Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 16

POV: Seraphina

I came down the grand staircase the next morning to the sound of scraping furniture and unfamiliar, cheerful chatter. The entire great hall, the heart of the manor, was in chaos. Servants were scurrying back and forth, their faces a mixture of confusion and unease. And at the center of it all, directing the upheaval like a seasoned conductor, was Sylvie.

She was pointing a delicate finger, her voice a light, musical command. "No, no, the crimson drapes go on the south-facing windows. And that ghastly metal sculpture needs to go. We'll replace it with the gilded stag head from the west wing."

My blood ran cold. The sculpture she called ‘ghastly' was a commissioned piece I had spent months designing with a renowned artist. The cool, silver tones of the drapes and furniture, the minimalist art, the clean lines—this was my aesthetic. I had spent years slowly, carefully transforming this cold, ancestral hall into a place that felt like home, a reflection of me.

Now, she was systematically ripping it all out. In their place were coming heavy, dark-wood tables, gaudy, gold-threaded tapestries, and plush, blood-red velvets. It was the style Damian had favored before we were mated. The style of his ancestors. It was a deliberate regression, an erasure of my entire presence.

My eyes shot to the main wall above the fireplace, and the breath left my body in a painful rush. It was bare.

The massive portrait of Damian and me, painted to commemorate our mating ceremony, was gone. In it, we stood together, his hand on my waist, a rare, genuine smile on his face. It was the symbol of our union, the public declaration of my place as Luna. Now, that symbol leaned forlornly against the wall in a dark corner, a discarded piece of history, covered in a dusty sheet.

In its place, two servants were struggling to hoist a new painting. It was a portrait of Damian alone. Regal, powerful, and utterly solitary. The Alpha King, with no queen by his side.

"And my home, the things I chose?" I pressed, my voice trembling despite my best efforts. "She's throwing them out like trash."

"She said the warmer colors would make Nico feel more comfortable, more at ease," he said, his voice laced with a patronizing calm that was more infuriating than any shout. "Honestly, she's only trying to help make this a better home for everyone. As the Luna, you should be a little more gracious about it."

He looked back down at his paperwork, a clear dismissal.