Chapter 45: Caught Between Dream & Reality!

Chapter 45: Caught Between Dream & Reality! Seraphina’s POV My head felt like it was filled with smoke, like I had been breathing in fire, and now I couldn’t even remember what clean air felt like. My eyes were shut, but even in that darkness, I wasn’t at peace—because everything inside me was screaming and shaking me up from the inside out. I didn’t know what exactly happened after I left that man, the janitor, or guard, or whoever the hell he was. His strange words still echoed in my ears like a curse I couldn’t wash away. And right after that, everything blurred out, and the world around me slipped into nothing. As if I had fallen into a deep... deep sleep without care. But it wasn’t sleep. It was hell! Because the moment I closed my eyes, the moment I fell into that black pit, my mind dragged me straight back to that hell. Everything played right in front of me, and I was seeing my own life story playing like a movie in front of me. I saw my past in bits and pieces. They were my screams full of pain, every scar, every goddamn thing I tried to bury deep inside me. And in the middle of it, standing like the devil herself, was Melissa. Her eyes were full of evilness like always, her lips curled in that fake little smile I hated more than anything in the world, And she had a big fucking kitchen knife in her hands as she was walking toward me like I was her prey. Without any mercy and hesitation... She stabbed me. All this... It didn’t feel like a dream! It felt real. She kept stabbing me and slicing on my pale face as if I weren’t a human being but a doll or a toy for her to play with! And I couldn’t scream. I tried, but no sound came out. I was stuck, frozen, choking on fear and pain. The kind of panic that makes your whole body shut down. But wasn’t I supposed to have died from overwork? Slowly wasting away in a hospital bed with no one around? With Cancer on top of that? Then why this? Why the blood and the fire and the goddamn madness? Before I could even understand what was happening, everything around me caught fire. The whole place, my body, everything burned. And I watched myself turn to ash. It hurt, not just physically but mentally, like my soul was being ripped apart all over again. And the worst part? None of this ever happened. At least not in my memories. So why was I seeing it now? Why did it feel so real? I was confused, lost, scared, and angry, all at the same time. I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted someone to wake me up. Then, like someone had finally heard me crying inside, I felt something warm... perhaps a touch, gentle and firm, wrapping around me like a blanket. Then came a voice next. The voice was soft, low, and steady. And I knew that voice. It was Asher. My brother. The same brother who never once looked at me, who never cared and never protected me. But now... now his voice was the only thing that kept me from completely breaking. "I’m here... don’t be scared." And I really wasn’t scared anymore. That warmth around me... his arms, his voice, the quiet way he held me together when everything else inside me was falling apart... it calmed the fire, silenced the screams. I clung to him like a child, like he was the last thing keeping me from drowning. Because in that moment, he really was doing that. Something inside me moved... like a tiny light in a very dark place. I didn’t know what it was, but it gave me just enough strength to open my eyes. And when I did, I saw Lucien looking at me. His eyes... they looked really worried. And right then, my heart broke all over again. Because I thought it was Asher. I hoped it was him. I wanted it to be him. But it was Lucien. Still, for some reason, his face didn’t feel wrong. His presence felt like a small light in the darkness... not bright, but enough to make me feel safe for a second and guide me out of that hell. But then... who was it that held me before this? Who hugged me when I was scared? Who spoke to me so gently? My head was still heavy. My thoughts weren’t clear. I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. All I knew was—I didn’t want to stay here anymore. I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want to cry. I just wanted to leave. So, I looked at him and softly whispered, "Take me home." After that, everything went blank. I didn’t know what happened or where I was taken. The next thing I felt was someone gently tapping my cheek. "Hey, little birdie, wake up," a soft voice called me. It sounded teasing yet careful. I let out a low moan and blinked, as I was still confused between sleep and reality. My body felt heavy and my mind even heavier. I tried to rub my eyes, but the person caught my hand midway and held it. "Don’t do that," he warned in a low voice. "It’ll sting. Your eyes will burn." That voice. "Asher?" The moment I saw his face clearly, I was wide awake. My body tensed. My chest felt tight all over again. "What are you doing here?" I asked in a cold voice. "Or no... wait, why am I here?" I moved away from him quickly, putting space between us. I didn’t know what was going on here, but I didn’t want to play all happy-go-lucky siblings with him. "I brought you back home," Asher instantly backed away from the bed and replied. "You wanted to come back and just... brought you back." "But this... isn’t my room!"