My Sister Stole My Mate, And I Let Her

19: Chapter 19 A DEAD PLANT 19: Chapter 19 A DEAD PLANT SERAPHINA’S POV

As soon as I closed the door behind me, I rushed to the couch and unboxed the phone Kieran had given me.

Sure enough, there was one number saved in the contacts, and I initiated a FaceTime call, my hands shaking with anticipation.

It rang twice, and a gasp tore out of me when Daniel’s face filled the screen.

“Mom!”

“Oh, my baby!” I clutched my chest, feeling like my heart was going to break free of my ribcage to go to him.

He gave me a toothy grin, showcasing his canines that were still growing out slowly after falling out a month ago.

I didn’t know if it was the ache of missing him, but he looked so young, and all I wanted to do was reach through the phone and hold him in my arms.

“I miss you,” he declared.

“Oh, I miss you, too,” I said, forcing tears back down my throat.

“How’s the island?” I asked to distract myself.

Daniel’s eyes danced with glee.

“Oh, Mom, it’s huge!”

I laughed.

“Yeah?

You like it?”

He nodded.

“There are two pools in the house, and I can see the ocean from my window.

Grandpa said when the tide is right, he’ll show me how to catch a wave.”

I worried my lower lip between my teeth.

“Is that safe, though?”

He snorted.

“There’s like fifty guards here, Mom.” He rolled his eyes, flopping onto a bed.

“And they follow me everywhere.

I can’t get a snack without an escort.”

I laughed, refraining from telling him that security guards wouldn’t be able to save him from a bad wave on the surfboard.

“Well, it’s all for your own—”

“Where’s Dad?”

I blinked, caught off guard.

“What?”

He sat up, his eyebrows knitting together.

“At the airport, he promised me he wouldn’t leave your side if I went.”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

What was Kieran thinking, making that kind of promise to our son?

“Listen, sweetie,” I started carefully.

“Your Dad and I are—”

“I know, you’re divorced, and Dad has his new girlfriend, that one called Celeste.”

He only called her name, not with any title.

I wasn’t sure whether I should correct that manner.

Celeste would join Kieran’s life officially one day, and I didn’t want my boy to be blamed for such a tiny thing.

But back to the point, Daniel had inherited the worst of both Kieran’s and my stubborn streaks.

Once he dug his heels in, not even an Alpha command could shake him loose.

I took a deep breath.

“Honey, things are—”

“I get it, Mom,” he said, his head dipping a little.

“I just… I really liked camping.

All three of us.

We can still do that sometimes, right?”

My heart clenched, a fresh wound bleeding.

“Daniel—”

“I don’t mean you have to get back together or anything,” he said, offering a brave, wobbly smile.

“I just know you both love me.

That’s enough.”

Then, before I could say anything else, he rushed out, “Mom, Grandma’s calling me.

I gotta go.”

“Okay.

Remember I love you,” I whispered, my voice breaking, and the call ended.

I tossed the phone away from me and dropped my head into my hands.

The doorbell rang—a delivery of some documents.

Among them was a package from Daniel’s school, containing personal items from his locker since he was on temporary leave.

Nestled among his awards and notebooks was his writing journal.

My fingers paused on the cover of the last entry, the one that had earned him an A+: My Family.

The opening lines were seared into my memory before I even turned the page: “My family is like a puzzle.

My mom is the corner piece—she holds everything together and makes sure all the edges are straight.

My dad is the centerpiece—big and important, the picture doesn’t make sense without him.

And I’m one of the pieces in the middle, trying to connect them both.

Sometimes the pieces fit perfectly, like when I am sick and they take care of me.

Other times, they’re from different puzzles, and no matter how hard you try, they just won’t click…”

I read every word, tears streaming silently down my face.

I carried the journal inside, sinking down against the sofa, and sat there until dusk fell.

My tears eventually dried up, leaving me feeling parched, hollow, and barren inside.

For the first time since the divorce, I wondered if I’d made a mistake.

I thought we’d gone through the whole process as amicably as possible, and Kieran and I had been civil with each other, at least in front of Daniel.

The last thing I wanted was to hurt my son, but was that what we were doing?

I mean, I wasn’t the one who initiated it, but should I have fought harder?

Should I have done more to keep my marriage intact?

I scoffed at that thought.

What more could I have done?

Over the last decade, I’d done everything in my power to turn lemons into lemonade.

As soon as we got married and I moved into Kieran’s home, we’d slept in separate rooms.

I’d tried to move into his room to foster some kind of intimacy, but I was shut down with a frigidity that made sure I never attempted that again.

I tried to dress sexily around the house, hoping he could start to see me as less of a prison and more of a woman, but he never even looked my way.

And on the nights when he needed physical gratification, he would come to my room, climb into bed with me, do what needed to be done, and leave.

He never kissed me, never even fully took off my clothes, never spent the night.

The sex was transactional, like a chore to tick off his list.

And, of course, he always used a condom.

God forbid I had one more child to further tether him to me.

But I got over the feeling of being used, and I figured if we couldn’t be proper lovers, we could be good friends—but even that had been an exercise in futility.

I cooked Kieran’s favorite meals only to have them go bad because he ordered takeout instead.

I tried to get involved in pack activities but was shut down at every turn.

I even learned everything I could about Formula One racing so we could talk about it during the Grand Prix, but as soon as I entered the living room, he would stand up and go to his room to watch it there.

No matter how much you water a dead plant, it won’t miraculously come back to life.

So I stopped trying.

I retreated into myself, wrote my books, and lived in a silent hell for ten years.

But was my freedom worth it if my son was getting hurt in the process?

I wasn’t given a chance to answer myself because my my phone rang.

An unknown number.

I sighed and answered, only to hear a voice I hadn’t expected.

“Hey, Sera.

You got a minute to talk?” It was Ethan.

***

I met Ethan at a nearby cafe.

He looked more worn than the last time I’d seen him, the weight of the Alpha mantle newly heavy on his shoulders.

Taking over a pack, even one you’ve been groomed for, was never easy.

But that wasn’t my concern.

“What do you want?” I didn’t bother sitting down.

His jaw flexed, his entire body stiff and tense.

“Mom has been trying to reach you,” he said flatly.

“You haven’t responded, and she’s worried.”

A sharp bark of laughter slipped out of me.

“How nice of her to finally worry about me after ignoring me for ten years.”

His thick eyebrows furrowed.

“Sera, she’s your mother—”

“A fact she’s only remembering now.” I chuckled dryly.

“If I’d known this is what it took, I would have gotten shot years ago.”

Ethan’s eyes flared.

“Seraphina!”

I rolled my eyes and turned to leave.

“If this is all you have, don’t contact me again.

Goodbye, Ethan.”

He stood and caught my wrist.

“What the hell has gotten into you, Sera?” he asked, his voice hard, his blue eyes glacial.

“We’re a family; why have you been treating us like this?”

My eyes widened, and an incredulous sound fell from my agape mouth.

“Why am I treating you like this?”

I stepped forward.

“Do you remember back at the hospital, right after Dad died, when you, my fucking brother, swore to rip away whatever scrap of happiness I clung to?”

His face drained of color.

“Sera, I was…

I didn’t—”

A bitter laugh tore from my throat.

“Turns out, you succeeded.”

“Daniel is my only happiness.” I gritted my teeth.

“And now, because of some damn threat your Lockwood name attracted, I had to send him away just to keep him safe.”

“So tell me, Ethan—what’s next?”

“Sera, I—I never meant—”

“Save it,” I said sharply, slapping away his hand.

It dropped to his side without a fight.

“You all should just continue doing what you’ve done for the last ten years.

I’m not your sister, Ethan, and I am not that woman’s daughter.

I have no intention of changing that—not now, not ever.”

“Sera—”

“Goodbye,” I said firmly, then pushed the cafe door open, leaving Ethan standing there.

For a moment, I stood in front of the door, unmoving.

I didn’t know why.

Was I waiting for Ethan to run after me, to demand reconciliation?

After a full minute, I scoffed, wiping away a lone tear that had managed its way out of my eyes.

It was one thing that he’d even visited my home, but expecting Ethan to fight for me?

Not in a million years.

And maybe that was for the best.

Trying to reconcile with my family was like trying to make Kieran love me.

Like watering a dead plant—futile and useless.