Chapter 21: I Don’t Like Being Alone

Chapter 21: I Don’t Like Being Alone Seraphina’s POV "Is your mind okay?" Lucien asked, his voice low but filled with disbelief. "You want to leave tomorrow? When are you in this condition?" "I... I have a midterm soon," I murmured, avoiding meeting his eyes. "I can’t ignore that. I need to perform well this time. For that... I have to attend classes." "What?" He looked at me, brows furrowed. I could see a flicker of shock in his eyes. "You’re in school?" I didn’t know how to respond. Did he not listen to what I had told him? All he asked was if I was in school! "Yes," I said quietly. He then continued. "Don’t tell me you’re still a minor." I swallowed, and hardly controlled myself from rolling my eyes. "I turned eighteen the day we first met," I whispered. "It... it was my birthday." Silence fell over the car. I didn’t know what to say, and neither did Lucien. By the time we reached our destination, I already knew where he was taking me... Back to that place. His home. The same place he took me before. "Forget everything for now," Lucien said firmly. "I want you to recover fully before you start working hard and acting like an independent woman." I was speechless. I didn’t know how to react to that. No one had ever spoken to me like this. No one had cared for me in this way in this life. I wanted to argue, to tell him that it was not his turn to order me around. But he wasn’t wrong. My body was barely holding together, and I wasn’t in any condition to do anything right now. "Sure," I murmured. He stepped out of the car and came around to help only after hearing my answer. And once again, I was lifted into his warm and solid arms. I wanted to hide myself or disappear. But... it wasn’t like I could. "Wait," I blurted out, my voice barely above a whisper. Lucien paused mid-step, glancing down at me in his arms. "What is it? What’s wrong?" "I... I forgot my water bottle in the car," I muttered, lowering my head to avoid his eyes. "Water bottle?" he asked as he lifted his brow. "The one my brother gave me..." I added, even softer this time. How could I be so stupid to leave the bottle in the car? That was so precious to me. There was a short silence. "Really?" he said finally, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he started walking again. "You didn’t call him that earlier." I didn’t respond. He was right, I didn’t call Asher brother before, but that’s my problem. Why was he being so sarcastic? "Don’t worry," he said quietly, not mocking anymore. "I’ll have someone bring it in for you." He didn’t speak again as he carried me through the front door. The house was way too quiet. His footsteps echoed against the wooden floor, as the house felt as cold as Lucien himself. I hated this. This had the same feeling as the Lancaster family. But somehow, it still held a different feeling from there. Being held like this. I felt helpless being held in his arms like that. Like I had no say in anything. But I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe as his cologne was entering my nostrils. And worse than that... I didn’t want to let go, this feeling and everything Lucien entered a room and kicked the door shut behind him, making his way to the bed, gently lowering me down like I would break any moment. His hands lingered on my back a little longer than was needed, his eyes scanning my face like he was still trying to figure me out. "Comfortable?" he asked. I nodded, even though the pain pulsed up my spine. He straightened up but didn’t step away. Instead, he crouched in front of me, arms resting on his knees. "You didn’t even flinch this time," he said quietly. I blinked. "What?" "When I touched you," he murmured. "You didn’t shrink away like before." My breath caught in my throat. What was he talking about? And why now? I looked away, shame crawling under my skin. "Wh... What are you talking about?" He scoffed lightly, but not unkindly. "Didn’t I say it clearly? Should I repeat myself?" "I... I don’t want to make things harder for you," I replied as the heat coursed through my body. "You’re not making anything harder, Seraphina. They already did that." He responded. The way he said they made something cold twist in my stomach. It was as if there was still someone who had faith in me. I wanted to speak—to say something. But I didn’t. Because a part of me... the part that wasn’t fully shattered yet... I was still fighting, and I hadn’t given up yet. Lucien stood up and reached for the blanket on the bed, draping it around me with careful hands. He adjusted it near my shoulders without asking. "I’ll get your bottle," he said, turning toward the door. "Wait," I said again, this time quieter. He turned back. "I just... I don’t like being alone," I admitted. The words tasted like blood in my mouth. He didn’t smile this time. He just nodded slowly. "I’ll stay," Lucien responded. "However, I need you to eat something, and if you have some strength, then clean yourself." "I..." What the hell did I just do? The words came out unintentionally, and he had agreed to it? "I am waiting..." Lucien sat beside me and looked at me. "What is it that you want to say?" "I will have something to eat first," I muttered. I just didn’t know what to do at the moment, and saying anything would work. "What would you like?" Lucien asked, but before I could reply, he continued. "You seem to like sweets a lot." What? How did he know? I wanted to ask, but before I could, he was gone.