Chapter 3

SERAPHINA'S POV

I inhaled sharply, fighting to keep my fury from boiling over.

William still wore that idiotic grin, but Rose had already shifted into her innocent persona, speaking with deliberate softness: "William, stay still. See? You've destroyed Auntie's photograph."

Her eyes betrayed a hidden satisfaction, clearly anticipating my explosion.

Kneeling down, I gathered the fragments slowly. Every piece felt like a blade against my heart. This photograph—the sole one they'd left behind—was the most valuable possession in my entire existence.

"William," I lifted my gaze, smiling, "Have you heard of Santa Claus?"

William's eyes blinked: "Yeah, he delivers gifts."

"True, though he has another role." I moved nearer, dropping my voice to a whisper, "He keeps records of children's wrongdoings. When a child destroys something precious to someone else and refuses to apologize or acknowledge their fault, Santa Claus visits their bedside on Christmas Eve..."

I let the sentence hang, watching William's eyes expand.

"What happens next?" His voice carried a tremor.

"He takes his enormous scissors and clips off the offending hand, feeding it to his reindeer. Those reindeer particularly enjoy naughty children's hands, chomping them with enthusiasm."

I replicated the crunching sound. William's complexion drained of color.

"Furthermore, the child missing their hand will bleed endlessly. Blood will shoot from their wrist, covering everything—bedding, walls, ceiling..."

"Seraphina!" Rose called with warning.

I stood upright, my eyes flickering to the other woman. "That will be Luna Seraphina to you," I hissed at her.

"I am the Luna!" She protested.

"Now that your husband is gone, Caspian is going to be the Alpha. As his wife, that makes me the Luna, not you," I challenged openly.

That took her aback. I watched with sickening satisfaction as she staggered on her feet.

My attention turned back to William and I went on, "You'll never grasp anything again, never touch your toys again, because you'll be handless."

"Waaah—" William crumbled, sobbing loudly, "Mommy! Mommy! I don't want to lose my hands!"

Rose scooped up William immediately, her face hardening: "Seraphina! Terrifying a child like this? He's barely five!"

"Exactly, barely five." I rose to my feet, meeting her stare, "At five, he's already mastered tearing people's photographs. What impressive parenting."

"William simply lacks maturity. Why would you, a grown woman, battle with a small child?" Rose rubbed William's back, her tone accusatory.

"A small child?" I cut her off. "Your son just declared, 'Uncle promised to look after me and Mom the way Dad did.' Who planted that idea? Can a five-year-old truly comprehend such concepts?"

Rose's complexion reddened instantly. Clutching the still-weeping William, she pressed her lips together: "What rubbish are you spouting... William simply misses his father. Caspian is his uncle. What's inappropriate about showing concern for his nephew?"

"You understand perfectly well whether you're being truthful." I held her gaze, enunciating clearly, "Don't assume I'm stupid, Rose. Did you knock before entering my room? Where were you when your son shredded my photograph? What's this performance about being a devoted mother?"

"You..." Words died on her throat, clearly not expecting the sweet Seraphina she knew to suddenly gain a new wing.

I took a step closer to her. "Even if you go about stealing him, I am still always going to be one step ahead of you as his mate. In that, you have a long way to go, ex-Luna," I taunted her. I knew my jab hit home, exactly as I wanted it.

Rose blanched at my words. She pivoted and exited with William, saying, "I refuse to engage with you. When Caspian returns, I'll relay everything."

"Go ahead," I responded icily. "Make sure you mention he should prepare compensation."

I shut the door, pressing against it, my entire frame shaking. Tears finally escaped down my cheeks.

Dad, Mom, forgive me. I failed to safeguard your photograph.

I collected the pieces meticulously, storing them in a container. Perhaps someone could restore it later, perhaps not, but I'd preserve them regardless.

Near 7 p.m., I heard the front door opening.

I recognized Caspian's arrival. Predictably, minutes later, he rapped on my door.

Opening it, I found him standing there, his expression dark.

"What did you inflict on William today?" His tone was accusatory. "Terrifying the child like that, Seraphina, how can you be so cruel?"

I studied him, suddenly finding it laughable. He hadn't even inquired about the reason—just immediately branded me cruel.

"Are you aware of what he did?" I asked.

"Rose told me William accidentally damaged your photo frame, but it was purely accidental." Caspian's brow creased. "Did you need to frighten him with such horrifying descriptions? He's experiencing nightmares now, repeatedly screaming about Santa Claus cutting off his hands."

"Accidental?" I laughed bitterly, retrieving the container with the photograph fragments from the drawer and emptying it onto the table before him. "Examine this. Could an accident produce this?"

The fragments spilled out, each torn into minuscule pieces, obviously deliberate.

Caspian froze. He leaned down, inspecting the fragments closely, his expression shifting.

"These are my parents' final photographs." My voice remained level. "They possessed only one family photograph before their deaths, the sole one in existence. Now it's destroyed, Caspian Thornley, tell me, what should I do?"

Caspian stayed silent briefly, then massaged his temples. "I wasn't aware it was this severe... but William is young, he genuinely might not grasp this photograph's significance. How about this—I'll provide compensation. Name your amount."

"Name my amount?" I found it ridiculous. "Caspian Thornley, money can't purchase everything. This photograph holds infinite value for me, understand?"

"I understand, but the photos are destroyed now. What option exists beyond compensation?" His tone carried impatience. "Furthermore, you genuinely did threaten William and those words were excessively harsh."

I drew a deep breath, suddenly realizing discussion was pointless.

"Forget it, I won't debate this." I turned, extracting two documents from the drawer. "Since you mentioned compensation, then sign these."

Caspian accepted the documents, barely glancing before flipping straight to the final page: "What's this? A property compensation agreement?"

"Something like that," I said lightly.

He grabbed a pen, scrawling his name at the first document's end, then seized the second, flipped to the back, and swiftly signed it.

"Satisfied?" He tossed the files back onto the table. "Stop frightening William. He's just a child."

After speaking, he moved to leave.

Right then, I suddenly called out: "Caspian Thornley."

He turned back, his brow wrinkling slightly: "What else?"

I approached him, looking upward. This man had once been my husband, the man I'd believed would accompany me through life.

Just as Caspian began turning, I unexpectedly extended my arms and embraced him. His body went rigid instantly, apparently not anticipating my action.

"Seraphina, you..." His voice sounded somewhat awkward.

I pressed my face against his chest, absorbing his warmth. This might be my final time holding him this way. Five years of marriage, five years together, ending today.

Caspian wavered momentarily, but eventually lifted his hand, gently placing his arm around my waist.

My wolf purred, both of us betraying our emotions despite our anger.

Just then, knocking sounded at the door.

"Caspian?" Rose's voice carried through, tinged with fragility and hesitation. "William can't fall asleep and keeps requesting you to stay with him..."

Caspian's body stiffened again, and immediately after, he pushed me away almost reflexively.

"I'll go check on William." After speaking, he opened the door and exited without even glancing my direction.

Outside, Rose stood clutching William. Seeing Caspian emerge, relief washed across her face: "Caspian, William keeps having nightmares, mentioning Santa Claus..."

Caspian lifted William from her, speaking soothingly, "Everything's fine, Uncle's here. No Santa Claus exists, no monsters..."

He carried William toward the guest room, Rose trailing behind. Rose glanced backward at me, her eyes broadcasting provocation and smugness.

I remained in the doorway, observing the three of them retreating, suddenly feeling tranquil.

I closed the door, returned to the table, and lifted the second document.

Under the weak lighting, the document's first page displayed prominently the words "Divorce Agreement."

Caspian Thornley's signature marked the bottom, his handwriting flowing and casual, as though he'd signed merely a routine document. He likely never imagined he'd just signed not a compensation agreement, but a divorce agreement terminating our five-year marriage.

I stored the documents carefully, placing them in the safe.

According to Pack Union regulations, a 30-day objection window followed signing the divorce agreement. Throughout these thirty days, should Caspian uncover the truth, he could file an objection, rendering the agreement invalid.

Therefore, I'd wait thirty days.

If he didn't discover or object after thirty days, we'd proceed to the next phase, which would simplify the divorce process considerably.

Thirty days, I reminded myself, just endure another thirty days, and I'd be liberated.