I have to run.
That's the only command my brain can process right now.
My feet, encased in high heels, pound roughly on the rocky path. Pain shoots from my heels to my calves, but I don't care. The dress I chose with such confidence now feels heavy and suffocating.
The cheerful music and boisterous laughter slowly fade behind me, replaced by the sound of crickets and the rustling of leaves in the night breeze.
I deliberately walk away from the crowd. My feet carry me into a rarely visited area of the back garden—a narrow path shaded by lush trees on both sides. It is dark here. Only the faint light of the moon penetrated through the gaps in the leaves.
However, the image would not go away.
Leon laughed. Leon held Lyra's waist. Leon...
The scene kept spinning in my head like a broken tape that was sickening.
"Stupid... stupid... You stupid Seraphina..."
I cursed myself, my voice breaking between stifled sobs.
My hands still clutched the two small boxes of cookies I had bought earlier. The boxes with the pretty silver ribbons were now dented and misshapen.
Just like my heart. Broken. Messy. Dirty.
I stopped under a large tree whose roots protruded from the ground. My breath was ragged, my lungs felt like they were burning.
With exploding frustration, I threw the cookie box with all my might into the dark bushes in front of me.
The box landed on the ground, its contents spilling out. The sweet cake that was supposed to be a surprise gift was now mixed with dirt and mud.
"I hate her..." I whispered. "I hate that woman. But I hate myself even more."
I crouched down, hugging my knees in the middle of the dark road. I wanted to be swallowed up by the shadows of the night.
"How sad."
A man's voice came from the darkness in front of me. A deep, arrogant, mocking voice.
My body froze instantly. My heart seemed to stop beating.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, not because of the cold night wind, but because of a pure instinct of fear embedded deep in my bones. I knew this voice. The voice that had haunted me since I was ten years old.
I looked up slowly, praying silently that this was just my imagination or the voice of a ghost haunting the park.
But my prayer was not answered. The ghost was real, and he was far more terrifying.
From behind the shadow of the large tree where I had thrown the cake earlier, a young man stepped out.
The dim moonlight illuminated his face. He was wearing a third-level academy uniform. His brown hair was neatly combed back, revealing a broad forehead and a pair of reddish-brown eyes that looked at me with a condescending gaze.
Cedric Oxy Vermillion. The eldest son of Count Vermillion. A high-level fire element user. And the man bound to me as a political fiancé.
"Cedric..." My voice caught in my throat.
He smiled crookedly. A smile that never reached his eyes. He walked closer, his leather boots stepping on the remains of the cake I had thrown earlier without a care.
"Look at yourself, Lady Seraphina," he said, clapping his hands softly, his tone full of sarcasm. "Crouching on the dirty ground, crying like a child who has lost her toy, in a dress..."
His eyes scanned my body from top to bottom. His gaze lingered on my shoulders and chest, exposed by the off-shoulder cut. The gaze was sticky, disgusting, and made me feel naked in the darkness.
"...with a dress that shows off your skin. Are you trying to sell yourself to me, Lady Seraphina?"
His words were sharp.
I tried to stand, even though my legs were shaking violently. I couldn't appear weak in front of him. I was the daughter of Duke Winters. My status was higher than his.
"Watch your mouth, Cedric," I replied, trying to sound firm even though my voice was trembling. "I don't want to argue with you. Move aside."
I tried to walk past him to return to the dormitory, but Cedric quickly stepped aside, blocking the only way out.
A hot air suddenly emanated from his body. His fire element reacted to his emotions, making the cold night air suddenly hot and suffocating.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked coldly.
He took a step forward, forcing me to back up until my back hit the rough tree trunk behind me. I was trapped. Behind me was the tree, in front of me was the monster, and around us was only the darkness of the academy forest.
Cedric leaned forward, staring intently at me. The overpowering scent of masculine cologne made my stomach churn.
"I saw you earlier, Lady Seraphina," he whispered. "Standing there like a dog startled by its owner getting a new dog."
My breath caught. He saw it. He saw the most embarrassing moment of my life.
Cedric laughed softly, a dry, cruel laugh.
"It hurts, doesn't it?"
"Shut up!" I snapped spontaneously, my courage rising for a moment in my anger. "At least he's not trash like you! He's better than you!"
"Oh? Are you defending him?"
Cedric's face hardened. His smile disappeared. Suddenly, his hand grabbed my chin roughly, forcing me to look up into his eyes. His grip was strong and painful.
"Let me go!" I tried to push his hand away, scratching his wrist with my leather gloves, but I was no match for him.
He was two years older than me, an eighteen-year-old man with a well-trained physique.
"Listen carefully, Lady Seraphina," he hissed, "You're pathetic. You think a man like Leon Gray cares about you? No. He's just keeping the ice queen company. And once he finds a girl who's more 'warm', and not as cold as you... he'll definitely dump you."
"That's not true..." My tears flowed freely again, this time because of paralyzing fear.
"It's true!" Cedric snapped. "Look at the facts in front of your eyes! He chose that blonde girl. Why? Because she has what you don't have. Warmth. Something that an ice-blooded woman like you doesn't have."
He released my chin roughly, causing my head to bump softly against the tree trunk.
"You should be aware of your position, Lady Seraphina," he continued, straightening his uniform collar. "You are my fiancée. Your future is already decided. You will marry me, bear my children who will become great fire wizards, and be a beautiful ornament in my house."
Cedric stared at my body again, especially my exposed neck and shoulders, with a hungry gaze that made me want to vomit. Slowly, he reached out his hand to my shoulder, trying to remove the strap of my off-shoulder dress.
"That's all your body is good for. A vessel for my offspring. So stop dreaming about silly love with someone as lowly as him."
My body shook violently. The fear I had been holding back exploded. Cedric never saw me as a human being. He never asked me about the things I liked, my achievements, or my feelings.
To him, I was just a trophy.
"I-I..." My voice caught in my throat, my breathing became short and shallow. A panic attack began to overwhelm me. "I don't want to... I'm going to break off this engagement... Father will..."
"Your father can't do anything!" Cedric interrupted, his voice rising. "The Vermillion family controls half of the crystal supply for this academy! I'm sure the Duke has no idea what I'll do to his daughter here. Because I am the King of this school, Seraphina! And you... you are merely my Queen who must obey!"
He slammed his hand against the tree trunk, right next to my ear.
"AKH!" I let out a small scream, covering my ears and slumping to the ground.
Fear paralyzed me. My legs went weak. My vision began to blur and spin. It felt like the oxygen was disappearing from the dark path.
Cedric grinned at my reaction. He leaned down, staring at me as I curled up at the tree roots. He was enjoying this. He was enjoying seeing me scared, seeing me helpless.
"See? You can't even stand up straight," he taunted. He reached out his hand, this time intending to touch my exposed shoulder.
His hand drew closer. His hot fingers were about to touch my skin.
"D-don't... Leon... help me..."
The name slipped out of my mouth without me realizing it. In my greatest fear, only one name came out. Not Dad. Not Nia. But Leon.
Hearing that name, Cedric's expression turned vicious.
"Still calling that bastard's name?!"
My world narrowed into a black dot. Cedric's voice sounded like a distant buzz. But his disgusting face was getting closer to me. Fear, disgust, and heartbreak mingled into a deadly mix that numbed my consciousness.
I wanted to disappear. God, please make me disappear right now.
The last thing I felt was the sensation of my body collapsing onto the cold ground, and the sound of Cedric's screams calling my name.
Then, silence.
I hoped I wouldn't have to wake up again.
*****
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