Seraphina

I hadn’t slept this peacefully in a really long time. I could not even explain the kind of comfort and peace the bed gave me the entire night.

I had to remind myself that this wasn’t my home, and I mustn’t get used to it.

Celine knocked on the door and asked, “May I come in?”

“Yes, please,” I answered.

Even though I enjoyed the night, I still woke up very early and freshened up, but I had to repeat the clothes I wore the previous day. Also, it was already mid-morning. I was already used to waking up early because of my job, and also, to ensure that Aria had everything for the rest of the day.

Such an ungrateful girl.

Thinking about Aria and what she did to me still broke my heart, so I decided not to think about it.

Celine walked in and looked at me with surprise. “You are dressed already?” She asked me.

“I only freshened up,” I told her. “But I don’t have something else to wear, hence, this,” I said, gesturing to my outfit.

This was the first time that I would be wearing the same dress for more than twenty-four hours and it made me feel unclean and uncomfortable. I didn’t complain because Kaelan was doing me a favor here by letting me stay here. I had always been very intentional about my personal hygiene.

“You still look clean,” Celine said.

“Thanks,” I said. “Where is Kaelan?” I asked her.

“He had to hurry out this morning…work emergency,” Celine told me with a brief explanation.

“Oh, okay,” I simply said.

A tiny part of me was a little jealous that while Kaelan could go out and go about his day, I was stuck here, hiding from assassins whom I didn’t even know about.

“Will you like to have breakfast now or later?” Celine asked me.

“Now is fine,” I answered.

I might as well eat to while away time.

Kaelan promised that I could buy some of my personal things and undies instead of going to my apartment to pick them up, but I worried about that promise, being that he had already left.

What if he had forgotten? Would I be able to remain in these clothes the entire day? The thought of it alone was already making my skin crawl.

“Should I bring it here?” She asked me.

“If it will not be a bother,” I responded.

“It won’t be,” she said.

Celine returned some minutes later with what seemed like an overflowing breakfast. I almost asked her if Kaelan was trying to stuff me with food. However, I ate the little I could. I didn’t even eat much because my appetite disappeared.

The rest of the day dragged by, and I almost got suffocated with boredom. It was almost evening and Kaelan still hadn’t returned home. My body was beginning to itch me severely even though I had had my bath again at noon.

“I can’t live like this,” I lamented dejectedly.

I had seen a movie in the living room, eaten again, taken a nap, and even allowed my mind to think of things I never wanted to think about, but I still found myself bored, so much so that when my phone rang, I hurriedly took it.

But my eagerness died when I saw that it was Thorn.

Who else was I expecting anyway? I rarely made or kept friends. The only people I had kept in my life were Aria and Thorn, and look where that got me. Anyway, I picked up Thorn’s call.

“Seraphina,” Thorn called calmly when the call connected.

“Thorn,” I said into the phone.

The last time we had spoken, he had been pleading profusely…well, until I had mistakenly mentioned his father’s name, and he had stormed off in anger.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Thorn asked, sounding deeply sad and sorrowful.

“What are you talking about?” I asked him.

“As if it is not enough that you betrayed me, Seraphina, you also moved in with him,” Thorn stated.

“First of all, Thorn, you betrayed me first,” I corrected him, my anger gradually bubbling to the surface. “And how did you know that I am here?” I asked.

Thorn laughed angrily.

“You didn’t think I would find out, right?” Thorn asked.

His earlier remorseful tone had completely disappeared.

“How cheap can you be, Seraphina?” Thorn asked, and I knew that I had had enough.

Instantly, it clicked: Aria.

It had to be her, because she did ask me about my current location with the excuse of wanting to send a package. That was yesterday, and I still hadn’t gotten any package. This only went to show that they were still communicating with each other.

This was a painful realization, but I held myself strong.

I ended the call and switched off my phone.

“I shouldn’t even have picked up the phone,” I chided myself. “Anyway, I will not let Thorn rile me up,” I vowed with determination.

By the time I went downstairs to look for Celine, I was extremely uncomfortable, so much so that I could barely hide it.

“Is everything okay?” Celine asked.

“I am afraid not,” I admitted.

“What’s wrong?” Celine asked worriedly, abandoning what she was doing immediately.

“I am itchy, and it’s because of these clothes,” I told her. “I honestly don’t mind putting on anything for now, as long as I get out of these clothes,” I pleaded with her.

Celine was older, but she wasn’t chubby or thick, so I believed that something of hers could work for me.

Celine looked at me, smiled, and said, “Of course, Seraphina, there is something for you to wear until Mr. Kaelan returns.”

I sighed in deep relief.

“Thank you so much, Celine. You are a lifesaver!” I said.

Celine lead me to a room upstairs and brought out a dress that looked like a designer dress, only that it was old. I wanted to ask how Celine could afford something fanciful like this, but it might come off as being condescending, so I kept mute.

It fit almost perfectly, and I became comfortable again.

However, when Kaelan walked in through the door thirty minutes later and saw me, all the colors drained from his eyes.