Chapter 1881

[ 648 words ]

Owen knew Xavier was up to no good.

“I told you before, there’s nothing going on between us.”

There wasn’t in the past, and there never would be in the future.

Seraphina walked out of the private dining room just in time to hear those exact words.

All the color drained from her face.

She never expected the man who had treated her so kindly-the only source of warmth during her bleak high school years—could say something so utterly heartless.

Xavier noticed Seraphina standing there and shot Owen a frantic look.

Owen casually turned around, his gaze landing on the woman standing behind his friend.

“Owen,” Seraphina bit her lower lip, fighting back the urge to cry.

“You heard what I just said, didn’t you?”

Since she had already overheard, Owen figured he might as well lay all his cards on the table.

Seraphina refused to acknowledge it. “It’s been so long since we last saw each other. Can’t you just stay and have a meal with me?”

“I remember back in high school, you took me out for dinner once-“

It had been the dead of winter, freezing cold, yet Seraphina had been dressed in thin, threadbare clothing.

It wasn’t that her family couldn’t afford proper winter wear. It was because Jocelyn had taken her heavy coat.

The excuse had been that Jocelyn’s own jacket got wet.

Seraphina had simply suffered through the biting chill. After school, her parents rushed to pick up Jocelyn to visit their grandmother, completely forgetting Seraphina at the campus gates.

Owen had offered to drive her home. On the way, they passed a cozy little diner, and he took her inside for a warm meal.

He had even draped his own jacket over Seraphina’s shoulders, which resulted in him catching a severe flu that landed him in the hospital on an IV drip for three days.

Those events were firmly in the past, but when Seraphina brought them up, it felt as if they had just happened yesterday.

“I’ve already eaten,” Owen replied, shutting her down flat.

“Just sit with me for a little bit, please?” Seraphina reached out, lightly tugging at his sleeve.

It was a habit she had formed back in their school days. Whenever she did that, Owen’s heart used to soften.

But not anymore.

He remembered how every time she tugged his sleeve back then, it was

because she was conceding to Jocelyn, choosing not to

5, Womack

She was the one being wronged, yet she would turn around and comfort him instead.

That kind of quiet resilience used to pierce the softest parts of a teenage boy’s heart.

But he wasn’t a teenager anymore.

Seraphina never fought back, and

for her

the result was that she became nothing more than a shadow incher own home a willing sacrifice family.

But what did that have to do with anyone else?

No one had forced her to endure it.

Even when Owen had offered to help her escape it, she had refused.

“The opportunity to study abroad was yours. Why did you give it up for Jocelyn?”

Owen’s question hit her out of nowhere.

Caught completely off guard, Seraphina’s face went deathly pale.

“Owen, it’s complicated. Besides, that’s all in the past.”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Please don’t press me, okay?”

She was still the same unbearable doormat she had always been.

Owen could hardly stand to look at her.

“Fine, didn’t you want to eat?”

“Let’s go. After this meal, we go our separate ways for good.”

When Owen finally agreed to walk back inside, Seraphina turned her hopeful gaze

to Xavier. “Xavier, are you going to join us?”

“Jocelyn might have something to say to you, too.”

“She said you used to take such good care of her. She doesn’t want to ruin your relationship with your fiance Consider this meal a final farewell FindNovel.net

Contentelonina.

Seraphina spoke with extreme caution, but Xavier was already rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, fine. Let’s eat. Should I order us a couple of bottles of wine while we’re at it?”

Xavier said it sarcastically.

But Seraphina, completely missing the sarcasm, replied earnestly, “No need, we already ordered some.”

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