chapter 3

I’d foolishly convinced myself that my sacrifices had finally earned their love.

It turned out that their affection for Seraphina had merely been hidden from me.

My palm clenched the doorknob, heart thudding so wildly it seemed to claw at my throat.

A sharp ache twisted in my chest, stealing my breath—only by swallowing down the agony could I gasp for air.

“If I hadn’t tricked that fool into giving me her heart, why would I call her ‘sister’? She’s a walking curse! Anyone near her gets dragged down!

“A total bad omen!”

I burst through the door, unable to bear it.

Silence fell instantly as all eyes snapped to me in shock.

“Raina, you’re still unwell, but you brought me cake—how sweet.”

Seraphina took the box, shooting a loaded glance at the others before calling for someone to cut it.

I grabbed her hand, chest pain triggering a violent cough.

Disgust flashed across her face as she subtly wrenched free.

Gasping, I met her eyes, desperate.

“Seraphina, I heard everything.”

Her frown wiped the smile from her face. She shook off my hand in revulsion.

“You heard? Good. I’m done pretending after all these years.”

“W-what do you mean?” I needed to know if any of the love I’d felt was real.

For years, while our parents ignored me, Seraphina had been the only one to call me ‘sister’ and share her things.

During the days when my parents treated me poorly, shunning me like the plague and regarding me as a servant rather than a daughter, only Seraphina would sneak me snacks in secret.

It was the love Seraphina gave me that made me relent, ultimately deciding to donate my heart to her.

“What do I mean? Whose heart could match mine better than yours? Why should I be the sick one? If not for your curse, would I have been born broken? You owe me this.”

Before I could reel from her words, the door opened again.

Chase Morrison, my fiancé, entered with flowers and a gift box, beaming.

“Happy birthday, Seraphina… Raina, what are you doing here?”

The tenderness he’d once shown me was gone; he curled his lip and stepped to Seraphina’s side.

Seraphina giggled as she took the flowers. “Did you really think Chase loved you? That he was moved by you?”

I’d always known he liked Seraphina.

As kids, he’d trailed after her, blaming me for anything that upset her.

Once, when she was hospitalized, he’d beaten me black and blue, warning me to stay away.

But around the time they pressured me to donate my heart, he’d suddenly changed—treating me kindly, promising to honor our engagement.

He'd declared with deep affection that he would forget Seraphina.

Yet just then, Chase was holding Seraphina in his arms, every line of his brow etched with boredom at the sight of me.

“If not to make you save Seraphina, why would I have been nice? Marry you? Look at you—you’re a ghost. You’d never set foot in my house.”

Seraphina joined in, mocking, “One little move and you’re sweating. If Chase married you, would he have to never have sex in his life? Or do you want to die in his bed?”

Her crude words set everyone laughing.

Chase pinched her cheek affectionately.

“I’m not into that. If she ended up in my bed, I’d feel sick. All that gasping—people might think she can’t live without a man.”

Rage blurred my vision, my breath coming in ragged pants. I coughed until my face turned red.

Seraphina giggled and shoved me into a boy’s arms, humiliating me.

“See? You can’t keep your eyes off men. Stop staring at my Chase—any of my friends could satisfy you.”

The boy pushed me away in disgust. “I don’t want a sick girl. No fun.”

Laughter and whispers surrounded me.

Seraphina had endured such similar episodes before—why did she need to humiliate me?

I tried to stand, but chest pain forced me to curl on the floor.

“Enough. This sickly thing is trying to seduce Chase. I can’t stand looking at her. Let’s leave.”