Chapter 1894
Although the precinct generally preferred mediation for these types of disputes, the victim’s stance was paramount.
Seraphina, who had just been arguing bitterly with her sister, instantly snapped back to reality the moment she heard the word ‘charges.’
“No, you can’t press charges.” Her reaction was even faster than Jocelyn’s.
“If we don’t press charges, are we just supposed to let her use these same exact tactics to destroy someone else in the future?” Phoebe demanded sharply.
She had been the one who sympathized with Jocelyn the most at the start, and now she was the one who wanted to see her put behind bars the most.
“I’m so sorry, I swear I know I was wrong,” Jocelyn sobbed, continuously apologizing.
She looked desperately at her older sister. “Seraphina, please help me!”
“If you don’t help me, how are you going to explain this to Mom and Dad?”
From the time they were children, their parents had demanded that Seraphina yield to her younger sister, and she had grown sickeningly accustomed to it.
Whenever Jocelyn got into trouble, she used their parents as a weapon to crush Seraphina into submission.
They would always say:
“You’re the older sister, you need to let her have her way.”
“You bullied her while you were in the womb, so you have to protect her for the rest of your life.”
“She’s younger, give it to her first.”
“If you’re good to her now, she’ll be good to you later.”
“Seraphina, how can you be so selfish?”
“If you leave her out to dry now, she’ll never take care of you in the future!”
“You’re so much better than her, just help her out.”
She had heard those exact phrases thousands of times.
To satisfy her sister, she had already sacrificed the only person who had ever truly loved her. Wasn’t that enough?
She desperately wanted to refuse, but the voices echoing in her head were like a suffocating curse.
Seraphina violently shook her head, trying to clear the conditioning.
“Owen, can you please help me just this one last time?”
Seraphina reached out and grabbed onto Owen’s sleeve again.
Claire immediately noticed the visceral reaction her brother had to that specific movement.
Every time this woman tugged his sleeve, his resolve fractured.
Owen rubbed his thumb against his finger, then used his other
index
hand to slowly, firmly pry
Seraphina’s fingers off his si
vel
sŵnovels
“Seraphina, what gives you the right to think I will continuously compromise my life
for you?”
A heavy lump formed in Seraphina’s throat. “I’m sorry.”
“Didn’t you promise me one favor?”
It was a vow he had made a long time ago.
Owen’s brow furrowed tightly. “Are you absolutely certain you want to waste that promise on this?”
He stared intensely into her eyes. “Can’t you think about yourself for just one second?”
Seraphina offered a broken, bitter smile. “Let’s just use it on this.”
“Owen, there is no future for us anymore. This is the absolute last time.”
And it would be the absolute last time she ever helped Jocelyn.
Her smile was more tragic than tears, yet she still looked like that innocent, fragile daisy he remembered.
Owen understood exactly what she meant.
Once he fulfilled this final promise, all debts between them would be settled, and they would never cross paths again.
Even if they walked past each other on the street, they would be strangers.
He could easily guess the heavy burden driving her to make this choice.
“Fine.” Ultimately, his heart softened one final time for the girl she used to be.
Regardless of her reasoning, he was a man of his word. Since he had made the promise, he would honor it.
Owen’s face was completely devoid of emotion, yet Claire could sense a suffocating wave of despair rolling off him.
He had truly, deeply loved her when they were young.
But in that girl’s heart, he would always place second behind her toxic family.
Whatever her reasons were, Seraphina was permanently severing her ties with Owen.
The only person who breathed a sigh of relief when Owen said ‘Fine’ was Jocelyn.
She collapsed back onto the floor in
sheer exhaustion. She had been
inches seconds away from throwing her in a jaff cell. .net>
Even if
suspemanaged to get a
suspended sentence because of the a cominal record would
pregnancy
completely destroy her future.
“Are you really just going to let Jocelyn walk away like that?”
On the drive back to the estate for family dinner, Claire finally asked him.