Chapter 82: Alistair’s Back in the Country!?

Chapter 82: Alistair’s Back in the Country!? Seraphina’s POV I blushed the moment Brother Alistair stepped forward, cutting through the heavy awkwardness with that bold, careless charm of his. "You rascal," he smirked, elbowing Asher to the side. "You still don’t know how to talk to a girl, do you?" Asher gave him a blank stare but didn’t bother responding to him. That was Alistair for you; he would do everything so effortlessly that no one would argue with him. Alistair turned to Emma, flashing his signature smile, and slowly removed his sunglasses. "Hello," he said in a soft and low tone. "I’m Sera’s second brother. Alistair Lancaster." "I... I know," Emma stammered. She could barely speak as her eyes were locked on Alistair’s deep, blue eyes. Her knees were practically trembling. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she fainted right there. Alistair tilted his head, pretending that he was trying to read her face. "Let me guess," he said. "You must be my little sister’s friend and roommate, right?" "Yes! Yes!" Emma’s eyes lit up as she nodded her head furiously in excitement. "She’s my only best friend in this world. We’ve been together since the orphanage and—" She stopped the moment she realized that she had said something wrong. But I stepped in before Emma could feel guilty. "She’s right," I said in a soft tone with a smile on my face. "When there was no one for me, Emma was the one who stayed beside me, and she helped me through everything." "She isn’t just a roommate," I said in a firmer tone. "She’s the only person in this world that I adore the most." It came out suddenly, but I meant every word. I could see that my brothers froze for a second, as they didn’t expect me to say something like that. "Let’s go," Asher stepped in this time, handling the atmosphere. "I’ll take you for breakfast. But just don’t mind that extra person tagging along with us," he added as he gestured toward Alistair’s direction. "Really?" Alistair narrowed his eyes. "You’re getting bold, you jobless punk." "Who are you calling jobless?" Asher shot back. "I’m launching my own label... don’t you know?" "Sign me there then," Alistair said casually. "What?" Asher nearly lunged at him. "Are you mad? You have a whole entertainment company of your own! How can you ask me to sign with my small label?" "Shouldn’t you be offering me a deal instead?!" Asher further added. Alistair shrugged. "Sure. Sign with me. Or even better just come and help me run the damn company. I’m tired of handling all this shit alone." Asher blinked. He didn’t know what to say as he had never seen Alistair this soft toward him. No one said anything after that. We just walked to the car and left for breakfast. ****** Author’s POV "Lisa, darling, come out and have some breakfast," Mrs. Lancaster said gently, knocking on Melissa’s door for the third time that morning. She had been waiting for Asher to return, as she wanted to confront him about how he fired the whole staff, even the older ones. But even though she heard he was back in the city, he hadn’t come home. And Melissa had been acting strange since the moment she came back from school. She went straight to her room, locked the door, and hadn’t stepped out since. No matter how many times Mrs. Lancaster called her, begged her to open the door but Melissa didn’t respond at all. "If you won’t come out, I... I don’t know what I’ll do to myself!" Mrs. Lancaster cried, her voice almost choked as tears spilled from her eyes. But still nothing was working. Not only had the mansion’s staff stopped listening to her, but now, even her own daughter was shutting her out. She stared at the closed door in front of her, feeling helpless, not knowing what to do. "Melissa, please," she whispered in a shaky tone. "Just talk to me... tell me what happened." But there was still no response from the other end, and her shoulders dropped restlessly. In the end, she turned around and was ready to leave when the room clicked open. Click The door swung open, and Melissa rushed out, tears running down her pale face. "Mom!" she cried, and without thinking, she threw her arms around her. Mrs. Lancaster stumbled back a little from the sudden hug, but then held her tight. Her hands trembled as she wrapped them around her daughter. "Tell me what happened," Mrs. Lancaster asked again in a softer tone this time. "Did someone bully you at school? Or..." She paused and gently pulled out of the hug, wiping the tears off Melissa’s cheeks with trembling fingers. "Or was it that attention-seeking brat who hurt you?" she added sharply, refusing to say Seraphina’s name out loud. At that, Melissa flinched a little. She quickly shook her head in denial, but her little reaction gave her out. Mrs. Lancaster’s eyes narrowed as her jaw tightened. "Tell me," she demanded in a bitter tone. "What did she do this time?" There was no kindness in her voice now. If Seraphina had been standing there, Mrs. Lancaster might’ve torn her apart piece by piece. But Melissa, despite everything, still denied it. "It’s not my sister," she said, lowering her gaze. She knew how to play her cards. And right now, blaming Seraphina wouldn’t get her what she wanted. "It’s my brother," she added, her voice soft but crackly. "They’re ignoring me." Mrs. Lancaster blinked; she was completely caught off guard. "Who?" she asked, her brows drawing together. "Are you talking about Asher again?" "It’s not only him," Melissa sniffled. "It’s brother Alistair also!" She complained. "Alistair? Did he not call you or text you back?" Mrs. Lancaster asked, not knowing that Alistair was back in the country. "If he is back, then why was I not informed about that?" Melissa opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, a cold voice echoed in the area.