Chapter 10: Why Do You Care

Chapter 10: Why Do You Care Seraphina’s POV I had to think about my future. I couldn’t trust anyone—not after everything I’d been through. I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again. Not this time. "We’re here." Lucien’s cold voice broke through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present. "Thank you," I said, keeping my tone polite as I stepped out of the car. "I’m warning you!" Lucien’s voice rang out behind me, frustration creeping in. "Why are you walking straight into a trap?" I didn’t turn around. Why should I care?Maybe things would’ve been different if we’d met under better circumstances. But we hadn’t. And that left me where I was now. "It’s been a long time since anyone cared this much," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. "Maybe if they had... maybe things would’ve turned out differently." I swallowed the bitterness that clung to the words, but I kept walking, one step ahead of him. Looking back would only make me hesitate. It might make me run. And I wasn’t going to do that—not when I could already see what was coming. The Lancasters had no idea what they were up against. They were being played by someone cruel enough to tear them apart from the inside. And no matter how much they’d wronged me, they were still my blood. I wasn’t about to stand by and watch them fall into a trap. I could feel Lucien behind me, but I didn’t turn. I couldn’t afford to. I stepped inside the mansion with the same cold resolve that had driven me this far. Melissa and the others were already waiting, looking like they were just waiting to tear me apart. "You’re finally here?" Melissa sneered, her voice sharp enough to cut through the tension hanging in the air. "You’ve got some nerve coming back after what you did to my cousin!" I almost laughed at her audacity. This was my home. Of course, I was coming back. Who the hell was going to stop me? I kept my gaze flat and said, "Why wouldn’t I come back? It’s not like I’m some fake ’young miss’ trying to act like she owns everything she sees." Her eyes flared, and her lips curled into a venomous smile. "How dare you talk to me like that?" Before I could respond, my so-called mother’s voice cut through the room like a whip. Mrs. Lan. The woman who’d never once taken my side. The woman who had blamed me for everything—even when Melissa was the one who’d run away and caused all of this pain. But that didn’t matter now. I didn’t care about her. "Why wouldn’t I?" I answered, the words leaving my mouth as cold as ice. "Last I checked, I only had three brothers." The words hung in the air like poison, and I watched as Melissa’s face turned pale. Not because she cared about family, but because she needed the attention. Her next move was predictable. "How dare you!" she hissed, rushing to Asher’s side like a viper. She wrapped her fingers around his arm, her grip tight as she dragged him into her little drama. "Brother, look at her! She’s saying I’m not family!" There it was—the game she always played. Pulling Asher in. Twisting things just enough to make me look like the villain. It used to hurt when he’d look at me with disdain, but not today. Not now. "Glad you finally figured it out," I said, letting my words sink in. "You’re not family. Just a pity project the Lancasters mistook for one of their own." Asher’s eyes locked with mine, and for a moment, there was something there. A flicker. A crack in his usually stoic expression. Anger? Confusion? I didn’t care enough to guess. Melissa leaned into him, pressing her chest to his like she was trying to absorb him. To own him. "Brother," she whispered, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear, "Are you really going to let her say that?" Still, nothing from Asher. His jaw clenched, his fingers twitching slightly, but he didn’t pull away. He didn’t defend me. And I knew right then—he never would. The silence that followed was thick with tension. It used to crush me, waiting for Asher to say something, anything. But today, it didn’t matter. I didn’t need his approval. Not anymore. I met his gaze, the weight of my words sharp and unflinching. "You don’t have to answer, Asher. Silence suits you." Turning away, I stepped deeper into the mansion—into the place they all wanted me to disappear from. The place I once thought I could belong to. I wasn’t leaving until I had what I came for. This wasn’t about revenge. Not entirely. It was about taking back what was mine. It was about them seeing me—really seeing me—as the true Young Miss of the Lancaster family. Whether they liked it or not. I’d carve my place out of this suffocating house, make them recognize me. Or I’d make them regret it. "Stop right there!" The voice was unmistakable. Mrs. Lancaster. Of course, she was following me. "Asher, what are you doing?" Her voice was sharp, as though my every step was an offense to her. Asher’s frown deepened. "Why are you walking that way?" His voice had an edge of confusion. A bit of irritation, maybe, but also something else I couldn’t place. "Brother, let her go wherever she wants!" Melissa snapped before I could speak, rushing to stand in front of him. Her eyes flickered with a panic I could see through in an instant. "She’s a criminal! A noble person like you shouldn’t even talk to her!" Her outrage was just another performance. She didn’t want them to know where I was headed. But I wasn’t hiding it. I wasn’t running. I turned to face them one last time. "Why do you care?" My voice cut through the air, sharp and unrelenting. "If you didn’t care for me all this time, don’t act like you do now." Mrs. Lan’s face twisted in disgust, like I’d slapped her across the face. "How could I give birth to such a person?" Her voice was laced with barely-contained fury, her teeth grinding as she struggled to keep her composure. But I wasn’t interested in her outburst. I had bigger things to worry about. I was still that girl with no name, no backing, no place in this world. What I needed right now—what I really needed—was money. This mansion, this suffocating place, would only drag me down further. But first, I had plans. I had revenge in mind, but I couldn’t afford to be reckless. Not yet. First, I needed to secure myself. Then? Then, I’d make them regret everything. Revenge was like a fire, and I wasn’t sure how close I could stand before it consumed me. But since this was what I chose, I would walk on my path happily. I slammed the door behind me, cutting off the noise from the rest of the mansion, but it didn’t stop the fury bubbling inside me. My so-called "room" was a joke—a prison cell disguised in faded wallpaper and cobwebs. The instant I opened the door, the stench hit me, thick and suffocating. The dust was so dense it almost choked me, coating every surface like a reminder of how long I’d been ignored. "Damn it!" I muttered through clenched teeth, my fists clenching so tightly I could feel my nails digging into my palms. "Look at them, they really didn’t leave me a single way to live. But this won’t be the same this time. I swear it." The maids had never cared for me. They treated me like some unwanted piece of trash, always sneering and ready to take whatever I had. And they had taken plenty—my personal belongings, things that were important to me, things that were mine. But they crossed the line when they took my brother’s gifts. Asher might’ve resented my very existence in this house, but my other brothers had been more... tolerable.My second brother, had always been the one to show me support, even if it was half-hearted at times. And Adrian, my eldest, was cold and distant, but his gifts had always been a silent gesture of care. I never asked for their pity, but the gifts meant a lot to me—they were the only proof that I wasn’t completely invisible to them. But all those gifts had been taken, stripped away the moment I’d been locked in that damn mental hospital on my birthday. The maids had done it. They’d taken everything from me—stolen what little connection I had left to my family. And I couldn’t let that go. I was done with being the quiet, invisible one. Done with being a victim. Without a second thought, I marched straight for the servants’ quarters, fury guiding my every step. I didn’t knock. I didn’t ask permission. I threw open the door, not caring that the hinges screeched with protest. The maids inside jumped back, startled by my sudden appearance. But they were too slow to react. I was already inside. Just look at their room, it’s a thousand times better than mine! I thought.