I exhaled slowly, something loosening in my chest that I hadn’t realized was coiled tight.
We hugged again, clinging to each other on the street corner like two war-weary soldiers clinging to the same lifeline.
When we finally pulled back, Maya sniffed and looked down, noting the Uber app open on my phone.
“No,” she declared, taking the device from my hand and pocketing it. “We need catharsis to properly process all the trauma we just went through.”
I snorted. “Trauma? That’s cute.”
She ignored my sarcasm and beamed. “Let’s go shopping!”
I groaned, smiling. “One would think your favorite hobby was knife throwing or like rock climbing without a harness, not something as mundane as shopping.”
“Tough,” she said, looping her arm through mine and leading me towards the car park. “We need some kind of therapy after tonight, and what’s the best form?” She smirked. “Retail therapy.”
***
Well, it seemed like Maya’s knowledge extended far beyond training techniques, because she was right: Retail therapy was a tried and true art.
It was like one of those makeover montages in old teen movies. We wandered into an overpriced boutique where Maya tried on an absurd wide-brimmed hat, and I vetoed a cardigan that made me look like a substitute teacher.
Then, a skincare store where she lectured me on the moral necessity of double cleansing, and I, in turn, mocked the price of a single jar of moisturizer with gold flecks in it.
With every burst of laughter at the ridiculous outfits Maya tried on and gasp of horror at the resulting price tags, I felt the tension of the day fade away.
Things couldn’t really be that bad in my life as long as I had Maya in my corner and she’d promised that she wasn’t going anywhere soon.
The night was already going splendidly-and then we passed it.
A storefront, glossy black with neon signs in curly pink script.
Velvet & Vice- for your darkest delights.
I raised an eyebrow and snorted in derision. “Seriously?”
Maya smirked, already tugging me toward the door. “Absolutely.”
My eyes widened. “Wait, no, Maya-“
“Come on, Sera.” She continued pulling with her superior strength. “One toy won’t kill you.”
I flushed. “I don’t need-“
“Every woman needs options,” she interrupted breezily. “Men have proven time and time again that they are unreliable. Your own hands?” She wiggled her brows like she had ample experience. “They’ll never let you down.”
The interior was low-lit, sleek, and intimidating as hell. Shelves lined with objects that made my brain short-circuit. Some things I couldn’t even name.
But Maya was in her element.
She examined the toys with a critical eye, turning vibrators like she was reading wine labels. “This one’s too weak. This one’s shaped weird. Ooh, dual stimulation-very important.”
“Why do you know so much?” I hissed, trying to look casual while also hiding behind a display shaped like a swan.
“I may be able to live without a man, but not without stimulation,” she said with a wink.
Also, I’m not a coward.”
“I’m not a coward,” I said, crossing my arms.
“Great,” she said, plopping a bright pink box into my hands. “Then you won’t chicken out.
This one’s waterproof.”
I blinked at the packaging. “Why do I need it to be waterproof-actually, never mind.”
Maya selected one for herself, too. “Synchronized girl-gasm night?”
“Never say that to me again,” I said flatly, but I didn’t put the box back.
We paid quickly, both of us giggling like teenagers, and stepped out onto the street. I was just about to suggest getting iced coffee or pizza-seeing as we never actually got through dinner-when I heard the worst sound imaginable.
“Seraphina?”
My spine snapped straight.
There he was-just when I thought I could end the bad day on a high note.
Kieran.
KIERAN’S POV
It was supposed to be a simple errand.
In and out. Grab the groceries. Head back before Celeste got antsy.
As soon as I’d agreed for her to move in with me, she’d instantly-miraculously-felt better, and an hour later, had been discharged from the hospital.
I’d spent the last three hours moving her stuff from Margaret’s house into mine. It was… overwhelming, to say the least. But it made Celeste so happy, and that had to make everything worth it.
And if I felt a rush of relief when she asked me to go out for groceries so we could have a home-cooked dinner for our first night? Oh well.
But I so didn’t expect to run into Sera for the second time today.
I’d just loaded the last of the groceries into my trunk when the sound of giggling made me turn. And there she was.
Sera.
She hadn’t seen me yet, and I used that opportunity to watch her. Her head was turned towards Maya, a smile as bright as a thousand suns as she laughed.
Gods, that sound. I’d heard her laugh more times since we got divorced than in the entirety of our marriage, and each time, it seemed to carve a hole inside me.
They turned in my direction, their arms full of shopping bags, and I knew that was my cue to turn around, to walk away before we had yet another altercation.
VU
But I didn’t.
It seemed like with Sera, there was always something hanging unsaid-unfinished business.
Tonight’s own was that I was not satisfied with how we’d left things in the morning.
My legs moved before I could stop them.
My mouth opened before I could stop myself. “Seraphina?”
The moment her eyes met mine, everything else seemed to fall away.
Time. Noise. The passing crowd. Even the distant voice in my head that screamed this was a terrible fucking idea.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, body tensing with that silent, steel-edged composure she’d suddenly perfected.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” I added.
She arched a brow and said smoothly, “What, your spies didn’t update you?”
I flinched. Fair.
“I didn’t come looking for a fight,” I said calmly.
She snorted. “That’ll be a first.”
I clenched my jaw. “Sera-“
“Listen, Kieran,” Maya chimed in, “Sera and I have had quite the day, and honestly, we’ve had our fill of egotistical Alphas so if you could just-“
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