Seraphine climbed the stairs to her apartment, she felt a weight lifting from her shoulders. But deep in her gut, a sense of unease lingered.
The evening air was crisp, but the suffocating weight inside the apartment was what truly chilled Seraphine Mancini. She stood at the door, hand clutching the handle of her suitcase, her decision finally made. Every corner of this place reminded her of a love that had withered, promises broken one by one. She was ready to leave it all behind.
The phone buzzed insistently in the kitchen, its sound cutting through the heavy silence. Seraphine didn’t budge. No more distractions.
Just as her foot crossed the threshold, the front door burst open with a jarring slam. Luther Harword walked in, Cornelia trailing behind him like a second shadow. Cornelia’s laughter rang out, bright and deliberate, her smile radiant as though she carried the sun itself. Seraphine’s gaze flickered to Luther’s hand on Cornelia’s back, guiding her inside with a possessiveness that stung.