My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 220

Chapter 220: Chapter 220 ORDINARY

MARGARET’S POV

I was halfway through my brunch—poached eggs, a slice of toasted brioche, and berries arranged neatly along the porcelain rim—when Paxton cleared his throat from a respectful distance.

“Luna Margaret,” he said, hands folded behind his back, “Shall I take Miss Seraphina some tea?”

My fork paused midway to my mouth.

“Seraphina?”

He nodded. “She has been in the pack library all morning.”

“The library?” I echoed, setting the fork down as nostalgia rippled through me.

He nodded again.

A small, wistful smile pulled at the corners of my lips. Sera had always been fond of the library. She had a habit of forgetting the world when she was in there.

I rose to my feet. “Prepare some tea and biscuits. I’ll take them to her myself.”

Paxton blinked in surprise but bowed again. “Of course, Luna.”

Minutes later, I was standing in front of the grand library, a porcelain tray resting in my hands—two cups of lemon tea, steam curling softly from the rims, and a plate of berry scones.

As I pushed the tall wooden door open with my shoulder, I expected to find Sera reading quietly at her usual spot in the bay window.

However, I found her kneeling on the floor amid scattered lineage books, scrolls, and dusty volumes that hadn’t been touched in decades.

Her fingers hovered over a thick leather-bound tome, her expression tight with frustration and curiosity.

An unbidden chill clawed down my spine.

“Seraphina?” I said gently.

Her head lifted at the sound of my voice, and her features lit up in surprise. “Mother.”

I stepped inside, letting the door close behind me with a soft click. “Paxton mentioned you’ve been in here all morning. I thought you might be hungry.” I held out the tray. “I brought you tea and a little something to eat.” 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Sera stood slowly, brushing dust from her jeans. “Thanks,” she murmured.

I walked closer, setting the tray on a nearby table. As she reached for it, my gaze snagged on the messy sprawl of books at her feet. My throat tightened and dread prickled my skin.

“Doing some research?” I asked carefully.

Her fingers paused on the cup handle. “Something like that.”

A strange tension hung between us. It wasn’t like the distance that had festered between us over the last decade. This was different. New. I wasn’t sure how to qualify it.

When she looked at me fully, her eyes searched my face with an intensity that made my pulse trip.

“Mother,” she said, steady but cautious, “It’s actually great that you’re here. I...wanted to ask you something.”

My breath stilled.

My gaze darted back to the books and scrolls and tomes, and I knew the question before she spoke it.

“About your life,” she continued, “before you married Father.”

The dread rose so sharply that it constricted my breath, like a cold, invisible hand squeezing my throat.

The life I had sealed away, buried, hidden so thoroughly I had almost convinced myself it never existed.

I kept my smile intact and my voice steady as I answered. “That was a very long time ago, Sera. Why do you ask?”

She hesitated. Not nervously—purposefully. As if considering how best to soften the words.

“Because I need to understand something,” she said. “About our family. About where we—where I come from.”

A jolt shot through my chest; my heart lurched painfully.

I knew how to wear masks. I’d worn them my entire adult life. So I slipped into one now, effortlessly, like muscle memory.

“There isn’t much to tell,” I said lightly. “I was an orphan. No pack. I met your father unexpectedly. Fate, as they say.” A small—heavy—shrug. “I joined Frostbane. The rest is history.”

I’d recited that line so many times over the years that it had become second nature. A polished lie. A safe story.

But Sera didn’t accept it.

She stepped forward, her eyes sharp with something fierce and...familiar. A determination that belonged to a Luna, not a child.

“You were an orphan?” Her eyes narrowed. “Then what about the bracelet you gave me? You know, the one with the carved initials? You said your mother gave it to you when you got married.”

The cold hand tightened around my throat.

I rarely made mistakes when it came to keeping my past in the past, but I’d slipped up. I let the emotions of that moment with Sera cloud my sense of self-preservation.

“That is...” I cleared my throat. There was not enough oxygen in the library to keep me from going lightheaded. “I must have misspoken.”

Sera let out an incredulous laugh. “Misspoken?”

“Sera—”

“I thought we were bridging the gap,” she cut in, setting the cup down with an audible clang. “No more distance; no more enmity, remember?” Her mouth twisted. “Or was that a lie too?”

My heart thudded painfully. “Sera, dear. I can explain—”

“Good. Do then.” She crossed her arms. “What pack were you from? Who were your parents? Why isn’t there anything about you in the archives?”

My pulse stumbled.

“Sera—”

“Mother.” Her voice cracked, not from anger. From desperation. “Don’t do this, please. We’ve moved past lies and secrets, right? There are things I need to know about myself, and something tells me you’re the one most likely to have answers.”

A warning bell rang loudly in my mind. Panic soared, threatened to overpower me, and send me back to the past I tried so hard to forget.

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