And then I saw him.
The doorway had a direct view of the stairs, and Lucian Reed descended those stairs at that exact moment, barefoot, his shirt unbuttoned halfway.
His eyes flicked to me, widening for a fraction before his face settled into an unreadable mask.
My gaze darted between them-the way Sera swallowed hard, the matching messy hair and disheveled clothing, the faint hickey.
The picture painted itself.
I lifted my chin, summoning steel into my spine. “I see I’ve interrupted.”
Sera flushed, the color high in her cheeks. “Mother, what are you doing here?”
I smiled thinly. “I was discharged a while ago. The doctor recommended a regular change of scenery. I thought…” I shrugged. “Why not see where my daughter has made her home?”
Sera snorted.
When I raised a brow, the amusement faded. “You’re serious?”
“Would I come all this way for a joke?”
Her lips pressed into a tight line, and for a second, I thought she was going to turn me around. Send me out of her home like she was determined to send me out of her life.
But then she moved aside reluctantly and sighed like she was accepting martyrdom. “Come in, then.”
I stepped into the foyer. Her home was smaller than what I was used to, of course, but not unpleasant.
Wood floors polished with care. Sunlight filtering through gauzy curtains. Books stacked in corners, photographs tucked into mismatched frames.
A house that lived and breathed, evidently filled with love-like ours had once upon a time.
Still, I could not resist the words that slipped from my tongue. “This is…very much your style, Seraphina. Not sophisticated, no, but…cozy. Your father would have approd. He always preferred comfort over ostentation.”
Inside, my chest ached. The mere thought, let alone mention of her father, was like pressing on a bruise that refused to heal.
Her eyes snapped to mine, sharp as glass. “Sorry it’s not up to your standards, Mother,” she said tightly. “I know how much you value sophistication.”
“I meant no insult,” I said, folding my hands.
I caught sight of Lucian moving behind her, casual and easy like a wolf in its den.
His presence filled the house, filled the air. When he brushed his hand against Sera’s arm in a fleeting, almost protective touch, I noticed. And I did not miss the way she leaned almost imperceptibly toward it.
She’d made it clear in the hospital that she did not want me to meet him. But she was my daughter, and I had a right to know the kind of person she deigned to spend her time with.
I seated myself on her sofa, smoothing my skirt.
“Is there something I can help you with, Mother?” Sera asked.
She was still standing as if she had no intention for this visit to last long. As if she couldn’t wait to be rid of me.
“I would love a cup of tea,” I said.
She scoffed. “I don’t know what you think-“
“I’ll make it,” Lucian offered, placing a hand on Sera’s.
Again, I noticed the way she instantly eased, leaning into him yet again. Interesting.
She turned to him, and a brief moment flickered between them before she nodded and he exited the living room.
Sera exhaled and turned back in my direction. She perched on the armrest furthest away and fixed an expectant gaze on me.
“That’s not ladylike,” I pointed out.
She nodded. “Thanks for your observation.” She didn’t move.
“You would never sit like that back in the Lockwood Manor.”
She spread her arms around, gesturing to the living room. “Well, thank gods I’m not in the
Lockwood Manor.”
I swallowed, “Do you… Do you ever think of coming back?”
She snorted again. “It’s way too early for jokes, Mother.”
“Let me reiterate, Sera: I did not come here for jokes.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” she mumbled.
I sighed. “Perhaps next time, I’ll bring the old family albums. It might do you good to remember those years, remember where you came from.”
Her eyes flashed. “There’s no need. I’m not a part of the Lockwood family tree anymore, remember?”
“Just because you got married-“
“No,” she cut in. “Not because I got married. Because father said, and I quote, ‘From this day forward, you are no daughter of mine.’ Remember that, Mother?” She sneered. “You were right next to him when he said that. You have that in a photo album?”
The words were strangled, her face twisted, and I saw the wound they’d carved in her ten years ago. A wound that never healed.
Still, she must not have intended for her words to cut so sharp. The Seraphina I knew would never knowingly hurt anyone’s feelings.
“Seraphina.” I shook my head. “Do you truly believe you can erase bloodlines that easily?”
“I’m not the one who tried to erase my bloodline!”
“Your room is still preserved at home,” I continued, refusing to relive the moment my husband disowned our daughter.
“Don’t be stubborn,” I chided. “You are still my daughter. I carried you for ten months. I labored with you for twenty-seven hours. I nearly bled out bringing you into this world. Do you think I would so easily abandon you?”
Her lips trembled-not with gratitude or sentiment but fury. “You already abandoned me.
A long time ago.”
The words rang in the quiet, and before I could compose a reply, Lucian’s voice sliced through the air.
“I believe that’s enough.”
I turned, startled. His eyes were hard, his jaw tight. “You talk of sacrifice, but what you’re doing is manipulation. You cling to her not out of love, but out of control. You abandoned her when you chose appearances over her happiness. And now you come here, after everything, to claim motherhood when it suits you.”
“How dare you-” My voice cracked with indignation. “You presume to lecture me about my own child?”
“She’s not a child,” he replied evenly. “She’s a woman, forged from the fire of your family’s disdain and prejudice. And she deserves better than guilt disguised as affection.”
“Do not speak of what you don’t know-“
“I know enough.” He cut in. “And you’re delusional if you think there’s any justification for all the ways you failed her.”
The silence burned. I looked at Seraphina, expecting-hoping-for her to defend me. To scold him, to tell him he misunderstood.
But she didn’t.
Her eyes softened only when they fell on him. The same way they hardened when they fell on me.
The betrayal sank like a stone in my gut.
My throat closed. “So this is how it is, Seraphina? You’re just going to let him talk to your mother like that?”
Lucian moved a step forward, but Sera lifted her hand, stopping him. “That’s enough, Lucian. Mother, you should go home.”
“Sera-“
“Go. Home,” she pressed, her voice taking on a steel edge that reminded me of Edward. “I don’t want any more Lockwoods in my home, but I will call Ethan to get you if it comes to that.”
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