My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Chapter 174 CONGRATULATIONS? CONDOLENCES?

SERAPHINA’S POV

The sight of Kieran hit me like a punch to the gut, twisting my insides with a nauseating churn.

He stood by his car, arms crossed, the chilled wind teasing his dark hair into disarray. That familiar brooding expression was painted across his face.

For a second, I couldn’t move. I just gripped the steering wheel tighter like it was the last shred of my sanity.

Of course he was here.

My first thought was bitter and instinctive: He came to defend her again.

Maybe Celeste had already run crying to him, spinning some tragic story about me attacking her in front of her “stepson.”

And he’d come to tell me off—right here, in front of Daniel—because heaven forbid Saint Celeste ever be at fault.

“Mom?” Daniel’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. “Why’s Dad here?”

My throat was dry. “I’m not sure,” I answered, though I was very sure. It was always the same pattern. Celeste cried wolf; Kieran came running.

I parked haphazardly next to the Escalade. The gearshift clicked loudly in the quiet.

“Stay here,” I ordered Daniel, unbuckling my seatbelt.

His hand froze on his own seatbelt. “But—”

“I mean it, Daniel.” I tried to make my voice gentle, but it still came out strained.

I opened the car door. “Do not get out until your father leaves.”

He hesitated, frowning. I felt a slight twinge of guilt. I was hardly ever strict with Daniel, but I was already high-strung from the fiasco at the Lockwood Manor.

Plus, he’d seen too much tonight already. His small face still carried the traces of confusion and worry from the Lockwood manor. I didn’t want my son to hear me and his father exchange verbal blows.

I reached out and brushed his hair back, trying to smile. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re just going to talk.”

He nodded slowly, though the uncertainty in his eyes told me he didn’t believe it was “okay.”

When I opened the door and stepped out, the evening air bit at my skin. The street was quiet except for the rustle of dry leaves and the low hum of my car engine.

Kieran straightened as I approached, eyes immediately scanning me as though checking for injuries.

That look sent a bolt of something sharp through my chest, part ache, part anger, all tangled.

I crossed my arms, defensiveness prickling along my skin. “What did she tell you this time? That I attacked her unprovoked? That I assaulted her with my son’s cookies?”

“Sera—”

“Or maybe she went a different angle,” I pressed, my voice sharpening. “Tell me, did she paint the altercation to make me seem like an unfit mother?”

He looked pained, and he opened his mouth to interrupt, but I didn’t let him.

“I’m done being your convenient villain, Kieran,” I said coldly. “And I can’t believe you would come here to scold me in front of our son after the way she treated him right in front of you!”

Something in his expression shifted—guilt? Frustration? Maybe both. “I didn’t come to scold you, Sera,” he said finally, his tone quiet. “I came to talk.”

I blinked, surprised by his subdued demeanor. But I refused to let my guard down. “I have nothing to talk to you about.”

“You always say that,” he murmured, stepping closer. “But we both know that’s not true.”

I laughed once, brittle and humorless. “Do we?”

Kieran sighed. “Look, Sera—about me and Celeste—”

“I hear you’re getting married soon,” I spat out. “Congratulations.”

He froze. “What?”

“Look,” I said, gesturing vaguely, suddenly exhausted. “I genuinely, genuinely don’t give a fuck about what goes on with you and Celeste. You can marry her, parade her around as your Luna, and have the picture-perfect life you’ve been dreaming of. I just want one thing—keep her away from me and my son.”

After that, silence stretched taut. The lamplight cut across his features, throwing shadows that made him look haunted.

Then he said the last thing I expected: “There’s not going to be a wedding.”

I must have misheard him. “What?”

“I broke up with Celeste,” he said. His voice was quiet, but the words were clear.

My first instinct was disbelief. “Is that—” Then anger surged. “What kind of stupid joke is this, Kieran?”

He shook his head firmly. “It’s not.”

I scoffed. “Celeste just gloated all up and down my mother’s house about your engagement party, and now you’re here spewing this bullshit?”

His jaw clenched. “I don’t know why she would say that after we’re broken up.”

I let out a sharp bark of laughter. “Goddess, you two are fucking exhausting. I’m not in the mood for this latest performance—”

“It’s not a performance,” he cut in sharply. “It’s over between me and Celeste. I mean it, Sera.”

The raw sincerity in his tone unnerved me. Was he... Could he possibly be telling the truth?

I squeezed my arms tighter around myself, desperate to contain the suddenly frantic pounding of my heart.

“Okay, let’s pretend for a moment that I believe you.” I arched a brow. “What the hell do you want from me? Congratulations? Condolences?”

He took a slow breath, as though choosing his words carefully. “No. I just thought you should know.”

“You thought I should know,” I echoed. “Why the fuck—”

Behind me, the car door creaked open.

“Mom?” Daniel’s small voice cut through.

I turned, my irritation melting instantly into softness. “I told you to stay inside the car, baby.”

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