Seraphina's Point of View
The silence after my words was deafening. Only their ragged breathing filled the room, the aftermath of their screams still echoing faintly in the air.
Adrian's wide brown eyes darted from the kettle still in my hand to my face. He looked like a man who had seen a ghost rise from her grave, and in a way, he had. Kara clutched the sheets to her chest, trembling, her scalded skin red and blotched. Her once-perfect hair stuck to her face, mascara smeared in streaks down her cheeks.
Their horrified faces haunted me with every step. But instead of breaking me, the image only twisted into something darkly satisfying.
I smiled wider.
"What?" I asked, my voice cutting through the silence like glass. "You both look surprised to see me. Aren't you happy I'm here?" I tilted my head, mocking sweetness dripping from my tone. "I just decided to join the fun… in my own special way."
Kara's mouth opened, trembling, words caught in her throat. Adrian stumbled for his jeans, clutching them in front of him. "Babe, please… it's not what it looks like…"
"Shut your trap, Adrian." My voice was ice. I lifted a hand, silencing him before he could continue. "Even if you want to insert that pathetic thing between your legs somewhere, you could've picked literally anyone else." My gaze snapped to Kara. "But her?"
For a long, tense heartbeat, none of us moved.
Then Adrian took a small step forward, voice shaking. "Seraphina… what the hell did you just do… are you insane?!"
I tilted my head, smiling faintly. "Insane?" I echoed softly. "No, Adrian. Insane is what you both are. Insane for thinking you could fuck behind my back and I wouldn't notice. Insane for doing it in our bed."
Kara's lip quivered as she pressed her palm to her burned shoulder. "Phina, please… it's not…"
The sound of her voice snapped something in me. I closed the distance between us before she could finish and landed a sharp slap across her cheek.
The crack of it filled the air like a gunshot.
She screamed, clutching her face, her eyes wide with disbelief and pain.
"Don't you dare," I hissed, voice trembling with fury. "Don't you dare call my name with that mouth. Cheap whores like you have no right to speak it."
Kara flinched. "Phina, listen to me…"
The sound of her voice sent another surge of fury through me. I stepped forward and slapped her again, the sharp crack echoing in the small room. She screamed, clutching her cheek, fresh tears mixing with the sting.
"I trusted you, Kara. I loved you like a sister. I shared everything with you… my secrets, my dreams, my home. What was it that I didn't give you? What did I do wrong?" My voice cracked. "Tell me!"
Kara sobbed, shaking her head. "It just happened, Phina… I didn't mean to…"
"You didn't mean to?" I barked out a bitter laugh. "You didn't mean to fuck my boyfriend? To betray the one person who defended you when everyone else called you a liar? To climb into my bed while I was fighting to survive?"
Adrian grabbed my arm. "Seraphina, stop it! You're going too far…"
I wrenched free and turned on him, my glare sharp enough to cut. "Too far? You think I've gone too far, Adrian? You just fucked my best friend in my bed. Tell me, what's too far after that?"
Adrian stepped forward again, eyes wild. "Enough, Seraphina! She said she was sorry! I'm sorry too, okay? But you…"
He hesitated, his voice softening. "You wouldn't sleep with me. You kept saying you weren't ready, kept shutting me out. What was I supposed to do?"
My eyes snapped to his. "You were supposed to wait," I hissed. "You were supposed to love me for me, not for what I could give you between the sheets. That's what you promised, remember? But I guess promises don't mean much to men like you."
He clenched his jaw, muttering under his breath, "I'm not a saint, Seraphina. I'm human."
"No, Adrian," I whispered coldly. "You're not human. You're selfish. You're weak. You're every fucking reason I stopped believing in love."
He looked away, guilt flickering behind his eyes, but then his jaw clenched. "You wouldn't even sleep with me," he muttered. "You kept pushing me away. I'm not made of stone, Seraphina! I'm a man, I have needs…"
Before he could finish, I slapped him. Hard.
And then again.
The second hit sent him stumbling a step backward, one hand on his cheek. "You bastard," I said through gritted teeth. "That's your excuse? That's your justification? You decided to satisfy yourself with her because I wouldn't open my legs for you?"
Adrian's eyes flashed. "You don't understand! You were always distant, always locked in your own world. I needed someone who actually wanted me…"
"Someone who wanted you?" I let out a sharp, humorless laugh, eyes glistening. "You mean my best friend. You mean the woman I trusted with my life. That's who you went to for comfort?"
Kara sobbed quietly on the bed, but I ignored her. My gaze drifted to the corner of the room, at the baseball bat leaning against the wall. I walked toward it slowly, feeling both of their eyes on me.
Adrian's voice was barely a whisper. "Seraphina… what are you doing?"
Kara gasped. "Phina… please don't…"
I took a step toward the bat; the sight of the wood was oddly comforting. "You know," I said quietly, "a part of me wants to end it right here. I could. It would be so easy."
Adrian swallowed hard, voice trembling. "Seraphina… don't do anything stupid…"
"Stupid?" I repeated with a laugh that sounded almost like a sob. "You think I'm stupid? You fucked my best friend and you're calling me stupid?"
I picked up the bat. It was heavier than I expected, solid wood, firm beneath my trembling hands. I lifted it halfway, staring at them, their pale, frightened faces, the scent of betrayal thick in the air.
My knuckles turned white around the bat. I raised it high enough to make them flinch, to make the fear in their eyes bloom.
My grip tightened. My heartbeat thundered. For a second, I imagined it… the satisfying sound of bone breaking, the beautiful chaos that would follow.
But then… I dropped it.
The bat hit the floor with a dull thud.
My chest rose and fell rapidly as I looked at them both. "No," I muttered. "There's no need. It's pointless. You're not worth the effort."
I turned toward the mirror by the dresser and caught sight of myself. My reflection didn't look like me anymore. Pale face. Dead eyes. The faint trace of tears down my cheeks.
A hollow laugh slipped from my lips. "If I die tomorrow," I whispered to no one, "you'll probably fuck another woman on my grave."
They stared at me in horror as I turned back toward them. "There's no connection between us anymore," I said, voice calm now, almost detached. "Kara, since you decided to throw away years of friendship for a man, you mean nothing to me now. And Adrian…" I paused, meeting his eyes. "I hope she was worth it."
As I reached the door, I glanced over my shoulder. The sight of them… half-naked, burned, and terrified, should've satisfied me. But all I felt was emptiness.
"You both deserve each other," I said softly, and walked out.