Chapter: 31

"That's amazing, Mom. I'm proud of you." He beamed. "I wish I could grow up faster so we could train together and I could protect you."

"Oh, baby." I pulled him to me again, and this time, he was careful not to hold me too tightly.

He truly was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. I swore then and there that no matter how hard it was, no matter how much my weak body ached afterward, I would keep training. I would grow stronger and be the kind of mother my son could be proud of.

A week later, the only thing keeping me from rescinding my vow was Daniel's proud smile every time I came home bruised and aching.

Every day after dropping Daniel off at school, I headed straight to OTS headquarters, where Lucian, the sadistic bastard, devised innovative new ways to make me hate my life.

When Leona and Christian asked to take Daniel camping on Sunday, I agreed wholeheartedly. I canceled training for the day and spent the morning giving my poor, abused body the rest it deserved.

So you can imagine how utterly pissed I was when the insistent ringing of the doorbell interrupted my precious, delicious sleep and forced me to drag myself out of bed.

"Im coming, fuck!" I muttered angrily as I trudged to the door, tying my robe haphazardly around my waist.

My hair looked like an abandoned raccoon's nest, and my breath stank to high heaven. I was hunched over, wincing with every step. I didn't mind, though.

Whatever asshole at the other side of the door deserved to have their eyes assaulted by my gruesome appearance as punishment for desecrating the sanctity of my rest day.

When I opened the door, however, I immediately regretted my decision. I should have taken a shower, waxed, blow-dried my hair, and put on a full face of makeup.

Because even on my best days, I already paled in comparison to her. I didn't need to give her more of a leg up.

Celeste.

SERAPHINA'S POV

It took every ounce of dignity and self-respect I had not to cower and shrink under the cold disdain in Celeste's eyes as they roamed over my body, her glossy lips twisting in disgust.

"Wow, Sera," she sneered, shaking her head. "What the hell was I worried about?" she said, almost to herself.

I folded my arms, bracing them around me like they could shield me from the interaction to come.

"What can I do for you, Celeste?" I asked, my voice measured, flat.

She cocked her head. "You're not going to invite your little sister into your new home? How is life as a divorcée, by the way?"

I clenched my jaw, bracing my feet at the doorway. "It's my rest day, Celeste. You interrupted a fabulous nap, and I'm sure you didn't come all this way to sneer and wrinkle your nose. So, what do you want?"

"I wonder about it a lot, you know?" she said.

I frowned. "What?"

"What could you have possibly done to trick Kieran into bed with you that night? How did someone as fundamentally unattractive as you pull that off? How much did you fuck with his brain that he lost all common sense?"

I closed my eyes, breathing through my nose. I was so not in the fucking mood for this.