Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother (Seraphina and Damien) novel Chapter 244

Seraphina’s Perspective

The sound of Lily’s crying shattered something deep inside me—a raw, aching crack that I hadn’t expected but couldn’t ignore.

Without thinking, my body moved on its own. My feet carried me swiftly through the doorway, past Damien, and up the stairs in a blur.

Lily caught sight of me and bolted toward me, her tiny frame colliding with mine. She wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, pressing her face into my stomach as if anchoring herself to me.

“Mama,” she sobbed, her voice trembling. “Please don’t go. Please stay.”

I dropped down onto my knees, pulling her close, trying to soothe her. “Shh, baby. It’s going to be okay.”

“No, it’s not!” Her voice cracked with desperation. “You and Daddy are fighting, and you’re leaving, and nothing is okay!”

Adrian stood frozen on the landing, his expression carefully neutral, but his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.

“Adrian?” I reached out to him, hoping for some sign of softness.

He stepped back, distancing himself. “We’re fine. Just go ahead and leave. Isn’t that what you always do?”

His words hit me like a slap across the face.

“Adrian, that’s not—”

“Just go,” he interrupted, his voice trembling with emotion. “We don’t need you anyway.”

Then he turned and walked away, retreating to his room. The door didn’t slam, but closed quietly, with a finality that felt worse somehow.

Lily’s sobs only grew louder, her small body trembling against mine.

Damien appeared at the top of the stairs, his face a picture of devastation.

“I’ll stay,” I found myself saying softly. “Tonight. Just tonight.”

Lily’s crying slowed, her voice hopeful. “Promise?”

“I promise, baby.”

She hiccupped, wiping her tears on my shirt. “Can you sleep in my room? Please?”

“Of course. Whatever you need.”

I carried her back to her bed, carefully tucking her in and lying down beside her.

She curled up against me immediately, clutching my shirt like I might disappear if she let go.

“I love you, Mama,” she whispered.

“I love you too, baby girl. More than anything.”

Her breathing gradually evened out as sleep claimed her.

But I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to her gentle breaths.

What was I doing? What the hell was I doing?

Staying here, in this house, pretending we could still be a family. Pretending any of this was fixable.

But then Lily’s tear-streaked face flashed through my mind. Adrian’s broken expression. Their desperate longing for normalcy.

I couldn’t keep doing this to them—breaking their hearts again and again.

Yet I also couldn’t stay. I couldn’t live in this house, share the same space with Damien, or pretend Emma and her baby didn’t exist.

There was no right answer. No good choice. Just varying shades of wrong.

I waited until Lily was deep in sleep, then gently slipped out of her grasp.

The house was dark and silent as I crept down the stairs and into the kitchen.

I found a pen and paper in the drawer where we’d always kept them.

My hand hovered over the blank page for a long moment before I began to write.

Damien,

I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep pretending, or hurting the kids by making them hope for something that will never happen.

I want a divorce. A real one this time—legal papers, a clean break, everything divided fairly.

We can work out custody—whatever’s best for Adrian and Lily. I’ll be flexible, reasonable. But I need this to be over.

I’m sorry. For everything. For leaving three years ago. For not being strong enough to fix this. For letting it get this bad.

But mostly, I’m sorry that I still can’t forgive you. That I can’t move past what happened. That seeing you still hurts too much.

Emma’s having your baby. She deserves a chance to be your Luna, to have the life I couldn’t give you.

The kids will adjust. They’re strong. They’ll be okay.

Please don’t fight me on this. Please just… let me go.

She touched her belly again. “His baby. Our baby. The future heir to the Nightshadow pack.”

“You said it yourself once, remember?” Emma tilted her head. “You said if I could make Damien love me, I should try. Remember that conversation?”

I did. In the hallway at the training facility. It felt like a lifetime ago.

“Well,” Emma’s smile sharpened. “I did try. And look what happened.”

She gestured to her belly. “He chose me, Sera.”

“You told me he loved you,” Emma continued. “That I’d never be more than his assistant. That you were his wife. His mate. His choice.”

She stepped closer, close enough for me to smell her perfume. “Do you still believe that? After everything? Do you still think he loves you?”

Her words stabbed like knives.

“He gave me two million dollars,” Emma repeated. “Do you know what that means? It means he’s taking responsibility. It means he acknowledges this baby. It means we’re connected forever now.”

“And you?” She looked me up and down. “You’re living in this tiny apartment. Alone. While he moves on with me. While we build a life together. While I become his Luna.”

Something inside me snapped.

“You want to be Luna?” I said coldly, my voice final. “Then be Luna. Take him. Take the title. Take everything.”

Emma blinked, like she’d expected a different reaction.

“I’m done,” I added. “Done fighting, done caring, done pretending any of this matters.”

I stepped past her and unlocked my door. “You want Damien? He’s yours. I left him divorce papers tonight. By this time next week, he’ll be free to marry whoever he wants.”

“And that baby?” I turned back to look her straight in the eyes. “That bastard you’re carrying? Congratulations. I hope it inherits his lying eyes. I hope every time you look at it, you remember how you got it.”

Her face went white. “How dare you—”

“How dare I?” I laughed bitterly, the sound harsh and raw. “You show up at my home, pregnant with my husband’s baby, flaunting it like some prize. And you ask how dare I?”

“Get the hell away from me,” I said, voice steady but cold. “Take your bastard. Take Damien. Go be Luna. I don’t care anymore. I’m done.”

I stepped inside my apartment and began closing the door.

Emma’s hand shot out, stopping it. “You’re going to regret this!”

“I’m done,” I said firmly. “Completely done. So take your pregnant ass, your two million dollars, and your precious baby, and get the fuck away from me.”

I slammed the door in her face.