Chapter 2

Behind me, my men were still Seraphina’s loyalists, the ones she'd left with me ten years ago, their only mission to ensure my safety.

But now, they exchanged uneasy glances, looking from me to Seraphina, unsure who to point their guns at.

Seraphina, however, seemed oblivious to the tension behind me. As if we were alone, she gently took Julian Hayes’s hand, her voice soft in a way I hadn't heard in years.

“Julian, don't be scared. I'm just handling some personal matters.”

She and I were once the two most insignificant outcasts of the Thorne family, clinging to each other for survival in the shadows.

Whenever the main family’s kids bullied me, leaving me bruised and battered, she’d shield me.

She’d always hold my hand, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

“Asher, don't be afraid. I'm here.”

But now…

She reached out, effortlessly disarming the dagger I'd hidden in my sleeve.

Then she picked up the photo I’d dropped, gently dusting off the dirt.

“Asher, ten years, and your temper is still as fiery as ever.”

“Seraphina, I’m not well, I can’t take this…”

I mimicked her tone, but before I could finish, she cut me off.

“Get rid of it!”

She shoved the photo back into my hand, then shook hers, as if she’d touched something disgusting.

“Your things. Don’t pollute my sight.”

Julian immediately rushed forward, spreading his arms to shield Seraphina.

“Don’t you dare hurt Sister Seraphina!”

Seraphina looked at him, a sudden smile gracing her lips, filled with a nostalgia I couldn't decipher.

She pulled Julian behind her, protecting him.

“See? Asher Vance, I can’t abandon him. He’s too similar.”

I instantly understood her unspoken meaning.

Too similar, too much like the young me who, for her, would willingly charge into a den of wolves.

So, over a decade of surviving by each other’s side, it all meant nothing compared to a mere "resemblance to my younger self."

She slowly pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, meticulously wiping each finger, then slapped a pregnancy test report onto my chest.

“Asher, with this one, we've finally been trying for three years.”

“Whatever happens to me from now on, it has nothing to do with you.”

“If you don't cancel this agreement, neither of you is leaving this door today.”

I cut her off coldly. She pulled a pistol from her sidearm holster. The bullet grazed Julian’s foot, leaving a scorching mark on the floor.

Seraphina’s face finally changed. She moved swiftly, striking my hand with a chop.

A sharp pain made me grunt, and the gun clattered to the floor.

Seraphina saw the red swelling on my hand. She pulled out a tube of ointment from a nearby medical kit, squeezed some into her palm, warmed it, and was about to apply it to my wrist.

Over the years, taking care of me had become ingrained in her.

But when I saw the boy behind her, glaring at me with venomous hatred…

Seraphina and I, from this day forward, were truly over.

I dodged her hand, picking up the gun with my other, unharmed hand, pointing it at the million-dollar crystal chandelier above.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Amidst the deafening crash of falling crystal shards and the screams of the crowd, Seraphina’s face immediately darkened.

I left her with a calm, chilling statement.

“Go home. We need to discuss the details of our divorce!”