Chapter 3

When I returned to the Quinn Pack to collect my things, the servants gave me strange looks, hovering as if they wanted to say something but couldn't quite bring themselves to.

I frowned and walked into the living room. Then I understood why.

Everything I owned had been thrown haphazardly across the floor.

And there was Hedy, descending the staircase in a snow-white wedding gown.

I bit my lip and stared at her.

She gathered the skirt and smiled.

"Sera, this is the wedding dress Sebastian designed for you by hand, isn't it?"

"Well, Sebastian's already given it to me."

"He said you've let yourself go—you can't even fit into it anymore. Good thing someone who can appreciate it came along."

She lifted the hem and twirled.

"Sera, what do you think? Does it suit me? Do I look beautiful?"

The white gown shimmered like a dream beneath the crystal chandelier.

Hedy's face was radiant, brimming with triumph and joy.

Back then, Sebastian had spent several sleepless nights finishing the design sketches for that dress.

The first time I put it on, he said:

"Sera, this is the only dress like it in the world—for the only girl like you."

His words still echoed in my ears, but his heart had already changed.

What Hedy didn't realize was that I'd already given up Sebastian himself. Why would I still care about a dress that meant nothing to me now?

I smiled placidly, and my clenched fists slowly uncurled.

"Hedy, hasn't anyone ever told you that when you take someone else's things, you have to pay for them?"

"That gown is worth thirty million dollars. I want the money in my account today."

Hedy's expression shifted in an instant.

"You bitch! You stole Sebastian, and took my family for all these years. How dare you still have the nerve to ask for money!"

She raised her hand and tried to slap me.

But the gown's skirt was far too heavy. I simply sidestepped half a pace, and Hedy tripped over the fabric and crashed to the floor.

Dad and Johnathan came rushing down the stairs.

"Hedy, what happened?"

My brother glared at me with fury in his eyes.

"Seraphina, did you bully Hedy again?!"

Before I could get a word out, a palm cracked hard across my face.

A searing sting spread across my cheek.

I stared at my father in disbelief.

His face was flushed. His voice cold and sharp.

"I know you've never truly accepted Hedy. But she just gave birth, her body is still weak. How could you do this to her?"

Hedy sniffled, playing the wounded innocent.

"Dad, don't be mad at Sera. It's not her fault. She said the dress costs thirty million dollars, and if I don't pay her, I don't deserve to wear it. But I don't have any money… She didn't push me on purpose."

She lifted her pitiful gaze.

"It's all because I can't afford to pay her. Dad, Johnathan—if we give her the money, will she stop being angry at me?"

Dad gave a derisive snort, fury blazing across his face.

"Hedy, you're too kindhearted. Give that bitch money? Over my dead body! I should have known she's just like her mother. A gold-digging whore!"

A sharp pain lanced through my chest. I pressed my hand to my stinging cheek and stared at him.

His face was twisted with venom, curse after curse spilling from his lips. The mask of fatherly love he'd worn for years seemed to crack before my eyes.

Johnathan was quick enough to step in and hold him back.

"Dad."

A flicker of hope kindled in my chest.

But then, cold as ice, came his next words:

"If you push her too far and she makes a scene at Hedy's wedding, it'll be a disaster."

"Since she wants money so badly, just give it to her. Think of it as being robbed by a rogue."

He pulled out a check and tossed it at my feet, his voice dripping with disgust.

"There. A check for thirty million dollars."

"Take it and get out. Don't ever show your face around Hedy again and ruin our day."

I lowered my eyes and stared at the check, drawn on the Moore Pack's account.

The last thread of attachment in my heart finally went dark.

I bent down slowly, picked up the check, and smiled as if none of it mattered.

I looked at the luggage strewn across the living room and decided I no longer cared to sort through any of it.

"Since you're spending money on everything your new sister wants, as your old sister, I certainly won't stick around here."

"From this day on, I no longer belong to the Moore Pack!"

I dug my ID card out of the pile of luggage on the floor, turned around and walked away.

"Wait—"