Seraphina's POV
My indifferent response immediately silenced Adrian. Whatever he had intended to say seemed to catch in his throat. I didn't wait for an answer. Ending the call, I leaned back against the passenger seat and stared out at the dark streets rushing past the window as the car sped toward Castellano territory.
The moment I stepped out of the car, an inexplicable heaviness settled in my chest. The compound was unusually quiet. Security lights cast pale halos across the gravel driveway, while the night air carried the scent of cold stone and distant rain. The stillness felt almost deliberate, as if the house itself sensed the turmoil I was trying so hard to suppress.
A sudden vibration from my phone pulled me back to reality.
The Family's private channel was exploding with activity. The unread notifications had piled up into an impossible number.
Curiosity got the better of me.
When I opened the channel, the first thing that appeared on my screen was a photo Julian had posted.
In the picture, Adrian was kneeling in a cramped apartment, his sleeves rolled to his forearms as he worked on a junction box. His shirt clung to his body from the effort, highlighting the broad shoulders and strong arms that had once belonged entirely to my memories.
My stomach twisted.
"Who else has a Boss this considerate?" Julian had written beneath the photo. "I'd devote my entire life to the Family's prosperity! Can I sign a lifetime contract?"
The comments below flooded in almost instantly.
"I've never seen the Boss like this before. So much for everyone calling him a perfectionist."
"Look at those arms. Pretty sure he could fix a lot more than just wiring."
"Julian, stop showing off. We all know you're going to be the future Lady of the House."
I tightened my grip around my phone until the case creaked beneath my fingers.
She was weaving her web perfectly, tying herself to Adrian in every visible way.
The cruelest part was that I recognized the pattern.
Years ago, when I stood beside him, Adrian had done the exact same thing. Photos of Sunday dinners. Walks around the estate. Quiet evenings spent together at the social club. Back then, every post felt like proof that our future was certain.
I had truly believed nothing could come between us.
Now, I had become little more than a shadow lingering in his past, while Julian stood exactly where I once had, basking in the warmth of his attention.
I exited the channel and silenced the notifications.
The decision I'd made felt more right than ever.
Even so, a sharp ache still clawed at my chest.
Shaking off the feeling, I stepped into the quarters that had been my home for nearly eight years. Every corner carried traces of the life I had built there. Memories lingered in the walls, the furniture, the photographs arranged carefully on the mantel.
But tonight, I was leaving it all behind.
As I packed my belongings, my gaze drifted toward the large leather-bound album resting on the coffee table.
It was ours.
A tradition Adrian had insisted on maintaining.
Every photograph inside captured a moment from the years we had spent together. He had once promised to give me 9,999 memories before officially registering our marriage with the Commission. He wanted me to choose him willingly, not because our families had arranged it, but because of the devotion he had spent years proving.
The album was nearly full.
Only a single blank page remained.
Yet now, every promise preserved between those pages felt hollow.
Meaningless.
Whatever future those photographs once represented had long since been replaced by the reality of Julian.
Sadness twisted into anger.
The anger sharpened into resolve.
Without hesitation, I picked up the album and carried it into the courtyard where Family gatherings were often held around the stone fire pit.
The floodlights cast long shadows across the flagstones as I crouched down and lit a fire.
When the flames finally caught, I placed the album onto the growing blaze.
The leather darkened.
The pages curled.
Photographs blackened and disappeared beneath the fire.
Smoke drifted upward into the night sky, carrying away years of love, promises, and heartbreak.
Adrian arrived only moments later.
I sensed him before I saw him.
His cologne.
His footsteps.
The familiar presence that had once been enough to calm me.
Now it meant nothing.
He froze at the edge of the courtyard, his eyes locking onto the burning album.
For the first time in a long while, I saw genuine panic flash across his face.
"What are you doing?!"
His roar shattered the night, carrying all the authority of a Don accustomed to being obeyed.
I didn't move.
His authority no longer held any power over me.
Adrian rushed toward the fire and tried to pull the album free, but the flames had already consumed most of it. He hissed as the heat scorched his hands, the skin reddening instantly. Even so, he continued stomping at the fire, desperately trying to save whatever remained.
When the last flames finally died, he turned toward me.
His eyes burned with fury.
"Have you lost your mind?" he demanded. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Years of memories—gone. Why, Seraphina? Why would you do this?"
I met his gaze calmly.
For the first time, I felt no urge to back down.
"Because memories mean nothing when the promises attached to them are broken."
My voice remained steady.
"You promised me 9,999 reasons to choose you. But before we even reached the end, you gave everything that should have belonged to us to someone else."
His jaw tightened.
At his side, his hand opened and closed repeatedly.
"You're misunderstanding. Julian—"
"Julian," I interrupted calmly, "has only taken what you've allowed her to take."
His expression froze.
"You think I don't see what's happening? The photos in the Family channel. The comments. The way she clings to you every chance she gets."
I took a slow breath.
"It's all intentional. And you've allowed every bit of it."
For a moment, something flickered in his eyes.
Guilt.
Uncertainty.
Regret.
He took a step closer, his voice softening.
"Ellie, it's not what you think. She's Family. As Boss, I have responsibilities—"
"Don't."
I raised a hand and cut him off.
"Don't insult me by pretending this is about Family business."
The courtyard fell silent.
I looked directly into his eyes.
"You made your choice, Adrian."
A faint smile touched my lips.
"Now I'm making mine."
