My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 139

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Chapter 139: Chapter 139 SEA BREEZE

SERAPHINA’S POV

By the time I made it back home, exhaustion had sunk deep into my bones, and my body ached in all the familiar places.

But my heart felt light, and the excitement bubbling inside me refused to let me collapse straight into bed.

For a long moment, I lay staring at the dark ceiling, replaying the day like a reel I couldn’t stop.

The first rush of dread as we stepped into the Misty Woods. The icy spike of fear when we stumbled on Roxy, half-drowned in the marsh. The taut thread of tension with William’s team.

And then—finally—the dizzying relief of clutching that last moonstone in my hands, of realizing we had actually passed.

Not even the brief stint with Jessica could dull my happiness.

My hands instinctively reached for my phone, but a pang went through me when I realized that I could neither tell Maya nor Lucian about it.

Ugh.

So, instead, I dug out my encrypted phone and called the one other person I wanted to talk to that I actually could.

The screen lit up with Daniel’s name, and before the first ring even ended, his small, sleepy face appeared, framed by the dim golden glow of the lamp in his room.

“Mom!” His voice pitched high, his eyes lighting up with an energy that flooded me with warmth.

I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt. “Hi, my baby! I have good news!”

“I already know!” He lifted up a paper, waving it so close to the camera that all I could see was a chaotic splash of blue and silver crayon. “Grandma and Grandpa told me when they heard the announcer say your team’s name! You won, Mom! You did it!”

I blinked. “Wait—you mean...you were watching?” Christian and Leona were watching?

Daniel pulled the paper back, finally revealing the entire picture to me.

It was a child’s sketch of five figures holding up a star-shaped stone, with messy letters scrawled across the top: Team 7 Champions.

Crayons filled the page with wild joy—blue for the mist, silver for the shard, yellow for the badges.

But what caught me most were the little additions in the corner—my son’s careful handwriting: Drawn by Daniel, Grandma, and Grandpa.

I stared at the words. “They helped you draw this?”

“Uh-huh!” His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, as if we were trading secrets. “Grandma did the shiny part. Grandpa said the trees should be bigger, so he drew them. But I told them only I can draw you,”—his eyes twinkled—“‘cause you’re mine.”

My throat tightened, the sting of unexpected tears pricking my eyes. “And...what did they say? About the competition?”

“That you’re amazing. That you’re... They said they’re proud of you.” Daniel leaned closer, his grin covering more than half the screen. “Me too, Mommy. I’m the proudest.”

For a moment, I was too busy reeling from the information to process the end of his sentence.

Pride. From Leona. From Christian.

The same Leona who had once looked at me like I was a stain on her family name.

The same Christian who had cornered me with cold disapproval at every turn.

It should have meant more. Maybe once, it would have. But I was no longer that affection-starved girl who’d been desperate for my in-laws’ approval.

So, tonight, I just nodded and tucked the thought into the quiet part of me, where I had started storing things I wasn’t ready to examine.

Their pride didn’t matter, not anymore. Only Daniel’s did.

“Thank you, my love, and thank you for the drawing,” I whispered. I pressed my fingertips to the screen, wishing I could touch his warm little face through it. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Mom!” he chirped. “And I’ll keep rooting for you, okay?”

I nodded, blinking back tears. “Thank you, baby.”

His smile stretched wider, then a yawn swallowed it whole. “Okay. Goodnight, Mommy. Win the next round, too, okay? Then I’ll make an even bigger drawing.”

“I will,” I said softly, blinking back tears. “For you.”

The call ended, but the warmth lingered, cushioning me as I finally drifted off to sleep.

***

Morning found me at the OTS cafeteria, the heavy fog of the trials replaced by sunlight streaming through the high glass windows.

The aroma of coffee and toasted bread drifted through the air, a welcome comfort after the day of damp earth and sweat.

Today was a rest day—no competition or training. Technically, I had no reason to be at OTS.

I would rather spend the day shopping with Maya or hanging out with Lucian.

Alas.

I was at OTS because I hoped to catch a glimpse of one of them. If I couldn’t talk to them, at least I could, like, wave from a distance, right?

I might have considered it pathetic that I’d grown so attached to my two closest friends if it weren’t already a miracle that I had two close friends to begin with. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮