My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Chapter 114 TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

SERAPHINA’S POV

The moment my gaze landed on him, the good mood I’d fought so hard for scattered like startled birds.

It was almost cruel, how quickly the lightness in my chest dimmed.

One second, I’d been clutching Daniel’s memory close, imagining the way his laughter might sound if he were here with me, and the next—there was Kieran.

Other than that ridiculous drunken phone call and the brief clash in Celeste’s hospital room, I’d been doing really well with avoiding Kieran, and I wasn’t interested in breaking that streak anytime soon.

I pivoted slightly, intent on leaving and vanishing back into the quiet of the trees. That was when his voice carried across the park.

“Sera.”

I froze. Something in his tone—steady, gentle, almost...careful—made my stomach turn. I should have kept walking, but against my better judgment, I looked back.

He had stood from the bench, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket, shoulders slightly hunched.

He looked...off. Nothing like the arrogant Alpha who bent the very air around him to his will. He looked tired. Weary.

I raised my brows, feigning indifference. “What is it now, Kieran? I don’t have the energy for theatrics today.”

His jaw tightened, but instead of snapping back, he exhaled. “It’s not theatrics. I just... I want to talk. About Celeste. About everything.”

My arms folded across my chest instinctively, a shield between us. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t jump for joy at the idea.”

He stepped closer, not enough to invade, but near enough that I could see the faint shadows under his eyes.

Although it manifested itself externally, his exhaustion didn’t seem physical.

“Celeste’s out of the hospital now. Your family doctor has been by her side twenty-four seven. She’s recovering quickly.”

His words hit like a stone skipping across water, surface ripples that never reached the depth of my anger.

I arched a brow. “And I’m supposed to care because...?”

“Because,” he said carefully, “I don’t believe you pushed her.”

The certainty in his voice made my heart stutter. For a moment, I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. My mouth went dry. “Excuse me?”

He met my eyes then, and for once, there was no accusation, no bitterness, no presumption. Just honesty.

“I said, I don’t believe you pushed her. I’ve thought about it a lot, and it doesn’t make sense. You wouldn’t do something like that.”

For a second, I simply stared at him. This man—my ex-husband, who had doubted me at every turn, who had never once stood on my side even when we were married—was now standing here saying he believed me.

What the hell had he and Ethan been smoking?

The deja vu and irony almost made me laugh.

I tilted my head, letting sarcasm curl around the words. “Well, that’s a refreshing change of heart. What prompted this revelation, Kieran? Did the moon rise differently last night? Or, more likely, is this another ruse? Celeste put you up to this?”

His lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn’t lash back.

Instead, he shook his head faintly, as though chastising himself. “Believe what you want. But I mean it.”

I let the silence stretch. A small, dangerous part of me wanted to feel relief, vindication. But I refused to give him that satisfaction. I wasn’t foolish enough to lean on his words.

Besides, just like Ethan, this change of heart was too little too late.

“Well,” I said, turning away again. “If there’s nothing else—”

“The rogue case,” he said, halting my steps. His shoulders straightened slightly, as though bracing. “There’s been progress.”

Something inside me jerked upright at once.

“What kind of progress?” My voice came out sharper than intended, betraying the thin thread of hope that suddenly coiled in my chest.

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