Seraphina tilted her head toward one of the nearby students, who had their phone slightly raised. "You always show your fake concern when the crowd is watching, Melissa... It’s as if you never miss acting all sweet!"
The silence spread in the corridor. No one had expected Seraphina to be this blunt in front of so many people, especially Melissa.
Her lips twitched a little, and her smile almost disappeared, but she soon composed herself.
"Wh... What are you saying, Sera?" Melissa asked, stepping forward as if trying to reach out to her. But before she could get close, Seraphina took a step back as her eyes went cold and her body turned stiff.
"Don’t," Seraphina said in a low voice. "Don’t touch me."
"We’re sisters, aren’t we?" she said, forcing a soft smile onto her face. "I’m just... worried about you."
Seraphina let out a dry and bitter laugh. "Worried?" she repeated. "You’re worried about me now? Everything is done, and you are here after I’ve been dragged through the mess, you show up looking all gentle and concerned? This looks..." She paused for a second and shook her head.
"What kind of fake concern is this, my so-called sister?"
The students present there started to murmur among each other, watching them.
Melissa’s lips parted. She hadn’t expected Seraphina to be this bold and show her cunning side in front of everyone, especially when Alistair was present there.
"I... Isn’t that why my brothers are here for you?" Melissa said, carefully dragging out the word brothers, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "They must have come because Mother was worried about you."
Alistair glared at Melissa. He had not expected her to be manipulative. Was this how she had always been?
Seraphina’s expression changed as her gaze darkened.
She could feel her blood boil at the words My brothers?
She wanted to laugh and to scream at her. She wanted to grab Melissa’s wrist and drag her to the front of the entire school and yell, This girl is fake. She took everything from me. My name, my place, and even my family.
But Seraphina clenched her fists tightly, digging her nails into her palms to stop herself from doing something reckless.
This wasn’t the right time.
She was just a "nobody" to the world. And if she raised her voice, she’d only be branded jealous. She’d be compared to all-around Melissa and be humiliated once again.
So, she smiled instead.
"But..." Melissa rubbed her sweaty palm against her skirt, feeling everyone’s eyes on her. "But isn’t it right, brother?" she asked, turning toward Alistair in an even sweeter voice now. She had always known how to act innocent. She thought Alistair wouldn’t embarrass her in front of so many people and would play along with her.
Alistair, who had been standing quietly with his arms crossed, watching the show unfold with little interest, suddenly found himself being dragged into it. His gaze narrowed as he looked at her.
He didn’t say anything at first. He just raised an eyebrow and turned to glance at the boy coming out of the dean’s office behind him.
Asher was finally out.
Alistair’s lips curled into a smirk. "Why not ask your Brother Asher?" he said smoothly yet loud enough for everyone to hear. "I’m sure he came all the way here because you asked him, right?"
Melissa smiled awkwardly. She didn’t know if Asher would play along with her given his attitude toward her for this past month and then her eyes landed on the chocolate box that Seraphina was holding.
It was evident that whom they were for, but still she had a little hope that Asher wouldn’t let her down.
But Asher didn’t even look at her.
He walked right past Melissa and straight to Seraphina, stood beside her without saying a word. Then, without sparing Melissa a glance, he spoke clearly.
"No one called me. I came for my sister," he said.
Everything seemed to have stopped in the corridor, even the bypassers held their breath, not knowing what in the world was happening there.
Melissa’s face paled. The smile on her lips slowly faded.
People around them started whispering again, a few of them were even already recording the scene.
Seraphina didn’t say anything. She just stood there with a calm and unreadable look on her face.
She just stood between the two strong pillars who were ready to do anything just to protect her from anything that was coming toward her.
Alistair chuckled under his breath, folding his arms again. "Seems like I wasn’t the only one who came for her."
Melissa’s throat went dry. She tried to say something, but the words just wouldn’t come out.
"Oh..." Melissa blinked as she tried to save what little pride she had left. "It seems Mother forgot to inform you... I did tell her to send someone else in her place if she couldn’t come herself."
Seraphina rolled her eyes as she was unable to hide the irritation anymore. What a smooth little cover-up that she almost laughed. But she stopped herself as Melissa wasn’t worth the energy.
Instead, she took a step back, putting distance between them. Her eyes were dull and drained. She had no strength left to deal with fake concern of Melissa’s.
"Well..." Seraphina finally spoke, her voice calm but distant. "If you’ll all excuse me, I’d like to return to my class now."
She didn’t wait for anyone to respond. She left with her head held high but a huge storm was swirling within her.
She wanted to cry and wanted to run into Alistair’s arms like she used to and wanted to bury her face in his chest and tell him how much she’d missed him.
But she couldn’t do that right now.
’Brother Alis and Brother Ash, I know you are genuinely concerned about me, unlike Melissa, but I’m scared of everything that’s happening too fast!’ She thought as she walked ahead, leaving the two brothers feeling empty behind her.