Chapter 2
She couldn't stay here any longer!
Seraphine rushed back to her room and opened the closet. It was filled with designer clothes—all sent by Lucius's staff each season, more like a procedural task than a husband's affection for his wife.
She took none of them. Instead, she retrieved a worn canvas bag from the far corner, containing a few old clothes and her mother's medical notebook. These were the only things that truly belonged to her.
She zipped the bag closed, took one last look at this place she'd lived in for two years without feeling a moment of warmth, and turned to leave with finality.
Outside, Lucius had disappeared somewhere, leaving only Elsie. Seeing Seraphine, Elsie walked toward her with an elegant stride, smiling like a proud victor.
"Leaving, Sera?" Elsie's voice was sweet, her words cutting. "About time. You've been a cuckoo in the nest long enough. It's only right you return my place to me."
Seraphine tightened her grip on the bag's strap. "You have no right to use my name."
Elsie shrugged, covering a small laugh with her hand. "Lucius has already promised me that as soon as he deals with your ridiculous marriage, he'll marry me. Did you know? We've even picked out our marital home—that lakeside villa in East Town. He says it has the climbing roses I love."
Every word was salt in Seraphine's wounds.
Enjoying Seraphine's pallor, Elsie leaned closer, whispering, "Lucius is so gentle in bed. I enjoy it thoroughly. And during those three months you two weren't speaking? He was with me the entire time." Elsie's fingers trailed meaningfully across her neck.
Seraphine's head snapped up. "You're proud of being a mistress?"
"Mistress? I'm simply taking back what was always mine—including Lucius and the title of his wife."
Elsie's smile was innocent yet cruel. "Lucius confides in me, you know. He says even though he's been deliberately cold to you, you still cling to him desperately. Seraphine, how pathetic are you? Throwing yourself at a man who doesn't love you at all."
Three months ago, when the Manners family proudly welcomed Elsie back, she'd worn that same innocent smile.
Meanwhile, Seraphine became the impostor who had stolen someone else's life for twenty-four years—disowned and expelled from the family.
Even her mother-in-law Hazel Jensen, whom Seraphine had desperately tried to please for two years, had mocked her, demanding she return her position to Elsie.
And Lucius—during those three cold months, he'd been with Elsie, sharing their private matters with her!
She could imagine Lucius describing her with contempt, turning her into a joke for Elsie's amusement.
He truly was different with Elsie. So different that she couldn't help wondering if they'd been in love all along.
Why? Why was the mistress the true love, when Elsie was the one who'd stolen everything from her?
Seraphine grabbed a fruit knife and pressed it against Elsie's throat. She hadn't intended to hurt her—she was simply pushed to the edge.
Just then, Lucius appeared. He hadn't witnessed her desperation or breakdown—only her holding a knife to innocent, fragile Elsie. His eyes were colder than winter ice.
"Seraphine, have you lost your mind?"
Those words shattered her last defenses.
Hazel returned just in time to witness the scene and became hysterical. "She's insane! Absolutely mad! Lucius, send her to a psychiatric hospital! She can't be allowed to harm others!"
Lucius frowned slightly, his gaze falling on Seraphine's ashen face. He noticed the canvas bag in her hand.
"Where are you going?" he demanded, anger in his voice.
Seraphine didn't answer, just stared at him intensely.
Lucius's patience seemed exhausted as he stepped toward her. "Stop this nonsense," he ordered. "I'm having you taken to the hospital."
Hospital? He truly believed she was insane and was following Hazel's suggestion to commit her?
Watching him approach, panic seized Seraphine's heart. No, she couldn't go! She had their child! The baby in her womb was her only connection to Lucius, her only hope!
But Lucius gave her no chance to resist. His hand firmly gripped hers as he personally escorted her to the waiting car.
During the drive, Seraphine was terrified. When the car stopped at a red light, she shoved the door open and jumped out. A sharp pain shot through her abdomen.
She rolled several times, struggled to her feet, and managed a few steps before twisting her ankle and falling forward.
Just as she thought escape was impossible, a black Bentley pulled up beside her. The window lowered, revealing the face of a cultured, gentle middle-aged man.
"Ms. Manners?" he asked, his voice steady. "Mr. Jennings sent me to collect you."
Mr. Jennings? Seraphine's mind was in chaos. She didn't know any Mr. Jennings. But this was her only chance at survival.
Five years later.
A private jet landed smoothly at Skyview City International Airport. From the cabin emerged a woman in a tailored white suit.
Large sunglasses concealed half her face, revealing only an exquisitely sculpted jawline and coldly alluring red lips. She radiated an unapproachable aura—confident and aloof.
Beside her walked a little girl of about four or five. The child wore a pink princess dress with two adorable bun hairstyles. Her delicate face was doll-like in its perfection.
Yet those eyes and that straight nose were unmistakably miniature versions of Lucius's features.
"Mommy, is this Skyview City?" the little girl asked in a sweet voice, curiously examining her surroundings.
The woman removed her sunglasses, revealing a pair of cool, beautiful eyes. It was Seraphine, completely transformed.
No—now she was Alice Davis. An internationally renowned ophthalmologist whose surgical skills commanded astronomical fees.
"Yes, Heidi." Seraphine stroked her daughter's soft hair, her voice gentle. "We're home."
Five years was enough time to change everything. She was no longer the Seraphine who begged for love, but Alice—a woman who controlled her own destiny.
She had returned to reclaim what belonged to her mother and to finally close the chapter on her past.
Her phone vibrated. It was a work brief from her new assistant. Seraphine opened it, scanning the screen until her eyes fixed on one particular message:
[Dr. Davis, The Talbot Group of Lumaria has formally extended an invitation. Their CEO, Lucius Talbot, has suffered a recurrence of his eye condition with symptoms of intermittent blindness that are increasingly severe. They earnestly request you perform his surgery.]
Reading Lucius's name, Seraphine's red lips curved into a cold smile.
Well, well. Long time no see.