my mind. They must have thought I was a fool—there’s no other way they would’ve dared to betray me like this.My heart shattered into pieces, their laughter intensifying the fury that surged within me so much that my fingers squeezed into folds and in the next minute, I kicked the door open. Mason and Lucia jolted apart, the door slamming open as Lucia’s eyes widened in shock and Mason began to scamper around.