Seraphina's Point Of View
The memory burned.
Even now.
Even after all these years.
I could still feel it… the humiliation, the rage, the ache of being so small, so powerless, so unwanted. But I wasn't that girl anymore. Now I was the one who made sure that every time Lydia looked at me, she saw the proof that she'd failed.
Rose's voice pulled me back.
"Phina?"
I blinked.
The office came into focus, the hum of computers, the distant ring of phones, the soft rustle of papers. The now. Not the past. Not the pain.
I turned to her.
My smile returning.
My walls back in place.
"Let's get to work," I said, my voice steady, my tone leaving no room for argument.
Rose studied me for a long moment. Her eyes searching. Her expression knowing, but she didn't push. She just nodded.
And we walked, side by side. Me and the girl who'd seen me at my worst and still chose to stay. Me and the proof that I wasn't alone anymore.
And Lydia?
Lydia was just a ghost.
One I'd already buried.
