Chapter 85: How could this have happened under our roof?

Chapter 85: How could this have happened under our roof? Alistair’s POV I loved Melissa. I really did. But the more I loved her, the more I hated her. But it was not her fault that I had such feelings toward her... but because of the way my mother treated her. Everything my mother had, her love and her attention, was reserved only for Melissa. It didn’t matter what I did, how hard I tried... I was always just another middle child who was raising hell everywhere he went! That made me dislike Melissa, even if she wasn’t at fault. But I still had some place somewhere in the corner of my heart. I didn’t want to lose her completely. She was the only sister I had, and I still wanted to be her big brother. Even after I left the Lancaster family, I kept my distance from the others but not from Melissa. I chose to stay in touch with Melissa. I chose her over my brothers. I regularly called her and showed up when she needed me. I thought... she was the only person I needed in this world. But everything changed the day I was told the truth. We had another sister. And Melissa wasn’t even my real sister. At first, I didn’t believe it and didn’t know how to react. I didn’t know what to say to this new little sister I was suddenly supposed to care about. I didn’t understand how to talk to her. But I had this unexplainable feeling of sympathy toward her at the start, which converted into my love toward her that I didn’t even know. I wanted to rush to her the moment I found out about Seraphina. All I wanted was to drop everything and go to her, to take care of her myself, and tell her she wasn’t alone. But my schedule didn’t allow that. So I did what I could. I tried my best to be there for her from afar. Sent her gifts, telling her that there was someone in this world who still loved her and wanted to see her, to meet her In the middle of all that... I still cared for Melissa. It was not like before, but a part of me couldn’t let go of her completely. She was a part of my life with whom I laughed and cried, so I didn’t want to ruin my ties with her. Still... even with everything I knew, I hadn’t expected it to be this cruel. I expected Seraphina to get cold and silent treatment from the other family members. But I hadn’t expected Seraphina to be mistreated and suffer so badly that now she couldn’t sleep without waking up screaming and was having panic attacks. I couldn’t process it. No matter how hard I tried, my brain refused to believe what Asher had just told me. I sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, hands in my hair, trying to hold myself together. But the more I thought about it, the more it tore me apart from the inside. This couldn’t be real. How could this have happened under our roof? "Did you recheck the facts?" I inquired in a shaky tone. "You are not just... blindly believing whatever you were told?" I hope it was a horrible misunderstanding, and I looked up at him. But Asher just stood there, with arms crossed, and a serious look. "Brother," he said, quietly but firmly. "I was a soldier. I was trained to see through lies. And I was damn good at extracting the truth." His voice dropped, and I could tell where he was coming from. "You really think I couldn’t figure out who the culprit was? You think I’d accept anything just because I was told? And couldn’t recheck it?" Anger surged through my veins as I didn’t know who to kill! I rose to my feet, rage exploding through my chest. "I’m going to kill her," I growled as I turned sharply to leave. "I don’t care what anyone says... I swear to God, I’ll—" Asher’s hand grabbed mine before I could leave. His grip was firm and so strong that I couldn’t free myself from him; after all, he was a trained soldier. "You think Mother will let you lay a finger on Melissa?" he said, staring right into me. "You think you’re powerful enough to take her down? Do you even realize who you’re going up against?" I tried to yank my hand free, but he didn’t let go. "Do you have more influence than she in this country and even our father?" I scoffed bitterly. "Hah," I spat and narrowed my eyes. "Maybe I don’t have the power to bring them down..." I yanked my arm free and stepped back. "...But I do have enough to destroy Melissa." "Sure you do," Asher said. I blinked. I hadn’t expected him to agree with me so calmly. "You do have the power to destroy her," he continued. "But what about Sera?" His words stopped me in my tracks instantly. However, my anger was still boiling, but my mind had gone blank. "Melissa’s famous now," Asher went on, folding his arms. "She has the public image, the media presence, and the followers." He looked at me. "If you go after her now," he said, "what do you think people will do to Seraphina?" I didn’t know what to say. "I wanted the same thing, Alis," Asher confessed. "I wanted to destroy her, too." Asher’s voice dropped as he went on. "I had the same rage in my chest. But then I thought of Sera." He exhaled slowly, trying to hold his anger. "You know the rumors are already spreading about her... calling her a charity case, a gold digger, an opportunist. And that’s when they don’t even know who she is." He looked away. "If the world found out she’s our real sister... they wouldn’t care about the truth. They’d measure her by her achievements, and when she falls short in comparison, they’d rip her apart."